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In-app billing coupons

We are going to release an application on the Android Market, with an In-app Billing subscription for a subscription, which will unlock certain features during the subscription period.

Now my boss wants me to implement a different amount of subscription < for free in the sense that:

  • Happy User downloads and installs the application from the Android Market, like any other client (always free to install, but premium features require payment via In-app Billing).
  • A "happy user" receives some kind of key via email, which allows him or her not to go through the In-app Billing process (i.e. actually pay).
  • The key can be used only once.
  • Entering a key through a menu item allows you to sign up for X months, as if it actually paid through In-app Billing.

The "key" basically acts as a coupon, but I did not find such an option in the Publisher Console .

Do you know any such function or an easy way to implement the above without duplicating the database of clients on our server (publishers)?

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2 answers

I really dived into this topic, perhaps 2, 3 months ago. I came to the conclusion that there is currently no way to configure this system without using your own server.

Creating unique coupon codes and using them when using is quite simple. Let the user enter the code, send a POST request to your server, hash the code both on the client side and on the server side and see if they match. Then shut down the server and configure it. However, this makes your application vulnerable to piracy (if it is not already); if you have a high-profile application, be sure to perform security checks (for example, check SSL certificates to prevent a man in the middle attack).

The tough part is restoring previously purchased “free” ones when users reinstall your application or change their phones / firmware. To do this, you will need a stable and reliable (cross-device) form of identification (for example, access to the main Google user account on the phone). If you use user-provided emails, it's too easy to simply enter someone else's email address. If you used a coupon system, I would advise against restoring the “free” ones.

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yuo can add a screen for entering coupons.
and the user can go in there and insert his code, and if he is faithful, you can give him whatever you want.

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