Tell me more ×
Game Development Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional and independent game developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

Is it possible for me as an developer/owner of my paid app (released on the Google Play market) to unlock its full version for specific user?

share|improve this question
Why not just send him/her your APK? – Sidar Jan 24 at 22:55
1. I do not trust him, he can uppload this app somewhere for everyone. 2. If I update an app he will not get na update. – EOG Jan 24 at 23:03
1  
Is this really related to game development? – Alex M. Jan 25 at 14:50
Would go much better on Android.SE (sorry, I forgot to finish my message - I blame the lack of sleep). – Alex M. Jan 25 at 15:52

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

It's been discussed on the Google forums. Basically, there isn't a really easy option, but the options discussed in the thread are:

  1. Buy gift cards and give the gift card codes to user to purchase your app. Issues: You'll lose money on this transaction and the user is not required to buy your app, potentially losing you even more.
  2. Create a free version of the app that can accept an unlock code to be upgraded to the full version. Issues: If you don't already have something like this in place, it'll be a good deal of work to get implemented. The unlock codes would be single/limited use, so that would require a server for validation. That adds additional cost to this scenario.

The quickest and easiest of the two is to use the gift cards. But the most suitable for long term is the unlock codes. An additional benefit of the unlock codes is having the infrastructure in place for any future apps you develop. (Or maybe selling the library to other developers).

share|improve this answer
Also, nothing stops the user from publishing the unlock code. – Jari Komppa Jan 25 at 12:31
@JariKomppa, unlocking might involve server side validation, but that is even more work. – Kimi Jan 25 at 13:04
if the server side validation existed, you might as well just unlock for the device, without requiring any code input.. – Jari Komppa Jan 25 at 13:25
@JariKomppa The codes can be single use, with server side validation. If server side validation existed, you'd still have to know which device to unlock, the easiest way to do that would be unlocking the one requesting an unlock with a valid code. – Byte56 Jan 25 at 15:20

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.