I have a paid app in the Play Store (Profile Widget, in case anyone is wondering ;)) and I want to allow some users (friends, or people who do not have a credit card) to download it for free.
Of course I could just send them the APK, but they wouldn't get the updates automatically, and with every update to the app I would have to send them all the APK file again. And also, by using this method, anyone that had access to the APK file would be able to install the app for free.
I saw that by using the Android Licensing Library you could make some users bypass the License Check, but I want the app to show as "Purchased" for them in the Play Store, and I don't think this would do it.
I searched Stack Overflow but none of the solutions I found (like creating a separate APK and checking for its existence from the "real" app) handled the auto-update part.
Has anyone found a good solution for this?
Thanks in advance!
You can now generate and distribute promo codes to current and new users on Google Play to drive engagement. Under the Promotions tab in the Developer Console, you can set up promo codes for your apps, games, and in-app products to distribute in your own marketing campaigns (up to 500 codes per app, per quarter). Consider using promo codes to reward loyal users and attract new customers.
Reference: 1) http://android-developers.blogspot.in/2016/01/create-promo-codes-for-your-apps-and-in.html
2) https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6321495
The best solution is to have them buy the app, then refund their purchase. It would still show up as paid. Alternatively, you could give them the app, and license it via the LVL, and configure their email addresses as test accounts listing as purchased., but then they won't get updates.
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