Welcome to Ask Jerry, the place we discuss any and all of the questions you might need concerning the sensible issues in your life. I am Jerry, and I’ve spent the higher a part of my life working with tech. I’ve a background in engineering and R&D and have been overlaying Android and Google for the previous 15 years.
Ask Jerry
Ask Jerry is a column the place we reply your burning Android/tech questions with the assistance of long-time Android Central editor Jerry Hildenbrand.
I am additionally actually good at researching knowledge about every little thing — that is an enormous a part of our job right here at Android Central — and I really like to assist individuals (one other large a part of our job!). When you’ve got questions on your tech, I would love to speak about them.
Electronic mail me at askjerryac@gmail.com, and I will attempt to get issues sorted out. You possibly can stay nameless should you like, and we promise we’re not sharing something we do not cowl right here.
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What to do when builders break the principles?
A number of individuals have written in complaining about Music Participant – MP3 Participant from Purple Sky Labs (previously often known as Muzio Participant). None of them had something good to say.
Evidently the app went with a freemium subscription mannequin, exhibiting adverts until a consumer pays a month-to-month price. That is fantastic, however when Purple Sky Labs did this, they cancelled the premium plan of customers who had beforehand paid for an ad-free expertise.
Play Retailer critiques verify this, so I am naming the corporate to warn you to think about its previous conduct earlier than you give it any cash.
I hate to listen to about this form of factor, but it surely’s extra frequent than you assume. I have been bitten by the exact same bug with one other app that went free with a subscription after I gave them $5.99 for further content material. You possibly can guess what occurred when the app up to date. There’s a superb likelihood one thing comparable has occurred to you, too.
Why? Are cell app shops full of dishonest individuals making an attempt to rip-off a few bucks at a time till they’ve constructed a fortune? Probably not, although these individuals definitely exist; it is simply too straightforward to get away with it, so app publishers could merely not care.
This is the rub — it is not authorized to do what Purple Sky Labs did with its music participant. It is also in opposition to Google’s Play Retailer guidelines. And neither of these issues issues due to the small amount of cash concerned. Should you pay for a lifetime service, it’s anticipated to final the lifetime of one of many events. Should you change your small business mannequin, it’s essential to make lodging for individuals who have already paid.
Good luck getting anybody to care about it and provide help to get your 5 bucks again as a result of it is solely 5 bucks. You are not taking some developer to small claims court docket over 5 bucks. No lawyer will take that as a case as a result of it is solely 5 bucks. It is your 5 bucks, and should you’re like me, you are feeling keen to struggle via Mordor to get it again, however no person else cares about your 5 bucks.
Google and Apple ought to care, and on some degree, they do. However they every have greater issues to fret about. With thousands and thousands of apps transferring via cell shops the vast majority of effort and time is spent ensuring they’re secure and so they deal with the intricate permissions appropriately. And that is certainly arduous to handle, so I am not stunned that reviews about this to Google go largely unanswered. Don’t let this cease you from reporting the offending app.
Additionally, should you’re so inclined, do not forget about posting to Reddit and different social media so different individuals can learn and pile on. Consideration is the way you rectify this sort of drawback. If sufficient individuals complain, Google or Apple should act, and the app writer could even discover a technique to repair the issue so they are not pressured to present a bunch of individuals 5 bucks in app retailer credit score.
Lastly, ship detailed reviews about what’s occurring to each tech web site you recurrently go to. After I see a number of individuals saying the identical factor, I look into it. If it is one thing different individuals want to listen to — like an app writer bringing again the adverts and retaining the 5 bucks — I will write about it.
This app has over 100 million downloads at Google Play. Folks must know extra concerning the firm earlier than it will get one other 100 million.
