PayPal, Google Policies and copying media files to comply with them?

Corona Marketplace Corona Premium Plugins
#1

In the Google Developer Policies it is stated that for in app purchases you should always use Google Play Store. Other payment methods (like using the Corona PayPal Plugin ) are only allowed, if your app is NOT a game and IF you are selling either physical goods or virtual goods, that can be used also outside of the application.

Google seems to ban apps that don’t comply with this. So, if my free app is selling an audio course to the user through an in app purchase, I thought maybe I could copy the audio lessons that the user has paid for in another folder/directory on the phone - so that the user theoretically could use these audio files outside of the app (although it really makes more sense to play them inside the app…)

I didn’t find a way yet to copy any files outside of the system.DocumentsDirectory.

Is that even possible? Like, to store some files directly into the “media” folder on the phone?

Maybe there is a plugin that will do this?

Or how do the other Corona users see it with the Google Policies and Paypal payments??

I am happy to hear your thoughts on this.

Best,

Nils

#2

These policies also apply to iOS.

These are always situational however. For instance, say your audio course is delivered via a digital download on your website (an audio file or video), I would imagine that would be allowed.

If it was delivered via an in-app download however, then you wouldn’t be able to do so.

From what I have learned, allowed uses seem to be:

  • Physical goods (100% allowed)

  • Digital goods that are not distributed in the form of an app or in-app download. (policies vary)

Please take this advice with a grain of salt however. Always research for the specific goods you are offering to see if Apple/Google allows them to be purchased via alternate payment methods (PayPal, Google Wallet etc).

Best to be safe than sorry.

#3

Well, if I understand the Google Policy correctly, you can even deliver through the app itself - as long as the user can ALSO use the digital goods outside of the mobile application.

That means for me, that there are at least 2 solutions on how to do this after the purchase:

  1. Copy the digital goods to a directory outside the app environment, for example in the “media” directory (if possible?)

  2. Give the user a second possibility to download the digital goods, for example, show another download link after the purchase

#4

These policies also apply to iOS.

These are always situational however. For instance, say your audio course is delivered via a digital download on your website (an audio file or video), I would imagine that would be allowed.

If it was delivered via an in-app download however, then you wouldn’t be able to do so.

From what I have learned, allowed uses seem to be:

  • Physical goods (100% allowed)

  • Digital goods that are not distributed in the form of an app or in-app download. (policies vary)

Please take this advice with a grain of salt however. Always research for the specific goods you are offering to see if Apple/Google allows them to be purchased via alternate payment methods (PayPal, Google Wallet etc).

Best to be safe than sorry.

#5

Well, if I understand the Google Policy correctly, you can even deliver through the app itself - as long as the user can ALSO use the digital goods outside of the mobile application.

That means for me, that there are at least 2 solutions on how to do this after the purchase:

  1. Copy the digital goods to a directory outside the app environment, for example in the “media” directory (if possible?)

  2. Give the user a second possibility to download the digital goods, for example, show another download link after the purchase