I am using Ads in my App and also I am providing an option for users to upgrade via PayPal android api for Ad-Free app.
I could successfully integrate PayPal api for checkout in my app, but not getting how to tell to my app that this user has upgraded already/Now.
I want user to get ad-free app even after they re-installed the app.
Do I need to use my own server for tracking all upgrades or any other best practice is available.
Kindly help me out. Your reply is highly appreciated.
This will likely be against the TOS. As far as I know, you can only accept "donations" through other methods and not even that is clear. I have an app that accepted donations through paypal and afterwards I sent emails to those "donators" with an unlock code to remove the advertising. That didn't seem to break any terms of service, but I wouldn't write anything saying explicitly that the payment outside of google waller will give them an add free version.
"Google has been pressuring applications and mobile game developers to
use its costlier in-house payment service, Google Wallet for quite
some time. Now Google warned several developers in recent months that
if they continued to use other payment methods — such as PayPal, Zong
and Boku — their apps would be removed from Google Play. The move is
seen as a way to cut costs for Google by using their own system."
Source
Related
I am making an android app to serve my progressive webapp content using webviews. I want to host my android app on the Google Play store. My webapp uses Stripe as the billing api to accept payments, start free trials, and apply discounts. However, after reading the Google Play terms of service, I am confused by the section here.
My webapp offers subscription based content. In other words, users purchase my subscriptions in order to access restricted content. My content definitely meets the requirements in Google Play's terms of service. On billing though, I'd really prefer to use Stripe as that's what I've been using up until now. The terms of service states on in app purchases that I must use Google's billing api as the only payment method for selling subscriptions.
I am confused for two reasons. The first is on this section of Google Play's documentation, they suggest using multiple billing methods in an app as a good practice, but this contradicts their terms of service. So then am I allowed to use Stripe on my android after all? The second is that I'm looking at other android apps on Google Play, such as Spotify. Spotify does not seem to use Google Play's billing api for purchasing subscriptions. So I'm trying to understand what makes Spotify exempt from this requirement.
I had two theories for why Spotify is exempt. The first is because they offer their content through multiple mediums. Website, Windows and macOS applications, iOS app, etc. Does this fact exempt Spotify due to this statement: "Payment is for digital content that may be consumed outside of the app itself (e.g. songs that can be played on other music players)". If so then my app falls under this category as well since a subscriber would be able to access my content on my website and iOS app in addition to my android app correct? My second theory was because I read here that Spotify carries out the in app billing process through an external Spotify webview. If this is the case, then my app would be accepted by Google Play if I do the same and handle the billing by serving an external webview?
So my question is given everything I've touched on above, would my android wrapped progressive webapp be accepted by the Google Play store?
Thanks in advance.
Short answer: If you are planning to rely purely on Google Play or some other marketplace to grow your business / userbase then build your app to use their payment system. If people visit your website from the web, tell them to download it from whatever marketplace.
Long answer: If you do some exploring you will notice there is no option to manage payments from some mobile apps only login / signup (free account). If you want to upgrade you are either redirected to a browser OR forced to use their online web app (because you end up googl-ing out of frustration). BUT Google is saying as of September 2021 there will be 0 links allowed to non-Google payment services for any app that is not exempt (physical goods / services). So unless Netflix is using big money loopholes to qualify as one of the exempt businesses they would need to remove the link to "manage subscription" in their account settings sometime September 2021 - or implement Google's payment system for their APK submitted to Google play store.
My advice: Keep it simple!!! Unless you are working with a budget or team, managing all of this on your own, and in production will be overwhelming, especially if you end up scaling. If you want to make a Google Play game or app then build it with Google in mind. Use Google Oauth, Google Adsense (free accounts), and use Google's payment system to upgrade users. As you grow, hire people to help you expand and maintain your project on new marketplaces.
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.
I developed an android app, and i want to sell this app in google play,however I'm in Turkey and selling system is not supported by google in Turkey.
I want to learn the answer of this question. Does google allow when i placed a buy button which opens browsers and redirect to paypal payment web page in my app ? Does google allow this ? or Does google remove my application from google play for illegal selling method issue.If so what can i do for selling my app in google play.
Thanks for your valuable answers.
Edit 1
I find some app which uses PayPal services in their app and placed in google play's free apps category such as this app if it is not allowed then why are these apps still surfacing on the play store ?
Edit 2
I want to discuss my technique in my app.
User download the app from google play
App is about fast reading and has 12 levels
User can use level 1 for free as demo others are locked
If user want to use other level, there is a
button which opens my website page
I post the deviceId of the phone or tablet, record it to my db and redirect browser to paypal payment page, if payment successfull, paypal page redirects browser to my page to set payment done,so that i can understand which device has done payment
Then my server has an application which checks
the successfull payments and send push message to the user
device,that msg changes the application to full version , user can
start to use other levels without downloading the full version ,
And my thoughts, user can use the app from google play store just for one level,this is legal because user can use it free, I use my own servers for payment mechanism,after payment my app in user's device is turn to full version without any google play's affords.So this is legal.
Think all is legal.
In the event that it isn't, you're just using the application, so having an extra-national bank account that it flows into and transferring those funds into your Turkey-based account would be legal. That being said, you'd be paying tax twice, which isn't too great for profits, but you do what you have to eh, good luck!
Yes, it is legal. Uploading app to google and charging for it there is much easier since google does everything else for you. You just set the price and cash flows to your bank account.
But ofcourse you can also do it your way, but it would be much more complicated for you. People who'd buy your app wouldn't have their app automatically updated like if they downloaded it from google play, you'd have to manage all the refunds while google does it automatically for you, you'd probably have to send people the apk after they bought it which means your app would be easier to crack.
It has it's flaws but I'm almost 100% sure it's legal.
EDIT: Read the comments below, it isn't as legal as I thought it was :p
I have read that only 18 countries can accept PayPal Payment other than Google Wallet. But we still want to make payment via PayPal.
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2651410?hl=en
This may have been asked before but I cannot find a definitive answer
I am currently using Google in app billing for my application and users are asking me if they can use Paypal.
Is it against the market policy if I add a Paypal Buy now button to my payment screen which opens a URL in a webview and goes to Paypal.com ? ….
The app is published in the Android Market
Thanks in advance
Even if it's not against to T&C, it's not a good practice. Google is trying to do the opposite: everything should be with their payment solution, so your app's users see something that they already know.
However did you consider opening a webpage and from there doing the paypal payment? That probably would not be against T&C
you should not use other payment system because...
"Google has been pressuring applications and mobile game developers to use its costlier in-house payment service, Google Wallet for quite some time. Now Google warned several developers in recent months that if they continued to use other payment methods — such as PayPal, Zong and Boku — their apps would be removed from Google Play. The move is seen as a way to cut costs for Google by using their own system."
No way, it should be violation of T&C. Google is not Evil.
I want to know if its possible/legal(not against terms of service) to use the google checkout api for an android app to support in app purchases. The types of items being purchased would be something like extra coins where they can be purchased multiple times.
I know that this would require getting the user's credentials or pointing them to the checkout page or something. I want to know if its possible to do this within the app by opening a webview to the checkout process, and then getting a callback to a custom url on my server that will allow the app to see that the purchase was successful. Something like what the android market does for app purchases.
Thanks for any responses. I don't currently have code to show as I am researching into this before devoting time to create something I won't be able to use. Also maybe android will support native in-app purchases in newer versions of the sdk.
Spoke to (Android evangelist) Reto Meier at Google Tech Days about this and he said it is perfectly OK to do inter-app purchases in the market. You should comply to other regulations - most common is that you need to only buy content that is consumed on the mobile. Virtual "coins" are on quite thin ice, some countries ban issuing "virtual money" but you can do essentially the same with just little different paradigm. Hope this helps.
Android market documentation explicitly states that you can do check it.
http://developer.android.com/guide/market/billing/billing_admin.html#billing-refunds
Important: You cannot use the Google Checkout API to issue refunds or
cancel in-app billing transactions. You must do this manually through
your Google Checkout merchant account. However, you can use the Google
Checkout API to retrieve order information.