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"My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

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Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#51

Post by nupark2 »

asdkfj9876 wrote: post #44
patio11 wrote: post #27

Let me condense the conversation for you: Blah blah blah, free marketing, blah blah blah, wouldn't have bought it anyway, blah blah blah, DRM never works. Then you move your code to the server and this never bothers you again. This defeats piracy so well it works in China .

when did you turn into such a know-it-all patio? All I see from you is arrogant one liners for the last few months. It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.

I agree with this sentiment, but not the expression of it.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#53

Post by teamonkey »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #38
frooxie wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it says that "For every 1,000 pirated copies we eliminated, we created 1 additional sale", suggesting that piracy isn't anything to worry about, as 99.9% of pirates wouldn't have bought a copy anyway.

And with this numbers, you have to have a lot of sales/would-have-been-pirates to cover the cost of implementing and maintaining the DRM.

> Fix 1 – Existing Exploits & Keygens made obsolete – Sales up 70%

A 70% increase in sales should be enough to justify it, no?

Honestly, I think the monetary cost of implementing DRM is vastly overstated.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#54

Post by Jach »

ansy wrote: post #48
adolph wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trick is that a particular iPhone can't run around to different people's computers slurping the apps they bought on different iTunes accounts. It can only sync with one computer/iTunes account. For example, my spouse and I could use the same purchased apps (if we used the same stuff) since we share a single iTunes account and library. I could not sync with my next door neighbor and use all their apps at the same…

I think we're describing different things. You're talking about syncing apps with a computer. Sharing libraries between spouses and stuff like that. I'm talking about this set of steps (on an iPhone/iPad): 1) Go to Settings App 2) Log out of iTunes 3) Log in as Person B 4) Launch App Store 5) Download an app that Person B previously bought. This is a free update. 6) Go to Settings 7) Sign out of Person B's iTunes acc…

Is Steam horrible? As far as I know you can log in as another account and download games the other account has and play them, and if you log back into your account the game data doesn't go anywhere (so if you buy you don't have to redownload) but you can't launch them from the steam client. Why didn't Apple do something similar?

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#55

Post by skidooer »

dendory wrote: post #50

Wait, 90% of users pirating it? I just don't buy it. How many iPhone users jailbreak their phones? 5%? less probably? So those few users are 90% of your user base? These numbers just don't seem right. I would bet the real reason he saw a peak of traffic is something else. He bases his conclusions on how many people click a button, which presumably loads a URL on his server. It could be something as stupid as Google h…

I estimate 90% of the people who use my app have pirated it. That is based on server communication with the app that would not be easily duplicated by outside sources like Google crawlers. There is some margin of error: Each purchased copy is able to be installed on up to five devices, for example. But I find it to be still fairly telling.

What is more interesting is that I noticed a dramatic drop in sales when it started to be distributed on the pirate websites. I'm not quite sure what to make of that, but it does give some indication that piracy did affect me.

For what it is worth, my app appeals to the geek crowd. From the data I have been able to acquire, I would say the majority of my users, including legitimate ones, are running jailbroken devices. That may help skew the piracy rates towards the higher end.

Ultimately, I'm not worried about it. I wasn't banking my livelihood on the success of the app. It has made enough money to recoup my time investment, which is an added bonus. I do feel for the users who did pay for my app, however. I do feel that piracy has prevented me from spending more time making the product better for them. That is the real unfortunate side.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#56

Post by gfodor »

There actually is a way to avoid piracy of iOS apps: build an app that requires server-side computation/algorithms of some sort and combine that with the signed receipt capability of in-app purchases. Basically this makes it possible for you to be sure that only a single user of your application is using a single in-app purchase at a time, by validating the signature each time the user launches the app with Apple.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#57

Post by BasDirks »

rkalla wrote: post #5

In other piracy discussions I've always viewed piracy as organic-marketing. Meaning if you wanted to nurture the piracy (e.g. no DRM, easier install paths, etc.) you would probably get your software in the hands of more people and just redirect what you would have spent on marketing to keeping it in the bank and track the piracy as marketing costs. I'll admit that is a rosy way to look at it, but I'm definitely one o…

I YARRR before $.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#58

Post by sandGorgon »

aneth wrote: post #43
patio11 wrote: post #27

Let me condense the conversation for you: Blah blah blah, free marketing, blah blah blah, wouldn't have bought it anyway, blah blah blah, DRM never works. Then you move your code to the server and this never bothers you again. This defeats piracy so well it works in China .

I agree. Piracy is the best thing that ever happened to Microsoft. If DRM worked, China - unable to afford Windows- would be a massive base of innovation for Linux desktops, and ultimately undermine Microsoft. If copyright were strongly enforced, nobody there would know what Louis Vitton is - instead it is now home to their most profitable store. Piracy is great marketing. Better even than free. You have distribution…

One of the big reasons that China or India (which might be linguistically closer) is not a hotbed for Linux innovation is because of the linux leadership. Hold more conferences here, incorporate features required for a non-Roman script market and see it explode. FYI - every known computer maker sells OS-free machines: both because the local piracy driven market demands it and that a lot of people use Linux as an alternative to Windows (India Dell level 2 customer support will answer Ubuntu questions)

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#59

Post by melvinram »

asdkfj9876 wrote: post #44
patio11 wrote: post #27

Let me condense the conversation for you: Blah blah blah, free marketing, blah blah blah, wouldn't have bought it anyway, blah blah blah, DRM never works. Then you move your code to the server and this never bothers you again. This defeats piracy so well it works in China .

when did you turn into such a know-it-all patio? All I see from you is arrogant one liners for the last few months. It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.

Patios statement was that moving to SaaS model removes piracy.

I see no asshole-ish nature and I'd bet it's 100% on the money, though I've never sold downloadables so I can't speak from experience.

Let's stay above name calling. We're all adults here.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#60

Post by asdkfj9876 »

melvinram wrote: post #59
asdkfj9876 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when did you turn into such a know-it-all patio? All I see from you is arrogant one liners for the last few months. It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.

Patios statement was that moving to SaaS model removes piracy. I see no asshole-ish nature and I'd bet it's 100% on the money, though I've never sold downloadables so I can't speak from experience. Let's stay above name calling. We're all adults here.

His original comment was ok - its the delivery that sucks.

Patio has developed a style that is abrasive. One liner statements of fact come off as assholish.

My comment was meant to be constructive for him.

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