how to prevent our application from the jail breaking

murali.lancer

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Hi all ,i have a android application which is ready to release .so to release i have put the app in android market .the user can buy the app and can install the app into the phone.android market wont provide any apk file to the user .so normally we need not bother about re distribution of of the app to the unauthorized persons(who didn't buy the app).


But what my problem is ,I heard that there is a jail breaking concept which can allow the hacker to get the apk file(installation file) from the device .(even though android market not giving the apk file to the user ).

then he can distribute the apk file to all(to unauthorized persons ).how to avoid it.is there any thing to restrict the unauthorized person in using our app,even though he get the apk file .

does android market provides the details of the users who has buy the app by paying ?
like his IMEI number or his gmail account , or etc;


its very urgent if any body knows pls give me any idea .

thanks and regards

Murali dhuli
 

rip14

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does android market provides the details of the users who has buy the app by paying ?
like his IMEI number or his gmail account , or etc;

I hope not. I do not want developers to have my info.

Anyways, software piracy is a fact of life. Get used to it. If you program is good enough, people will pay for it. There will ALWAYS be a small percentage of people out there that will try to get everything for free.
 

Cory Streater

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Unfortunately I think rip14 is correct.

As far as making your application more bullet proof from piracy, I would think this would be an active topic in the Google development forums. I'm pretty sure an app like Docs2Go uses a combination of your email address, and device ID to authenticate your install. Maybe you could do something like that.

My mentality is to pay for all apps, because I'm betting the developer will continue to enhance and improve those apps. Plus I don't need any more bad karma than I already have.
 

clr007

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The easiest way to ensure that piracy for your app is kept to a minimum would be to build a good app, and then not charge people an arm and a leg for it.

It's all about perceived value. If people feel they're getting an outstanding app with great features at a bargain price, then most won't even care about paying for it. And then, quite frankly, your time will be better spent adding new features to make the app better and providing user support to round out the "experience". The handful of people who pirate the app won't be worth the trouble you'll go through to make it harder for them to do it.

rip14 is correct-- piracy is a fact of life, and all developers eventually accept it. It doesn't mean you have to like it-- just accept that it will occur and that the reward from attempting to prevent it generally isn't worth the effort you'll have to go through in most cases.
 

Roberts.Tyler3289

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i honestly don't think it really matters what you do. I personally have taken apk files for free apps on the market and paid apps, and incorporated them into a rom for personal use only, but either way if i can do it anyone with root access can. I would Have to agree clr007, trying to prevent it really isn't worth the effort
 
R

Roy Aguilera

There has to be a way. I recall a couple of apps that show up as private when you try to back them up. You should do some research. However as many have said piracy will happen. It's inevitable.
 

Jerry Hildenbrand

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Problem is that even the private apps are pretty easy to backup. About 5 minutes after Twidroid gets updated, twitter is full of links to the paid app for free. I'm sure other popular apps are the same way.

Backing up is a good thing for apps you've paid for. It's a bad thing when people take the backup and pass it around. Software piracy is a fact of life as everyone above has said. Problem is that Android makes it too easy. Big developers like EA or Glu can consider it as just the cost of doing business, but the smaller operations like the OP are faced with a serious problem.

I think Google needs to implement some sort of key that's tied to your account that apps look for when they are run. When an app is installed from the market it could generate some data based on the key, and after that it won't run unless the data matches. This way nobody gets any more info about us, but the developers have at least a token amount of OS support for anti-piracy.
 

mjesenovec

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this is where it gets interesting though. I would much rather pirate a $100 windows application instead of an android app. If i know i'm going to use an app often, i'll pay the 1.99 or 4.99 if it's worth it to me, but i wouldn't be tempted to bootleg it. I dont mind throwing out a few bucks for an app i know i'm going to use.

On the other hand, look at how many bands, companies, software solutions wouldn't be nearly as popular if it wasn't for piracy? I cant even begin to imagine the bands i would have never heard of if i never received a bootleg copy years ago. Like it or not, media piracy provides free exposure for the developers/companies. If 10,000 people pirate your software, you shouldn't just be mad that you got screwed out of $$$. If that many people made the effort to pirate your product, that means you created a product that people WANT, which is half the battle. some people try bootlegs of programs, cd, etc. before they buy. so lets say 10% of the 10k pirates actually go back later and buy the program. You say you missed out on 9,000 sales, i say you made 1,000 that you might not have had otherwise. it just depends on the product, the pricing, and how useful your app is.
 
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Jerry Hildenbrand

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I'll agree. Like everyone else, I've pirated Photoshop and used it. If it were something I needed to keep and run everyday, then I'd buy it. I'm not going to do the same with an app that's only a buck or two. But there's some people out there that have an entire market mirror of paid apps, and they keep it updated. That's too much IMO.

The second part of your post is interesting. I wonder if Pure Cal/Messages or Beautiful Widgets actually gets more sales because everyone gets to try a bootleg and likes it? Never thought about applying that theory to Androids Market.
 

IzelTokatl

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The only thing I can think of, which I HATE, is setting your app up with DRM. On first load you make the program call home to validate its been purchased against your database of paid users. You can just have as stated above a key generated per each user. You obviously need a backend server to manage the database, and most tech users will generally hate you for using DRM. Most average users wont even notice.

make sure you have a FREE/lite version, and then a full more robust paid version. most people who enjoy the app from daily use will pay a buck or two easily because its cheap enough.

If the app is cheap enough, i'd pay for it, but if it's costing $500 (as stated above photoshop!?) i'd pirate it or hack it :)
 

Jared DiPane

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This is where the pins from BB comes in handy. Altho there are ways around that much the same. Very few apps are well protected, I can't imagine how much time, effort and money people put into it, and then the app is still cracked.

Sad fact of life, some will always look for ways to save $1