One of my users let the cat out of the bag and told me they were using one of my free apps, which is monetized by ads, but they were blocking the ads with an ad blocker. They told me this mockingly, as if I can't do anything about it.
Can I do something about it? Is there a way to detect that ads are being blocked?
I am aware of one way that ad blocking works (on any computer really), they edit the hosts file to point to localhost for all known ad servers. For android this is located in the "etc/hosts" file.
For example, I use admob ads and a host file that I have taken from custom rom lists the folowing admob entries:
127.0.0.1 analytics.admob.com
127.0.0.1 mmv.admob.com
127.0.0.1 mm.admob.com
127.0.0.1 admob.com
127.0.0.1 a.admob.com
127.0.0.1 jp.admob.com
127.0.0.1 c.admob.com
127.0.0.1 p.admob.com
127.0.0.1 mm1.vip.sc1.admob.com
127.0.0.1 media.admob.com
127.0.0.1 e.admob.com
Now anytime a process tries to resolve the above addresses they are routed to the address listed to the left of them (localhost) in this case.
What I do in my apps is check this host file and look for any admob entries, if I find any I notify the user that I've detected ad blocking and tell them to remove admob entries from there and do't allow them use of the app.
After all what good does it do me if they're not seeing ads? No point in letting them use the app for free.
Here is a code snippet of how I achieve that:
BufferedReader in = null;
try
{
in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(
new FileInputStream("/etc/hosts")));
String line;
while ((line = in.readLine()) != null)
{
if (line.contains("admob"))
{
result = false;
break;
}
}
}
I vow that all ad supported apps should check this file. You do not need to be root in order to access it, but writing to it might be a different story.
Also, not sure if there is any other files that act the same on a linux based OS, but at any rate we can always check all of those files.
Any suggestions on improving this are welcome.
Also the app called "Ad Free android" needs root access, meaning that it most likely changes the hosts file in order to achieve its goal.
My code for this issue is thusly: -
try {
if (InetAddress.getByName("a.admob.com").getHostAddress().equals("127.0.0.1") ||
InetAddress.getByName("mm.admob.com").getHostAddress().equals("127.0.0.1") ||
InetAddress.getByName("p.admob.com").getHostAddress().equals("127.0.0.1") ||
InetAddress.getByName("r.admob.com").getHostAddress().equals("127.0.0.1")) {
//Naughty Boy - Punishing code goes here.
// In my case its a dialog which goes to the pay-for version
// of my application in the market once the dialog is closed.
}
} catch (UnknownHostException e) { } //no internet
Hope that helps.
As developers, we need to do the difficult job of empathizing with the users and find a middle ground between punishing the few who try to take advantage and the many who play by the rules. Mobile advertising is a reasonable way to allow someone to use a functional piece of software for free. The users who employ ad blocking techniques could be considered lost revenue, but if you take a look at the big picture, can also be those who spread the word about your application if they like it. A more gentle approach to running on systems with ads blocked is to display your own "house" ad. Create one or more banner images and display them in the same spot as your normal ad with an ImageView of the same height (e.g. 50dp). If you successfully receive an ad, then set your ImageView's visibility to View.GONE. You can even create a timer to cycle through several house ads to get the user's attention. Clicking on your ad can take the user to the market page to buy the full version.
Can you check to see if the ad loaded in your app?
Ad blockers work by preventing your app from downloading data. You could check the content length of the data in your ad frame to make sure there is data there.
If there is no data throw up a message and exit or warn you with an email.
It might not be as big an issue as you think since only a small percentage of people block ads.
The top two answers help you with only a particular (if, probably, the most popular) method of blocking ads. Root users can also block ads with a firewall on the device. WiFi users can block ads with an upstream firewall.
I suggest:
Don't reward ad-blocking users. Ensure that your layout reserves part of the display for an ad even if one can't be loaded. Or if you have a full-screen ad that plays for a bit, ensure that your app waits for a bit even if the ad can't be played. If you use notifications as adverts (you scum), notify the user when you fail to get such an advert. This could be read as "annoy all of your users", but your normal users know what they're getting, and your ad-blocking 'users' aren't wanted.
Ask ad-blockers to stop. The less proftable an industry that supplies what a user wants, the less that industry will supply what the user had wanted. An individual developer will find that he makes more money serving other users. You know this, and your users will think it obvious after you tell them, but it's still an economic argument - it's not intuitive. Have a backup ad that says something like, "This is my job. If you don't pay me, I'll get another one, and you won't get more apps like this from me."
There is nothing you can do that your users can't do better.
The only thing that comes to mind as remotely effective is to make the ads an inextricable part of the program, so that if they're blocked the user cannot make sense of/interact with the application.
Rather than checking for individual software installed or modified hosts file, my approach is using an AdListener like this and, if the ad fails to load due to NETWORK_ERROR, I just fetch some random always-online page (for the kicks, apple.com) and check if the pages loads successfully.
If so, boom goes the app.
To add some code, listener class would be something like:
public abstract class AdBlockerListener implements AdListener {
#Override
public void onFailedToReceiveAd(Ad arg0, ErrorCode arg1) {
if (arg1.equals(ErrorCode.NETWORK_ERROR)) {
try {
URL url = new URL("http://www.apple.com/");
URLConnection conn = url.openConnection();
BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(conn.getInputStream()));
reader.readLine();
onAdBlocked();
} catch (IOException e) {}
}
}
public abstract void onAdBlocked();
}
And then each activity with an adView would do something like:
AdView adView = (AdView) findViewById(R.id.adView);
adView.setAdListener(new AdBlockerListener() {
#Override
public void onAdBlocked() {
AlertDialog ad = new AlertDialog.Builder(CalendarView.this)
.setMessage("nono")
.setCancelable(false)
.setNegativeButton("OK", new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
System.exit(1);
}
})
.show();
}
});
I think it depends on the content provider for the ads. I know the AdMob SDK provides a callback when an ad request fails. I suspect that you might be able to register for this, then check for a connection in the callback - if there is a connection and you did not receive an ad - take note, if it happens more than once or twice, chances are likely your ads are being blocked. I have not worked with the AdSense for Mobile toolset from Google but it wouldn't surprise me if there was a similar callback mechanism.
There are two ways for a user to by pass a advertisement:
1) Use app without internet on.
2) With rooted phone and modified host file.
I made two tools that you can implement, see code below.
checkifonline(); is for problem 1:
public void checkifonline() {
boolean haveConnectedWifi = false;
boolean haveConnectedMobile = false;
ConnectivityManager cm = (ConnectivityManager) getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
NetworkInfo[] netInfo = cm.getAllNetworkInfo();
for (NetworkInfo ni : netInfo) {
if (ni.getTypeName().equalsIgnoreCase("WIFI"))
if (ni.isConnected())
haveConnectedWifi = true;
if (ni.getTypeName().equalsIgnoreCase("MOBILE"))
if (ni.isConnected())
haveConnectedMobile = true;
}
if(haveConnectedWifi==false && haveConnectedMobile==false){
// TODO (could make massage and than finish();
}
}
adblockcheck(); is for problem 2
private void adblockcheck() {
BufferedReader in = null;
boolean result = true;
try
{
in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(
new FileInputStream("/etc/hosts")));
String line;
while ((line = in.readLine()) != null)
{
if (line.contains("admob"))
{
result = false;
break;
}
}
} catch (UnknownHostException e) { }
catch (IOException e) {e.printStackTrace();}
if(result==false){
// TODO (could make massage and than finish();
}
}
This is an extension of a previous answer. The user has informed me that the app they are using is called AdFree Android. It can be found on the market. The app says it works by "nullifying requests to known hostnames serving ads."
I suggest that if you monetize any of your apps with ads, you check at startup for this program and give the user a nasty message, then terminate your app.
First, let me say that I believe that Ad Blocking, when it comes to applications, is actually a form of piracy. These apps are supported by the ads, and sometimes, a "paid license" to turn off ads and/or add features. By blocking ads, users are stealing potential revenue from the developer that took the time to create the app that you are using.
Anyhow, I want to add a way to help prevent the use of Ad Blockers. I use this method and I do not allow users to use the app if I detect an ad blocker. People get very angry and will give you poor ratings for it. But I also state very clearly in my applications descriptions that you will not be able to use the app if you have an adblocker.
I use the package manager to check if a specific package is installed. While this will not get all of the adblockers, if you keep "up to date" on some of the popular ones, you can get most of them.
PackageManager pm = activity.getPackageManager ();
Intent intent = pm.getLaunchIntentForPackage ( "de.ub0r.android.adBlock" );
if ( Reflection.isPackageInstalled ( activity, intent ) ) {
// they have adblock installed
}
Give your users a way to use the app without the ads. I personally find ads one of the most annoying things that could possibly happen on my computer, and I will gladly pay for an application if it spares me the insult of having ads thrown into my face. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I'm sure this answer won't be entirely popular with certain segments of developers, however consider if you fall into this category that perhaps your app doesn't deserve to exist on the app store. Please note that these are all implementable as code changes, no hackery or spyware like behavior required.
Basically, change the economics of your app. The User is Always Right - this is the attitude taken by one of the most successful advertising companies ever (Google). If your ads are being blocked by users, its because you suck, not because ads or ad-blockers suck.
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_User_is_Always_Right.html?id=gLjPMUjVvs0C
Make ads less annoying and in-your-face. Users react to poor/annoying advertisement, and the seedier your app looks and becomes, the more likely they are to ditch it anyways. I don't mind apps with ads in them as long as they aren't significantly impeding the functionality, and even better I like ads which are relevant to me. (http://www.nngroup.com/articles/most-hated-advertising-techniques/)
To detect that ads aren't being loaded, its not necessary to implement the spyware like activities mentioned by previous posters. Load an ad that has a confirmation code, and every once in awhile, insert a prompt asking for the confirmation code. The code doesn't have to be long or annoying, in fact it'd be enough to implement a captcha service with 3 or 4 letters/numbers.
(http://textcaptcha.com/api)
In addition to detecting failure of ads to load, make better ads. Instead of using an API like mobads (Do you even realize how seedy that sounds? Mobs? Really? Are we developers, the Russian Mafia?), enter a partnership with an ad company that allows you to embed ads directly from your app. It will make your overall app larger to install, and no, you can't guard against manual modification, but the changes suggested above don't guard against that either. And this will better support any paid versions of your app, which will be much more lightweight (and faster).
Thoroughly vet the ads you are displaying to the user, be open and transparent about your ad policies, and even allow users to inspect your ads and ad sources. The primary reason I'm ever concerned about ads is not because I hate ads, but because I worry that the poor quality developer responsible for this app is letting in viruses or other malware as well. Ask that an exception be made to the installed adblocker. Team up with ad blockers like AdBlock to get on their exceptions list. If you are a legit application, this shouldn't be a problem.
(http://www.cio.com/article/699970/6_Ways_to_Defend_Against_Drive_by_Downloads?page=1&taxonomyId=3089)
I re-iterate: all of the above changes are things you can legitimately do in code to prevent anti-ad behaviors. Ads are blocked for security reasons and visceral reactions, primarily, and sometimes bandwidth and performance, so make sure your ads don't invoke any of these problems, at the code level.
Finally I did want to touch on what Borealid said, which I re-iterated above; in the end it is a 'cat and mouse' game, because the user has ultimate authority and responsibility, both legally and morally, over their own property. A user can do whatever, including directly modify code on the fly. Of course, there are restrictions you can implement etc. but there are always ways to get around the problem. This is the ultimate problem (technically) with DRM (which is what you're trying to do). Rather than waste time and effort on this game, it is better to encourage users to keep ads around; they'll become your best, smartest anti-ad-blockers, for free.
For the case when there is no internet connection, I have followed this
tutorial
and I've build a "network state listener" like so:
private BroadcastReceiver mConnReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver()
{
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
boolean noConnectivity = intent.getBooleanExtra(ConnectivityManager.EXTRA_NO_CONNECTIVITY, false);
if (noConnectivity == true)
{
Log.d(TAG, "No internet connection");
image.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
else
{
Log.d(TAG, "Interet connection is UP");
image.setVisibility(View.GONE);
add.loadAd(new AdRequest());
}
}
};
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
//other stuff
private ImageView image = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.banner_main);
private AdView add = (AdView) findViewById(R.id.ad_main);
add.setAdListener(new AdListener());
}
#Override
protected void onResume()
{
registerReceiver(mConnReceiver, new IntentFilter(ConnectivityManager.CONNECTIVITY_ACTION));
super.onResume();
}
#Override
protected void onPause()
{
unregisterReceiver(mConnReceiver);
super.onPause();
}
registerReceiver and unregisterReceiver have to be called in onResume and onPause respectively, as described here.
In your layout xml set up the AdView and an ImageView of your own choice, like so:
<com.google.ads.AdView xmlns:googleads="http://schemas.android.com/apk/lib/com.google.ads"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:id="#+id/ad_main"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
googleads:adSize="BANNER"
googleads:adUnitId="#string/admob_id" />
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/banner_main"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_width="379dp"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:visibility="gone"
android:background="#drawable/banner_en_final" />
Now, whenever the internet connection is available the ad will display and when its off the ImageView will pop-up, and vice-versa. This must be done in every activity in which you want ads to display.
As well as checking if admob can be resolved, what I do is present a page that basically advises that I have detected an adblocker, state that i understand the possible reasons why, then show some inbuilt ads of my own apps and ask for their kind support for continued development. :)
Related
I am stuck with a functionality of the Firebase SDK (Auth package) regarding the Scenes and it's integration. Here's how they work:
1st: Loading Scene
Here, I just added the FirebaseInit code EXACTLY as suggested by Patrick, which it's only function is to call the next scene (Login/Register) once everything loads correctly.
2nd: Login/Register Scene
Here I do all the Login AND ALSO the register logic. I set up a button that alternates between the two (Activating the respective parent gameObject within the Canvas). Once the user log's in, the 3rd scene comes into play.
3rd: App's Main Screen Scene
Main Screen of the app, where the user can LOGOUT and return to the Login Scene.
Problem
I added the 'LoadSceneWhenUserAuthenticated.cs' in the 2nd Scene, and it works (kind of).
It actually does what it is supposed to. If I log in, quit the game without loging out, and open it again, it does come back directly to the 3rd scene. BUT some things are happening and they aren't supposed to.
First
When I Sign Up a user, I call the method 'CreateUserWithEmailAndPasswordAsync()'. Once it completes, it should activate the login screen and stay there, waiting for the user to fill in the password, but the 'FirebaseAuth.DefaultInstance.StateChanged' comes into play and forces the 3rd screen to be loaded, skipping several other steps that should be taken (email registration for example).
Second
As I mentioned in the end of number 1 above, if I try to log in to an account that does not have it's email verified, it works! (due to the 'LoadSceneWhenUserAuthenticated.cs' which is added in the scene). Code:
var LoginTask = auth.SignInWithEmailAndPasswordAsync(_email, _password);
LoginTask.ContinueWithOnMainThread(task =>
{
if (task.IsCanceled || task.IsFaulted)
{
Firebase.FirebaseException e =
task.Exception.Flatten().InnerExceptions[0] as Firebase.FirebaseException;
GetErrorMessage((AuthError)e.ErrorCode, warningLoginText);
return;
}
if (task.IsCompleted)
{
User = LoginTask.Result;
if (User.IsEmailVerified == true)
{
UIControllerLogin.instance.MainScreenScene();
}
else
{
warningLoginText.text = Lean.Localization.LeanLocalization.GetTranslationText($"Login/VerifyEmail");
}
I know that it's possible to fix this issue by adding an extra scene just before the login scene (as Patrick does in the youtube video) but it doesn't make any sense in my app. It would actually only harm the UX of it.
Patrick's Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52yUcKLMKX0&t=264s
I'm glad my video helped!
My architecture won't work for every game, and I tried to boil it down to the bare minimum to get folks started. You may be able to get the functionality you want by adding an additional check in HandleAuthStateChanged:
private void HandleAuthStateChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (_auth.CurrentUser != null && !_auth.CurrentUser.IsAnonymous && _auth.CurrentUser.IsEmailVerified)
{
SceneManager.LoadScene(_sceneToLoad);
}
}
but it does sound like, at this point, you'll want to build out a more robust registration/sign in flow that fits your use case.
If you need more help, I might suggest re-posting on the community mailing list or the subreddit. Those resources may be more better suited to discussing various pros/cons of different architectures or spitballing ideas (and feel free to link to any new posts in a comment so myself or others interested can follow along).
When I try to load an interstitial with inmobi.com and most of the times I get the error "ad request successful but no ad served". Why is this happening? Any solution for this? It works well with testing ads when set to "Test mode" in the website. Will this be because inmobi has not enough providers to display ads at that moment?
I asked Inmobi support page but they don't answer. I am starting to regret moving from admob to inmobi.
This is the code I use:
JSONObject consentObject = new JSONObject();
try {
consentObject.put(InMobiSdk.IM_GDPR_CONSENT_AVAILABLE, true); // Provide correct consent value to sdk which is obtained by User
consentObject.put("gdpr", "1"); // Provide 0 if GDPR is not applicable and 1 if applicable
//consentObject.put(InMobiSdk.IM_GDPR_CONSENT_IAB, “<<consent in IAB format>>”); // Provide user consent in IAB format
} catch (JSONException e) {
}
InMobiSdk.init(this, "My InMobi Account ID here", consentObject);
long MyPlacementID = 1234566789L; //My Placement ID here as long
mInterstitialAd = new InMobiInterstitial(this, MyPlacementID, new InterstitialAdEventListener() {
#Override
public void onAdLoadSucceeded(InMobiInterstitial inMobiInterstitial) {
super.onAdLoadSucceeded(inMobiInterstitial);
if (inMobiInterstitial.isReady()) {
mInterstitialAd.show();
}
#Override
public void onAdLoadFailed(InMobiInterstitial inMobiInterstitial, InMobiAdRequestStatus inMobiAdRequestStatus) {
sError = inMobiAdRequestStatus.getMessage();
Here I get error: "ad request successful but no ad served"
}
I emailed the support team and they answered that is shown if they don't have any ad to be displayed (maybe for my location or for my time). So, it is just that they run out of ads to be displayed. If I try it many many times then I may get one ad. So it is a server problem. Not enough clients to pay for ads. It is a pity.
I was having the same issue.I tried different ways to get the test ads.But everything was in vein.Then i went through their documentation and found that we need to set up a layout for ad placement.There is an option to customize that.Click on save and then add your device id in the testing devices section, you will see test ads coming up.I found this one from an article where it said "If you set banner sizes different from those provided by default, the SDK will refuse to load data and will issue a corresponding message to the log:
[InMobi]: Failed to fetch ad for placement id: 201901231449, reason phrase available in onAdLoadFailed callback.
And the message “Ad request successful but no ad served” with the code “NO_FILL” appears in the listener's method. Hence our expert advice: always redefine the listener's methods which are responsible for errors. Acting such a way, you'll avoid many difficulties later."
https://agilie.com/en/blog/how-to-integrate-inmobi-sdk-to-start-monetizing-your-android-app
Contradicting answer to #Ton's answer.
All the ad servers work in the following manner. Advertisers pay for ads with specific targetted audiences. So whenever you ask an ad network to provide an ad it actually checks if they have an ad for which targeting is matched with the current user (for ex. area, gender, age as and when available). If they don't have any ad which can be shown to the current user then they will fire NO_FILL.
Also, specific to InMobi, they don't provide many ads on emulators so try on a physical device to get ads.
I want to get all connected players to game. I can get players that are in google+ circles but I want the player to get all users. I can't find what permission do I need to do this.
I am using this code to get players, but it always returns 0.
PendingResult<LoadPlayersResult> players = Games.Players.loadConnectedPlayers(mGoogleApiClient, false);
players.setResultCallback(new ResultCallback<Players.LoadPlayersResult>()
{
#Override
public void onResult(LoadPlayersResult result)
{
PlayerBuffer buf = result.getPlayers();
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "players"+buf.getCount(), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
this had been pre-announced and then announced a while ago already and method .loadConnectedPlayers() had been deprecated... which merely boils down to, that Google+ had been separated from Play Games and the functionality you are looking for is not available anymore.
in order to get a list of connected players, you would have to use your own API now. Just seen the question is old and had been posted before the announce - nevertheless this appears to be the current status.
Lately, I have been trying to add static interstitial ads into my Unity game. For some reason, I could not get the system to show anything, or even react to me. After trying to work with the base Chartboost plugin, I tried to match a tutorial that I was following and purchased Prime31's Chartboost plugin and have been using that. However, neither the base plugin, nor Prime31's plugin, seem to be allowing me to show any ads. The code is pretty much done inside a single object, and it seems simple enough.
public class Advertisement : MonoBehaviour {
public string chartboostAppID = "5461129ec909a61e38b1505b";
public string chartboostAppSignature = "672b3b34e3e358e7a003789ddc36bd2bc49ea3b5";
// Use this for initialization
void Start () {
DontDestroyOnLoad(this.gameObject);
ChartboostAndroid.init (chartboostAppID, chartboostAppSignature, true);
ChartboostAndroid.cacheInterstitial(null);
}
void OnLevelWasLoaded(int level) {
ChartboostAndroid.cacheInterstitial(null);
if(Application.loadedLevelName == "Network Lobby") {
showAds();
}
}
public static void showAds() {
Debug.Log("Showing ad");
ChartboostAndroid.showInterstitial(null);
}
}
As you can see, it's pretty straightforward. This object is created at the game's splash screen, which appears only once, and it's never destroyed until the program ends. The goal is, whenever I enter the lobby scene, I want to see an ad before going to the lobby's menus. As it is, I do see the log printing "Showing ad", so I know the function is being called. However, nothing appears. Do I need to disable the GUI system first? Is there a step I'm missing?
I have already performed the following steps:
I have created and registered the app with chartboost, as well as double and triple checked the AppID and App Signature.
I have created a publishing campaign and registered it to the app.
I double-checked the orientation and confirmed that it's correct.
I registered this specific device as a test device.
The tutorial showed a call to ChartBoostAndroid.OnStart(), but there was no function like that for me to call. Perhaps that is from an older version?
I emailed Chartboost support and have not heard from them yet. I do not have that much time on this project, so if anyone can offer help, I'd appreciate it.
there a lot of q&a about how users can rate my app within the app,
but i need just a direct link to review\rate my app to send the user by mail and not to my app page in the market because there he need to cilck review then login and then write the review and this is exhausting and not user friendly.
tnx
In order not to disturb the user with annoying forms you can add a menu item that let the user rate the application through your application site in google play. After the user click in this option, this should not been showed again (even if the user did not rate the app at the end). This solution is quite user friendly, in my opinion.
Add a menu item like this (in res\menu[menu].xml):
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
(other options...)
<item android:id="#+id/MenuRateApp" android:title="#string/menu_Rate_app"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_star"></item>
</menu>
In your main activity add the following in order to hide the option once the user has already rated your app:
#Override
public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu)
{
MenuItem register = menu.findItem(R.id.MenuRateApp);
if(fApp.isRated()) {
register.setVisible(false);
}
return true;
}
Change the fApp.isRated() for a method or variable that keep a boolean saying if the user already rated the app (write and read this value using the sharedPreferences mechanism).
The code to redirect the user to your app site in Google Play could be like the following:
private boolean MyStartActivity(Intent aIntent) {
try {
startActivity(aIntent);
return true;
} catch (ActivityNotFoundException e) {
return false;
}
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
(other options code...)
if (item.getItemId() == R.id.MenuRateApp) {
//Try Google play
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setData(Uri.parse("market://details?id="+getPackageName()));
if (MyStartActivity(intent) == false) {
//Market (Google play) app seems not installed, let's try to open a webbrowser
intent.setData(Uri.parse("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id="+getPackageName()));
if (MyStartActivity(intent) == false) {
//Well if this also fails, we have run out of options, inform the user.
Toast.makeText(this, this.getString(R.string.error_no_google_play), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}
//Do not disturb again (even if the user did not rated the app in the end)
fApp.setRated(true);
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
Hope this solution feets your requirements.
Note: part of the code has been borrowed from this site:
http://martin.cubeactive.com/android-how-to-create-a-rank-this-app-button/
Example:
The premise from where you start, saying that rating an app is exhausting and not user friendly is not applicable because the user should only rate your app when he is willing to "donate" 30 seconds of his life to rate your app. There is a minimal responsibility involved when rating other people work.
The farthest I'd go, since there are also ethics involved, is providing a button in the About section of my app with a link to the Market app screen containing my app, using an Intent to the market (search StackOverflow). Other apps constantly ask a user to rate... I find it bothersome, but at least they are not pushing me right into the Edit and star Views of the Market.
The question you need to ask yourself: do you need to disrupt the user experience of your app by automatically stopping the activity and displaying this "oh-my-gosh-rate-my-app" view in the Market app?
You don't need to push the user into that situation... chances are you will end up with more low ratings than good ratings. I'd take one star just because of that. :-)
Personally, I wouldn't do it and leave the way it is. My 2 cents, of course.
Based on a similar question I posted, the desired answer I was looking for was
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id= + your.package.name
This should be what you're looking for if a link is what you have in mind. The first part is the default starter, and the second part will be your package name.