11-07-2017, 11:08 AM
On Windows, Freda is available in two versions, Freda+ and Freda. The difference between them is that:
Nowadays (now that in-app purchasing works in Microsoft Store apps) there is no particular reason to install Freda+. You can get exactly the same app functionality by installing Freda and then tapping the 'remove advertising' button to acquire the 'in-app purchase' that suppresses the advertising. Indeed, I'd recommend that approach, because that way you get to try the app for free, before deciding whether to spend money on it.
One popular question, now that Freda is available on Android, is whether someone who's installed Freda on both Windows and Android will have to pay twice for removing advertising, once on Windows and again on Android. The answer is "unfortunately yes"; this is because the two app stores are owned by separate firms (Google and Microsoft) and they do not cooperate on cross-store purchasing. Indeed, the T&Cs for the app stores actually forbid developers from selling app features anywhere other than the appropriate app store. Consider this scenario: I tell some Android app user that they can pay $1.99 for the 'remove advertising' feature for the Freda app in Google Play, and then I will provide that user with a magic code that they can enter into Freda on Windows to get rid of advertising on the Windows app too, without any further payment beyond what they already paid in Google Play. In that scenario, Microsoft will kick me off the Windows Store, because I've accepted payment, via some mechanism other than the Windows Store, for an in-app purchase in my Windows App - and this breaches their developer T&Cs.
I did check with Google and Microsoft, and their answers were basically 'lawyer says no'.
- You have to pay to install Freda+
- Freda displays advertising
Nowadays (now that in-app purchasing works in Microsoft Store apps) there is no particular reason to install Freda+. You can get exactly the same app functionality by installing Freda and then tapping the 'remove advertising' button to acquire the 'in-app purchase' that suppresses the advertising. Indeed, I'd recommend that approach, because that way you get to try the app for free, before deciding whether to spend money on it.
One popular question, now that Freda is available on Android, is whether someone who's installed Freda on both Windows and Android will have to pay twice for removing advertising, once on Windows and again on Android. The answer is "unfortunately yes"; this is because the two app stores are owned by separate firms (Google and Microsoft) and they do not cooperate on cross-store purchasing. Indeed, the T&Cs for the app stores actually forbid developers from selling app features anywhere other than the appropriate app store. Consider this scenario: I tell some Android app user that they can pay $1.99 for the 'remove advertising' feature for the Freda app in Google Play, and then I will provide that user with a magic code that they can enter into Freda on Windows to get rid of advertising on the Windows app too, without any further payment beyond what they already paid in Google Play. In that scenario, Microsoft will kick me off the Windows Store, because I've accepted payment, via some mechanism other than the Windows Store, for an in-app purchase in my Windows App - and this breaches their developer T&Cs.
I did check with Google and Microsoft, and their answers were basically 'lawyer says no'.