Ask HN: How to detect if app is pirated? I'm building a MMORPG for the iPhone. The iPhone app connects to server to join the world. Between the app & the server, I can't figure out how to detect if the particular instance of the app is legit or if it's pirated. Is there a way to do this? I know that I can grab the UUID off the phone ... but unless apple sends me a list of every UUID that purchased my app, I see no way to check for this. Thanks! |
NSDictionary *info = [bundle infoDictionary];
if ([info objectForKey: @"SignerIdentity"] != nil)
{
//app is pirated
}This turns the problem into one of "How do I prevent account piracy?", which is hopefully not dependent on characteristics of the iPhone.
edit: I'm not sure what sort of kickback Apple would like in this case. Be sure to check that out first.
We are making enough money with the pirates and we have other ways to monetize these users like direct payments on our sit. Also, the pirates seem to be heavily active on the game.
The iPhone app store has enough DRM to move piracy below your radar. Casual users won't pirate your app; the few who might go to that effort aren't worth your time. If your app was available via direct download, an anti-piracy scheme might be useful, but for app store applications you needn't worry. Spend your time making other improvements to your app that will attract more players.
Do you have numbers for that? Anecdotal evidence (forum posts from developers, statistics provided by companies hawking anti-piracy solutions) suggest that piracy is actually a significant percentage of all app installs.
I'm not entering into a debate about spending time fighting piracy versus spending time adding new features. I'm just curious about your assertion that piracy of app store applications is negligible. Is it based on specific experiences, or gut feeling?
Users who pirate applications aren't necessarily lost customers; they might not have purchased it legally even if they couldn't pirate it.
It sounds like Apple set it up this way to make sure they are getting a piece of all the money coming through the iPhone. I won't begrudge them that, but I feel for the developers.