This week, I'd like to throw something out for discussion. These are ideas that have come up in the course of real life discussions with other app developers. I need to preface this by saying that I have not implemented any of these ideas, and that I'm only putting the ideas out there to encourage you to think about and discuss alternatives.
It surprises me that in an ecosystem of 99 cent apps, piracy rates are still incredibly high. For this article the assumption is that as an iOS developer, you are able to detect at runtime, if your app has been pirated. There are multiple ways to do this, but the technical details of which are not required for this article so I'm going to skip them.
One of the requirements to install a pirated version of an iOS app on a device, is that the device needs to be jailbroken. If the device has been jailbroken, then certain security features will have been disabled. This makes it possible for apps to do things on the device, that Apple doesn't allow under normal circumstances.
This means, that a normally well behaved app, could be made to 'go rogue' when it detects that it has been stolen by the user. For instance, a stolen version of your app, could make a phone call to a charge per call phone number that charges the cost of the app to the users phone bill, therefore recovering the cost of the app for the developer. Similarly, the app could send a premium text message out, also charging the cost to the user's phone bill.
Now, I'm not proposing that you actually build this into your apps, as it's almost definitely the wrong way to go about building up your business1. As iOS developers, is it not part of our job to educate users on the dangers of using pirated apps? The above ideas can be used in the same way we've warned against pirating desktop apps due to the dangers of viruses and other malware. Common users should be encouraged to live in Apple's walled garden as is indeed a great place for users and developers to be.
1 A user that has pirated your app is still a potential customer and needs to be treated as such.
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Tags: iDevBlogADay, iOS, App Store, Apple, Discussion
This discussion here is on the same topic - about a .99$ app which has been ripped off - as you can see everyone has a different opinion towards the subject :
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3550556/ive-found-my-software-as-cracked-download-on-internet-what-to-do
Sorry for the second comment, but here's the story about how people prefer to steal the software instead of paying 0.01$ (yes that's 1 cent) : http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/05/Saving-a-penny----pirating-the-Humble-Indie-Bundle
While I am with you completely in regards to piracy, I cannot agree with the concept we should encourage people to "live in Apple's walled garden". In fact, I'm completely against it.
Sure, the walled garden is nice for us developers due to the built-in protections it provides for our applications against being copied/pirated. However, the benefit is really only on our side of the fence. Apple & us developers get the benefits at the expense of the iPhone user's ability to utilise the their hardware the way they want to.
For example, take the restrictions Apple imposes on the iPad and iPhone for basic (i.e. non-technical) functionality. No "widgets", no ability to download/run scripts or script-able apps, and applications/media filtered based on pressure applied to Apple as opposed to what is legally allowed &/or morally acceptable in our country.
We've all read the stories by now (there are many to choose from), so we know who the walled garden is for. I have always sucked at being the sales guy, so perhaps it is deemed "OK" in marketing to be working against a customer's best interests. It doesn't work for me though.
If the restrictions imposed by Apple on what we can develop were removed, perhaps I'd be with you. I'm all for a application piracy protection built into the platform... but it sucks that the most useful/cool applications I have on my iPad require me to build from source and install using a developer certificate as opposed to being purchasable from the AppStore. The walled garden is not necessarily the best place to be and I think telling customers it is would be a disservice to the people paying for my development work.
I think making phone calls could lead your app to be rejected or removed from the AppStore if Apple discovers this or is told about this.
If your app is a game that supports unlocking features as the player progresses in the game, maybe a screen telling that only official versions can unlock the feature could be a way to "force" people to buy your app if they really enjoy it.
The ad version is a good way to go too.
Remember that removing the "standard" protection on apps is quick and easy, even by teenagers (that call themselves "hackers") with no technical skills (many sites explain how to do this). Cracking an app that embed code to lock features could be a highly more challenging task, even if it's not too hard for a skilled programmer with good tools. Anyway it could prevent your app from appearing on pirate site on the first day you release it. If your app worth it, it will be cracked sooner or later.
PLEASE PLEASE finally get that there is a difference between between jailbreaking and piracy.
I'm a developer and ALL of my devices are jailbroken if other developers start blocking jailbroken devices from running their apps they are being very stupid as that forces the jailbroken devices to ONLY use the cracked version of the app with all the checks removed.
""Common users should be encouraged to live in Apple's walled garden as is indeed a great place for users and developers to be.""
NO, users should be encouraged to jailbreak EVERYTHING, but then buy apps from the appstore and cydia store (yes there are actually payed system modifications that are only available to jailbroken devices).
an iOS developer, you are able to detect at runtime, if your app has been pirated. There are multiple ways to do this
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"For instance, a stolen version of your app, could make a phone call to a charge per call phone number that charges the cost of the app to the users phone bill, therefore recovering the cost of the app for the developer. Similarly, the app could send a premium text message out, also charging the cost to the user's phone bill."
What you suggest as actions could get you bad press, if not legal trouble as well -- if someone commits a crime against you, it doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want to them. In your scenario, what if the user is travelling abroad and the charges are much higher than you expected? Now you've stolen from them, on balance.
It's much better to either a) accept that thieves aren't going to pay for apps, so stolen software isn't lost sales in any meaningful way, or b) do something non-destructive such as switching the app to the ad-supported version.