Our app has been lucky enough to be pre-installed on some phones but it has in-app purchases. We have some customization so we don’t want it to appear in the Play store. How do I make that work with Google Play Billing services, but not have it show up in the Play store?
As per official docs
To test in-app billing, you need to publish your app to an alpha or
beta channel in Google Play.
You will have to publish to play store. However you can either publish it publicly or to a private channel. If your app is built for enterprise, you can publish it using a private channel. Here's more about it:
https://support.google.com/a/answer/2494992?hl=en
That ways your app wont be public on play store and you may still be able to implement in app purchase - not sure about it yet but you may want to check.
You may also check publishing to beta/alpha channels or trying out an alternative payment solution based on what you plan to sell as described here
Alternative in-app-purchase methods for Android
Related
I am developing Xamarin.Forms application which will be used for Android and iOS. It will have access to full functionality with a paid subscription.
I researched about subscriptions policy for Play Market and App Store and they require to use their in-app billing if an application gives access to some of its functionality only with a subscription.
But if, for example, user buys the subscription in Android app and then wants to use iOS app - what is the best way to handle this? Since subscriptions are created separately on Play Market and App Store side they need to be somehow synced?
That's probably a problem that was solved a ton of times, but I can't find how to do it
This is explicitly allowed on the platforms, e.g., here's an excerpt from Apple's App Review Guidelines:
3.1.3(b) Multiplatform Services: Apps that operate across multiple platforms may allow users to access content, subscriptions, or
features they have acquired in your app on other platforms or your web
site, including consumable items in multi-platform games, provided
those items are also available as in-app purchases within the app.
As to how to do this: Basically you have to have user authentication and a backend that ties a subscription status to a user ID. Also, the backend needs to keep the subscription status up to date by refreshing the subscriptions with the stores (Apple App Store, Google Play Store).
(If you weren't using Xamarin, I'd recommend using RevenueCat for this (disclaimer: I work there), but we don't have a Xamarin SDK so I don't think
that that's a possibility)
Just wondering if someone can clear this up for me as its kind of a grey area and not sure what to do.
I have a website that is split into frontend and api and has a subscription service provided by stripe on the api. I am now making apps in ionic for both apple and google stores but Im unsure of how the payments will work on the platforms, ideally i would like to just stick to using stripe but Ive been reading about both stores and this is where I need guidance.
From what I have read it seems to be that I have to use google play billing and apples alternative. Do I have to use these for the apps going into their respective stores or can I continue to use stripe within the apps? As i see it its a multi platform saas. So why cant I just send the card info to my api for charging?(I know theres alot of security involved and its not as trivial as I make it out to be)
Ive been reading conflicting statements from multiple sites and Im just not sure which is correct and the docs on google play billing make no reference to this. Its a multiplatform service so can I just send on the card details to my api
But what I have found is that apple have this
3.1.3(b) Multiplatform Services: Apps that operate across multiple platforms may allow users to access content, subscriptions, or features they have acquired elsewhere, including consumable items in multi-platform games, provided those items are also available as in-app purchases within the app. You must not directly or indirectly target iOS users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase, and your general communications about other purchasing methods must not discourage use of in-app purchase.
Which to me states that I have to use Apple Pay and make no reference to my other payment methods for fear of being refused from the store.
I can't comment for Apple. For Google Play the best place to answer this sort of question is the Developer policy center. In the Monetization and Ads section it says
Developers offering products within another category of app downloaded on Google Play must use Google Play In-app Billing as the method of payment, except for the following cases:
Payment is solely for physical products
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).
You should read all of the linked page and decide what category the stuff you are selling falls into.
I have payoneer account and i'd like to receive payments from app into this account.
Payments are not for physical goods. They are more like app content-unblockers.
Let's focus on Android and Google Play distribution case.
I suppose, payoneer is not designed for processing quick small payments, right?
I need these:
App should be able to set price according to misc factors.
Payments should be instant without credit card entering - i guess it called "Payments from Google Wallet". E.g. if i (app user) have google account and i have payment method in Google Play, then i do not need to enter my credit card number again.
Payments should be possible independently of user location (country)
So, can I use, say, Braintree to process payments with those requirements?
Will it violate any kind of Google Play policies (the fact, that i'm processing payments not through Google)?
The same questions about iOS
For Android : You can use third party payment seamless/non-seamless as long as their sdk supports Android platform. Google doesn't stop you from choosing any payment service.
For iOS : : It's million dollar question. Always refer to latest app store review guidelines https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#purchasing-currencies
You can use third party payment gateway in iOS if you are selling physical goods/services outside of the app. For any in-app purchases you must use IAP.
For any in-app purchases if you use other purhasing mechanisms your app will be rejected.
Refer to section 3.1.1
If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than IAP.
Google play remove my account from play store. I have 20 app. Admob still generate ads revenue because that app was publish in other unknown market and i have no rights to remove that. And I continuously got mail from admob that violating our police.
I got mail is:
Hello,
This email is to alert you that one of your applications is not currently in compliance with our AdMob program policies and as a result, ad serving has been disabled to your application.
Issue ID#: *******
Ad serving has been disabled to: Video Player (com.***.*******)
Action required: Check all other remaining applications in your account for compliance.
Current account status: Active
Violation explanation
GOOGLE PLAY REMOVAL: AdMob publishers are not permitted to abuse or promote the abuse of any Google product, such as Google Play, YouTube, or Blogger. This includes circumventing, or providing the means to circumvent, the policies or terms of these or other Google products, such as by allowing users to download YouTube videos.
If your app is removed by Google Play policy enforcement, please contact Google Play about an app removal here. If Google Play reinstates your app, please submit an appeal to our team.
Action required: Check account for compliance
While ad serving has been disabled to the above app, your AdMob account remains active. We suggest that you take the time to review the rest of your applications to ensure that they’re in compliance with our policies, and to monitor your apps accordingly to reduce the likelihood of future policy emails from us. Additionally, please note that our team reserves the right to disable accounts at any time if we continue to see violations occurring.
Appeals
If you wish to appeal this disabling then you can do so by using our appeal form.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
The Google AdMob Team
How to can i remove that app ads unit id from Admob?
And How to stop this thing because its admob warning that may disable my admob account?
Any suggestion ??
You can't. You need to remove it from the app and republish the app in the other market.
At the Admob console, select the app with the ads.
check the ad you want to disable, then click < Archive >
this will give you the prompt below.
this will disable your Ads with that Ad unit ID (I hope you didn't use the same ID for all 20 of your apps).
is there any guidance for Google play Store App Review Guidelines Checklist before submit into app store.
Thanks
Before you publish your apps on Google Play and distribute them to users, you need to get the apps ready, test them, and prepare your promotional materials. Here is Google's official checklist to get your app ready for successful launch on Google Play:
Understand the Publishing Process
Understand Google Play Policies and Agreements
Test for Quality
Determine your App’s Content Rating
Determine Country Distribution
Confirm the App's Overall Size
Confirm the App's Platform and Screen Compatibility Ranges
Decide Whether your App will be Free or Priced
Consider using In-app Billing
Set Prices for your Products
Start Localization
Prepare Promotional Graphics, Screenshots, and Videos
Build and Upload the Release-ready APK
Plan a Beta Release
Complete the Apps’ Store Listing
Use Google Play Badges and Links in your Promotional Campaigns
Final Checks and Publishing
Support Users after Launch
Reference: http://developer.android.com/distribute/tools/launch-checklist.html