Ask NH: How to stop Android app piracy? | Hacker News Reader

Ask NH: How to stop Android app piracy?

4 pointspantag6 comments

Ask NH: Hi everyone. I found out my android app has been pirated and offered free at the site "apkpop.com" (which ironically runs Adsense ads). Android devs: what do you do against piracy? Have you tried Google's licensing (http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/licensing.html) and if so, does it work well? Thanks!

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I don't know anything about your application, but if possible, I'd suggest de-coupling the application from the revenue source (i.e.: make downloading the application free, but extract revenue server-side via requiring accounts or another mechanism).

This is especially important if your application has any back-end component (as pirating can go from just an inconvenience to something that costs you actual money if you're paying for network/server resources).

Obviously, certain applications don't behave that way, in which case I don't really know what else you can do.

I am also interested in this topic as I plan to be publishing an Android app for a client in the near future. In case you haven't seen it, here's 'Evading Pirates and Stopping Vampires' from Google I/O 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnSNCXR9fbY

Build your own licensing system in C and compile it via the android ndk. Use obfuscation and antidebug. Self modifying code if you want to be risky. Code your own vm if you really want to be secure. Make sure your licensing system is called from all over the program, so that it cannot be removed at any one point. Finally, add a couple of integrity checks that check themselves and each other.

Do all that and i guarantee your app will remain uncracked for a couple of months.

Or,simply spend the time improving your app, and learn to live with the fact that your app will be cracked.

The short answer, I believe, is "you don't". Try DMCAing them, but it doesn't always work, and when (not if) it doesn't, sue.

I considered reporting the offending site to google (at least because they run adsense alongside) but I suppose that's useless in the long term... I need some kind of defense in my app!

http://www.androidlicenser.com/

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