OK so in order to make a Google play account to distribute, I have to like make this Google wallet thing.. I want to know if it's allowed to do this if you are under 18. Also, for things like AdMob do you have to be over 18? Thanks!
you cant sign up for a adsense account(AdMob ) if you are under 18
read this
Taken directly from admob's site
If you are not yet 18, you may have a parent or guardian submit an application using their own Google Account. If their application is approved, all payments will be issued in this person’s name.
Google Wallet's ToS
By agreeing to these Terms of Service, you represent the following:
You are between 13 and 17 years of age and creating a Google Wallet account for the sole and limited purpose of redeeming Google Play Gift Card value for select items that are eligible for purchase by you on Google Play, subject to applicable laws and upon Google's discretion;
or
You are 18 years old or older; and
Capable of entering into a legally binding agreement.
So for admob you can use a parent's or guardian's assistance (so they will earn the money on their account), while on Google Wallet it seems that you can't earn money under 18, you can probably get a parent/guardian's assistance as well.
Keep in mind you don't need Google Wallet for free apps, I've uploaded many free android games but I'm not allowed to own Google Wallet where I live. You only need it for paid apps (or in-app purchase), you don't even need it for ads (like admob).
I have also wondered about this, but the simple answer seems like no unless you were to have your parents to do some parts for you.
This was taken from the Terms of Service just for a Google Play account:
"Age
Only users 13 years of age or older are permitted to use Google Play, and users under 18 must have their parent or legal guardian's permission to use Google Play."
"
More information can be found from the Google Play Terms of Service
That is only to use Google Play. On the other hand to become a developer, in order to distribute your application (Most likely a android app), you would have to pay a initial 25 dollar fee, and go on with additional steps, as shown here
In order to pay the initial fee, you would have to prove a valid credit card information which requires you to be the age of 18.
On the other hand, for AdMob you would have to read their own license and term of services just like you would for any third party application or service.
If you liked my answer, please mark this as the approved answer.
I will try to improve this answer as I gather more information.
Related
It has been asked before but most of those answers are probably outdated.
I am thinking in integrating Paypal api (https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/mobile/ht_mpl-itemPayment-Android/) for my android application.
It is a link that says - Buy me a coffee, which will lead through the process of making a payment using above JAR.
Before I implement so, I have heard that many have some problem where Google has taken their application out of the market because it uses someone else payment option.
Also, any thoughts on https://github.com/SufficientlySecure/donations
Please advise.
Also, any thoughts on https://github.com/SufficientlySecure/donations
Here goes note taken right from the README:
NOTE: Google mailed me to remove PayPal donation capability when publishing on Google Play! Thus, you should build "product flavors" defined by the example: One version with Google Play donation capability and one with Paypal, Flattr, and Bitcoin!
Which means that Google is against PayPal donations in the apps loaded into the Google Play Store.
I've read the Developer Policy and it looks unclear. On one hand they say that all purchases in Android apps available on the Google Play Store should be made via Google Play Billing API. On the other hand, they say nothing about the donations (which differ from purchases in my opinion because user gets nothing for donation).
I would not risk the app's status and make donations via Billing API - after all, the main reason why Google bans apps which use 3-rd party billing is that Google doesn't get money from 3-rd party billing. If this is the case than you should be safe if you stay away from PayPal.
This question has already been asked a lot of times but no complete/detailed answer has been provided so far.
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question. I need to configure the Google Developer Console (and Google Wallet as well) in order to sell apps in Play Store. As you probably know Google has a list and not all countries are easily allowed to sell applications. However, there is one workaround using Payoneer and Google Wallet in order to get money from the apps sold. Basically you need to obtain an account in Payoneer and apply for "US Payment Services", doing this you will get a banck account in the US, after that you will need to create a Google Wallet Merchant Account and here is the problem:If your country is not listed in Google as an allowed location you will need to change the configuration in Google Wallet to an US address (you can get one in usbox.com for instance) and after that you will be able to create the Merchant account. The problem is that sells in Play Stores fail even if these steps were completed. I think that the problem is that I cannot verify my identity because I don't have an SSN or ITIN number.
Does anyone have more experience about this or know the required steps and configuration for Non-US Residents?
There is no general answer because if you are not a US resident, it still depends on your country. Depending on your country, you may get paid through wire transfer:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2700656?hl=en
This applies to many but not all non US residents.
The general process is described here:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/173779?hl=en
Is it officially allowed (or tolerated at least) by Google to do it?
I've got some users suggesting to me that it could be a good idea to add a one click 'donation button' opening up their default Android bitcoin wallet app with my bitcoin adress pre-filled.
But hey, I don't want to see my apps suspended just because of this!
Did you see some apps or widgets doing this yet on Google Play?
The same question could be asked about Paypal donations I guess...
Thank you to share your opinion.
I don't know what Google's official policy is for certain, but a donation should be no problem. In theory.
http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html only mentions that any purchase of in-app benefits must be handled via Google's in-app billing system.
https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement.html#pricing-payments says essentially the same in legalese.
So as long as donors do not buy/gain anything, not even a thank-you or honourable mention, and that is made clear in your app, you're in theory safe. Disabling ads for donors is for example easily a violation of those terms.
The rules are however Google's to interpret and enforce. And sentences like
The Payment Processor must process all fees a Developer receives for any version of a Product distributed via the Store.
in 2nd link can easily be applied to donations if the app-review person sees fit, even just because he/she misinterpreted the donation button or
If Google decides that your donations are actually fees, they can & will suspend your app (probably without prior warning & time to fix the problem). There are cases of this you can find on the internet.
There is an appeals form you can find here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2477981 but the answer in practice seems to be "No. Don't ask again.".
Also be aware that Google counts violations and can ban you as a person (not just your current account) from publishing apps on the Play store.
The answer to the question is: NO.
You can't accept bitcoin tips or donations in your Android app, even it is free.
The same is applied for any kind of payment processor, including Paypal.
This because it violates our payments policy.
Policy Issue: Payments
Alternative payment mechanisms to Google Play's in-app billing service
are only permitted if the products purchased are to be used outside of
the app. For example:
For physical goods or services, such as movie tickets, or a publication where the price also includes a hard copy subscription;
or
For digital goods that may be downloaded to devices and used outside of the app, such as songs that can be played on other music
players.
Donations to 527 designated tax exempt organizations are also permitted.
Google don't have clear statement about this but i near future it's possible to allow it
Source
Yes you can. There are already plenty of apps that do this. On another note, for bitcoin donations, use the coinbase api. Its probably the easier in my opinion.
Is the Google Wallet online payment system on Android phones mandatory for e.g. movie, songs or game levels purchases in a similar way the Apple’s In-App-Purchase is on iOS?
According to the information here “Developers offering additional content, goods, or services for an application downloaded from Android Market must offer an authorized Payment Processor as the payment option“.
Our understanding is that if user has installed an application, which plays movies and users pay per single movie view application needs using the Google Wallet otherwise it can be removed from Google Play. Is that correct?
Similar situation is within game if user wants to pay for the additional level. Is that correct?
For subscriptions it is not required to use the Google Wallet (again the similar situation is on the iOS).
STeN
I had an app that had LogiaMobile billing integrated and was rejected from Google Play for that very reason (it was in Sept 2011). The app tried to bill users when they wanted to download videos.
Find a good explanation about the policies in this Techcrunch article
My advice would be to always integrate Google In-App billing (now v3 is far more confortable to work with).
I hope this is what you were asking for :)
'Google Wallet' is a confusing name, because it may refer to different thing. First there is the Google Wallet app that lets you pay with your phone via NFC. You certainly don't need this to buy things from the Play Store and it is supported only in the US, and only on a limited number of devices. Google Wallet also refers to Google's online payment system (aka Google Checkout). You need to register your credit card with that in order to make purchases on Android. It serves as the 'authorized Payment Processor' in most case. Other ones being carrier billing on supported carriers.
I've pretty much only found out that "You must have a Google Wallet Merchant account to use Google Play In-app Billing." But I don't understand... What is it for? Do I actually need this? What does it do? How and where do I get one, and does it cost anything? The Google Wallet website seems to only have information for actual stores, not apps.
What I want is there to be a free, limited version of my app, but the user could pay a monthly subscription to get access to the full features.
I found out that what they mean by "Google Wallet merchant" is just "Google Checkout". "Google Wallet" has two parts, the app and online. The app is just for NFC purchases and nothing else, you cannot use any prepaid money on the Google Wallet app to buy anything on Google Play. The other part is the payment system that Google runs. This second part was formerly called Google Checkout, but a few months ago they merged Google Checkout and the Google Wallet system into one name to keep their money systems consistent.
TL;DR - you do not need Google Wallet to use in-app billing. You need Google Checkout, which is easier to register for and free.