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Go find the Apple API that let's them know if this device belongs to a person who really bought the app. To my knowledge (not saying that is super-impressive by

Go find the Apple API that let's them know if this device belongs to a person who really bought the app. To my knowledge (not saying that is super-impressive by any stretch!), it doesn't exist. It's the same reason you basically have to "repurchase" IAPs when you get a new device. There is no way for the developer to track that information and get you your rightful bits. This has been going on long enough that I don't think Apple is going to do anything about it, either. I think they'd rather developers take the hit than have their customers get ugly interactions, even if they deserve it for pirating the games.

josephlord 14y ago
There are different sorts of IAPs. Consumables need to be bought for each device but non-consumables are recoverable to any device logged into the account. If you try to purchase them again they are free and the developer SHOULD implement a 'Restore Purchases' UI to allow you to recover them all without accidentally buying ones you don't already own. With IAP the developer can also retrieve a receipt from the device that can be verified by Apple's servers (process different in the Mac App store). This does not apply to the original purchase of apps from the store, only in-app purchase.
jrogers65 14y ago
You don't need to use the phone's identity for this. Force the user through a login screen on startup - if they have a paid for account, serve the requests, otherwise sever. It's how Steam does it.
ynniv 14y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by "repurchase" IAPs, but the IAP API provides server-server cryptographic verification from Apple that is not crackable. Not all apps properly verify purchases, so there is mention of pirating IAPs, but done correctly they ensure that a user has paid. This developer should push a free application with a recurring IAP subscription, and somehow make users who have already paid happy.
- SoftwareMaven 14y ago
  I completely agree with you. For any service that has continuing costs, you need to find a way to have continuing revenue. A single purchase for a game that has continuing server costs is a very poorly thought out model. What I mean by "repurchasing" IAPs: Every app I've interacted with forces you to go through the motions of purchasing IAPs when you get a new device. You aren't actually charged, since Apple knows you already bought the item. I also fully recognize that my familiarity with these APIs is cursory at best.

josephlord 14y ago

There are different sorts of IAPs. Consumables need to be bought for each device but non-consumables are recoverable to any device logged into the account. If you try to purchase them again they are free and the developer SHOULD implement a 'Restore Purchases' UI to allow you to recover them all without accidentally buying ones you don't already own. With IAP the developer can also retrieve a receipt from the device that can be verified by Apple's servers (process different in the Mac App store). This does not apply to the original purchase of apps from the store, only in-app purchase.

jrogers65 14y ago

You don't need to use the phone's identity for this. Force the user through a login screen on startup - if they have a paid for account, serve the requests, otherwise sever. It's how Steam does it.

ynniv 14y ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "repurchase" IAPs, but the IAP API provides server-server cryptographic verification from Apple that is not crackable. Not all apps properly verify purchases, so there is mention of pirating IAPs, but done correctly they ensure that a user has paid. This developer should push a free application with a recurring IAP subscription, and somehow make users who have already paid happy.

SoftwareMaven 14y ago
I completely agree with you. For any service that has continuing costs, you need to find a way to have continuing revenue. A single purchase for a game that has continuing server costs is a very poorly thought out model. What I mean by "repurchasing" IAPs: Every app I've interacted with forces you to go through the motions of purchasing IAPs when you get a new device. You aren't actually charged, since Apple knows you already bought the item. I also fully recognize that my familiarity with these APIs is cursory at best.