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have the following scenario: we have an app that users need to pay for. But we also want to sell the app bundled with a book meaning there is a code / voucher in the book that can be used to use the app for free. Unfortunately we haven't found any good way to address this scenario yet:

a) make the app a paid app and use Google / iOS Promo Codes for the books - not good, because the number of promo codes per app and quarter is limited

b) make the app itself free but require users to make an in-app purchase to access most of the content. Alternatively make it possible to enter a code to access that same content. The code comes with the book and is created and maintained by us. negatives: a lot of effort to maintain the promo codes, handle the in-app purchases and Google / Android don't like it if content within the app is paid for outside - so we could end up being rejected.

I'm really wondering: are we the first one with this need? is there maybe already a solution to this problem we are not aware of? We do not want to rip Google / Apple of their 30% share of app sales. But there doesn't seem to be a supported solution for this.

any ideas? thanks

Thomas

Thomas Schenkeli
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3 Answers3

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Welcome to SO. This could be done but i dont know if this is the optimal solution.

Make the app free and lock down at the sign-in, there give link to your play books. In the app check if the user has purchased the book using

https://developers.google.com/books/docs/v1/using

So if user pays for the book and downloads it, On the next app launch give access to him to use the app.

Shashank Degloorkar
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  • Thanks for your answer. In the app we do not want to sell / display books - only the voucher / promo code to use the app comes with a real physical book. It will enable the readers to watch additional videos and explanations in the app. So I think your proposed solution using the Google Books API is not viable. – Thomas Schenkeli Nov 07 '19 at 07:38
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You should be careful with Apple's in-app purchase guidelines, 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 use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

I think for users that purchase the book, they would need to register outside of your app (e.g. on your website). If you had some authentication system you could store a flag on the users profile if they've unlocked the book or not and give them premium access to your app upon logging in.

enc_life
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  • Thanks for your answer. Redeeming the voucher/code would need to happen outside of the app in order to no violate the Google or iOS guidelines? That would make it even more effort since we would need to introduce user accounts (we do not have user accounts or the app yet since there is no personalized content) and build and host an external web page to redeem the voucher. – Thomas Schenkeli Nov 07 '19 at 07:37
  • I just found another app that does exactly what I described as option b) in the original post: distribute vouchers with codes we generate ourselves and include an option in the app to either enter a key to redeem the voucher or make an in-app purchase. The app is "apeman" (offline hiking maps) and you can buy there maps either in the apps or via http://apemap.com/shop3/. The license keys you get in when buying a map in their store can be entered in the app - you do not have an account that the license key is connected to. – Thomas Schenkeli Nov 07 '19 at 11:52
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You can make your app free and set non-consumeable book SKU in your app.

If you want to send the promo code, you can use Google Play Console. https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2016/01/create-promo-codes-for-your-apps-and-in.html

Google only allow a small amount of promo codes per app, 500/quarter. This is because they don't want to encourage developers to sell this promo code offline. But this is still an official feature supported by Google Play. You will be totally fine as long as you're less than 500/quarter.

DrPower
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  • Hi DrPower, thanks for your answer. do you by chance know if the same applies to Apple / iOS? Meaning you are allowed to use the promo codes for that purpose as long as you are fine with the limited numbers provided? – Thomas Schenkeli Nov 11 '19 at 09:21