I was wandering if I can sell digital objects(like lives in Candy Crush) from an other app.
I'll explain it a little better: I have an android game built with AppInventor from which I can't implement in-app billing. I was thinking to build an app in java and allowing in-app purchase from it an sharing purchases info on the server on which the game is based.
The question is: does Google allow me to do this or there is some restriction I've not been able to find?
I hope you can understand what I wrote as english is not my mothertongue.
Isn't there a way you can just reimplement your game with in app billing? Having to open another app to buy things on this one seems not really intuitive. Plus, you may need to advertise the "buying app" in the "game app" somehow, so you'll still need to write some code.
As far as I remember, AppInventor apps were fairly straightforward to redo if you know how to code Android, plus it's not available anymore, which means you lost support in case you want to do something else.
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I am looking for a way that I can develop an app cheaply for a very specific use.
Specifically, I would like to create an game that can be played online between different phones.
I have some coding and development experience, and I would like to make the app iOS compatible (initially... open to Android integration later on).
Is anyone aware of a way to make an app without paying $99+ a year to be deployed on the app store? I simply need to make it available to approximately 15 people, and am uninterested in making any money or widely distributing the app.
Many of the target audience are in low-income areas of the world and have very limited access to computers, so a mobile application is likely my only option.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I have done research into Apple developer accounts, but it doesn't seem to fit my needs. I have also looked into making an Ad-Hoc account app, but can't find a lot of info on the feasibility of this.
One thing to consider is what are the game performance requirements?
If it is a simple game, using a Javascript game engine may be a better option as it can be hosted on a server (and viewed in a browser) to start with, and later bundled in a progressive web app with PWA Builder.
I'm not an expert but I think this question should be moved to a different Stack Exchange website.
Anyway, if you want to distribute your app to iOS real devices through the App Store, you will have to pay the $99 yearly membership.
There is also a free Apple Developer Program. I never tried it and I think you need physical access to the devices on which you want to load the app. But I could be wrong and maybe you'll have access to TestFlight. If you do have access to TestFlight the only disadvantage is that you'll have to re-publish your app from time to time when the testing period for one version is over. Try it!
iOS device and low-income don't really fit together ;-).
On Android, it is much more affordable even with the use of the Play store. If it hasn't change much it is a one time $25 fee and that's it. You can do Alpha/Beta and Production releases.
Regarding your requirements it is the best platform because the devices are generally cheaper.
To developp on Android, it's free, you just pay if you want to publish the app on store.
For ios, you can't do anything without creating a developper account, so pay $99.
You're always able to use a cross-platform langage (react native, flutter for ex.) but as soon as you want to deploy on real apple device, you'll need to pay.
I'm about to implement In App Purchases (IAP) for a premium-upgrade feature in an app I'm developing, and I've read the official developer guides. There, they mention that
You can use the Play Billing Library to simplify your development
process, allowing you to focus your effort on implementing logic
specific to your app, such as displaying in-app products and
purchasing items.
and refer to the TrivialDrive_v2 sample app for a complete training class on how to implement in-app-billing.
Looking at the sample, and specifically the com.example.billingmodule.billing package, the phrase "simplify your development process" isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind.
Is this really how we are supposed to implement in-app-purchases for premium upgrades? Seems way more complex than it should be, so I'm thinking maybe I've misunderstood something along the way, and that there is a much easier way to achieve this very common feature?
I know that for jailbreak iOS device there is a way to get in-app purchase for free. There is in-app hack too for android. Is there anyway to prevent this when writing app that use in-app purchase ?
thanks
Yes, in addition to following all the latest Google Play/Apple licensing and security best practices you can, you need to make multiplayer interaction through your servers an intricate part of the game play and the fun.
For great examples of this, take a look at "Fun Run" or "Clash of Titans".
That being said, don't make the mistake of doing this after you've designed most of your game already. Most users (even and especially legitimate paid users) hate it when their game requires them to be online even when they're only playing it in a single player mode, and they will badmouth and down-rate your app if they suspect that you've purposefully crippled your game, or removed single player mode functionality after the fact.
I would just like to ask if there are any best practices for a shared subscription billing for iOS and Android.
Right now, we are developing a mobile app both on Android and iOS (both native sdk, not cross-platform). And we have this certain feature in the app which you need to subscribe in order to access. But this will be a shared subscription. A one time payment regardless of what device a user is using to subscribe.
Sorry, but I am not really good in explaining things so maybe I will give you a scenario. I hope it helps you to understand what I am talking about.
For example, a user has two phones, an Android phone and an iPhone. He then installed our app in both his iPhone and Android phone. Now, he opens our app in his iPhone and he wants to access that certain feature so he subscribed. With this, what we want as a developer is to make it so that when he opens the app in his android phone, he will already be able to access that certain feature since he has already subscribed when he used the iPhone app.
We are still hesitant to continue since Google and Apple have different billing schemes. But maybe there are solutions for this, or are there?
I am hoping that someone could give us light on how to do this in the best practical way possible.
Thanks in advance...
I am currently facing the same issues. That's what I have so far.
There seem to be cross-platform solutions but none of them seem to work through Google Play or Apple payment methods..
You can use your API/backend service to flag the current user subscription state and sync it across all your platforms (that might violate Apple in-app system conditions).
I'm currently looking for a way to communicate to both Google Play and Apple in-app payment system that the item has been already bought in a different platform. There should be a way but as said, still looking for it.
We'll keep that up to date.
I am currently developing an application where I want to be able to have an option to allow the user to donate money for the app. Is there a particular way about doing this for android. I have tried looking at google but it mainly shows about paypal donation buttons for websites
I think it should be possible.
There's a similar discussion on Google Groups which basically says that donations are allowed as long as you don't offer additional functionality for that money.
Meaning no functionality is enabled after the donation is made.
Like #alocaly said, you're unable to recieve donations through a system different from android market payment or ads inside the application.
However, it is still possible to have your application on the Internet by free and with a donation button. The difference is that you cannot post it on the Android Market, so you'll have to do some extra work:
Upload to a webserver, so it can be downloaded to your phone.
Create a website (or post your application to another "illegal" market), so people can find your application.
Use some sort of advertising to let people know your application (Twitter retweets, community ads, GoogleAds, SEO, whatever)
Manage some kind of update system. Since you don't rely anymore on the Android Market, you don't have an automatic updating method (Android Market updates applications when you post a new version of it), so you should have a small class that checks a website looking for a new version (it's not that hard) and downloads a new version when there's one available.
Make work the Paypal button like #Tim said
However, you are able to do something that I've see out there: create a free version of your application and post it on the Android Market, and post another version of the same application called "Same program name (Donation)", costing some money. When someone wants to donate you, they'll only have to buy this version.
I hope it helps
I don't know what importance it has, but I think that the chart / terms of services we sign as android developers don't allow the usage of this kind of monetization.
As this is a subject that is changing a lot in Android world, with the soon to come API to pay in apps, I'm not sure it still has any importance, but you should still be aware of that.
Maybe you should take a look at this post, which explains how to integrate Paypal payments into an Android App witout leaving the App itself: How to integrate paypal donate in android app?