• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Distributing apk files of free apps

Yeahha said:
Possibly but probably not. Depending on where the hosting is and where the site is registered it can change plenty of things. There are hundreds of warez sites out there, if it was easy to get them taken down there wouldn't be as many ;)
Click to expand...
Sorry I forgot to mention, it's at Blogger. All the android apps blogs I see are hosted there.
 
@mitk0o0o0
hosting apks wont increase the hpd .Try making your friends read your blogs [what are friends Facebook for ...]
 
karandpr said:
@mitk0o0o0
hosting apks wont increase the hpd .Try making your friends read your blogs [what are friends Facebook for ...]
Click to expand...
I don't have friends on the internet. Only had 2 that I talk to everyday but 1 betreated me on a MMORPG and stole my money so it's just 1 left.

No friends = No point in having a Facebook. I've tried various blog entry pages and such but it just doesn't seem to work, uploading the videos to YouTube and they don't get much views, don't know if it's cause of the device's popularity but that guy's youtube account (the guy who owns the blog with paid apps) got thousands on his.

I think I'll go with the DMCA form/disclaimer. They all seem to have it + it's a free app ffs.. Got a reply today from Trial Xtreme 2 developer, first he said no but he was talking about paid, he said if i meant for the free one I should reply back.
 
The point I am trying to make is "Hosting apk files doesnt amount to more hits or popularity in general "
Free apks of even free apps itself is a black area . Malware is rampant in "free apk" arena
People will be wary to download the apk .
If they are not,they should be wary .

In any case Read the following post to know about android apps in general
http://androidforums.com/android-ap...explained-security-tips-avoiding-malware.html

Usually apk hosting of any kind is co-related to malware .


It takes quite some time for any blog to take off .You just need to have patience and learn stuff . Try to add your own personality the blog .
That said ,you never know what people may like ,and how they like . There are many quality bloggers who blog beautifully but their hit count is very low .(like 2000 in two years ...)
 
You may want to consider just linking back to the devs site as many that have apps for free in the market have them available on their website. That eliminates the "shady apk" inference. I will only get apks from a legit market, a devs thread on a forum, or directly from a dev. Anywhere else and I'm running away (in other words, apks on your blog would drive me away from it, not make me visit it).

I have another idea for maybe getting traffic to your site. You say you are having an email exchange with some devs of free apps. Use each other. See if you can do an email Q&A with the devs and post it on your blog (let them know that is your intent). That way your blog may come up in search results for the devs app. I know more popular blogs do this, but with mainstream app developers (I don't think you'd expect a Q&A with Rovio). I'm sure some new / underexposed dev would appreciate the exposure (and possibly link to your blog from their site). You link to them, they link to you. More links to your blog from different dev sites should mean more traffic to your blog.
 
Once the search engines find you, a 100 hits an HR is easy to get. Its unique visitors that reall count. I get over 2000 hits a month on my mostly unused blog but only around 100-120 unique visitors per month and I don't even update it often.



And Im sorry but I see no point into trying to screw app devlopers out of a dollar. Yea back in the day before all the laws and rules I was a warez king downloading $500 20meg programs at 14.2KBs dial-up that took 3 days. Then sharing them using a crack version of dynIP for my windows98 webserver. I had every console rom on the planet before rom's were illegal and then made re-legal if you "owned" the original.


And its not like my views have changed allot[youll figure that out when you visit it], but the price for 99% of all paid apps is more then fair. Some should charge more, some that are free, shouldn't be. [<FoxFi]

UncleCreepyCustoms.com | Rat&#039;s Rod&#039;s Bike&#039;s beyond imagination
 
EarlyMon said:
Want something unique?

Interview devs and give them a soapbox. No one else will for all sorts of reasons.

Devs want to be heard, they want to talk about why their mousetrap is better.
Click to expand...

That is a good idea! There are quite a few devs here you could interview I am sure some wouldn't mind talking to you for an interview.
 
I'm sure it's already been said, but the only way I'd ever download an .apk file not from the market is if it was a huge file and I wasn't on wifi and someone could just bluetooth the file over to me.

the apk files online could be modified to steal your info....

Also, I really like that idea Early! I'd probably try to get some devs that are smaller first, then maybe work your way up. Devs are interesting sorts.
 
I see. Can any of you recommend me somone that will actually be up for something like this? It's been around 2 days since I mailed a bunch of devs for the share permission and none replied.
 
If you have emailed a bunch of devs for permission, and not getting an immediate answer, decided to simply put up their apps anyway - then I think that as a pal, I might maybe sorta suggest that there's an old adage about haste making waste.

Because you seem to be implying that two days is plenty of time for busy to answer you and that now you need a new list of devs to contact.

Truthfully answer - to us or just yourself, either way - with the glut of useless Android blogs by people handing out bad advice because they've deluded themselves into being self-proclaimed experts, and then spam all of the major sites, what do you bring, or want to bring to the Android table that's uniquely _you_?

What is your real goal? :)
 
To own something that a lot of people like and visit daily and await from me to post new articles and other stuff. To have a reason to keep posting because 10 unique visitors per month is definitely not worth it. Know what I mean? :)

Also I just got a reply from Trial Xtreme developer that he is completely fine with me posting the apk file:
ru9wfc.png

He also is up for an interview.

Thanks alot for the tips everyone. :)

My final decision I think would be to share the apk files of the free apps and add a DMCA form and if any of them feel they would like it taken down, I will just like other blogs do. I'm pretty sure it would keep me off trouble. Another thing I have in mind is to look at their policy first, some I see have such page claiming distribution without permission is not allowed, some don't. So the ones who don't, I will distribute.

Hmm, but for now I have no idea what kind of questions to ask him.
 
What you do with your blog is your sole decision .Blogs are supposed to medium of expression .

Where you are totally wrong is "You are technically or legally NOT ALLOWED to distribute any software (free or paid, android,ios or windows etc) of any kind without the prior permission of author . Attaching any disclaimer doesnt remove that very fact .

Only when it is clearly stated that "you are allowed to distribute this software" ,you can distribute it .Else ,you are definitely not allowed .
 
karandpr said:
What you do with your blog is your sole decision .Blogs are supposed to medium of expression .

Where you are totally wrong is "You are technically or legally NOT ALLOWED to distribute any software (free or paid, android,ios or windows etc) of any kind without the prior permission of author . Attaching any disclaimer doesnt remove that very fact .

Only when it is clearly stated that "you are allowed to distribute this software" ,you can distribute it .Else ,you are definitely not allowed .
Click to expand...

Regardless of how many people do it, that's the law. :)
 
Lots of blogs been posting them since late 2011 and they even have Google Adsense. Hell, some even have donation widgets and they're still up posting everyday. I think I'm gonna take the risk, but with free apps only for now.
 
Well seeing your disregard for law I doubt you will care that you will also be violating the ToS for Google Play.
3.8 You agree that Google and/or third parties own all right, title and interest in and to Google Play and the Products available through Google Play, including without limitation all applicable Intellectual Property Rights in the Products. "Intellectual Property Rights" means any and all rights existing under patent law, copyright law, trade secret law, trademark law, unfair competition law, and any and all other proprietary rights worldwide. You agree that you will not, and will not allow any third party to, (i) copy, sell, license, distribute, transfer, modify, adapt, translate, prepare derivative works from, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise attempt to derive source code from the Products, unless otherwise permitted...
Click to expand...
Source

Regardless of how many people do it that doesn't mean it is not wrong in both the legal and moral sense.
 
Yeahha said:
Well seeing your disregard for law I doubt you will care that you will also be violating the ToS for Google Play.

Source

Regardless of how many people do it that doesn't mean it is not wrong in both the legal and moral sense.
Click to expand...
Yes but if none of them get punished in any way why not do it too?
 
If the legal part of it isn't being enforced currently the moral part would keep me from doing it. I suppose you would have to make a decision based on what you feel is right to determine what you decide to do. IMO if a dev doesn't give you permission to distribute his/her work (either by saying no or by you not asking) you shouldn't distribute it out of respect of the dev otherwise the benefit you get out of it (in your case potential hits on your site) is illegitimate. Given we may have different moral standards I am just offering my personal opinion.
 
I would feel bad if I distributed an app that the developer wants to be paid for but those are not my intentions.

It's like this:
Write a review for the choosen game, do a video to show how it runs and what it's like on the device, at the bottom put the apk download link (to the free/demo version ofc), below it link them to the market link to where to buy the full version and maybe the developer's website.

And last but not least, a DMCA form claiming the developer can contact me at any time so that I can take the download link down but I don't see a reason for him/her doing that because I'm distributing the free version that anyone can get at the market.
 
But he/she hasn't given you permission to distribute the apk file. so the DCMA doesn't matter. IMO you should be including a market link instead. Doing a review is great and I am sure the dev will love that you are giving them that publicity but as you have already experienced some devs would rather you send the person to the market to download their app. This could be because they want to track their downloads or if a bug is found they can fix it and provide it to the people who use the app just so they can provide the best product possible. It isn't only about distribution of the app but also being able to service the customer as well as service the dev's wishes. If you are distributing the app without permission it is no different than warez regardless if it is a paid app or not.
 
Interesting thread :)

Blogger sites that post apks without permission do absolutely get punished. I've had Google take down a blog myself by filing a DMCA. They go down in 24-48 hours. Sometimes faster.

You may see some sites "getting away with it" but they are walking on thin ice that could break at any time. All it takes is one email to Google and that person is likely banned from all Google services. They also have their AdSense accounts frozen and (likely) any recent deposits pulled OUT of their bank accounts and/or get reported to the authorities. They could even have liens placed on their accounts in extreme cases where a copyright owner sued.

Getting permission is cool, writing news is cool. Hosting someone else's content without permission is not.

But the real problem is profiting off the work of others. Just because some people get away with doing unethical and immoral things, doesn't mean you should do the same things.

The reason not to post content that doesn't belong to you is not the repercussions of getting caught, but because it's just wrong.


/my $0.99


EDIT:

Just thought of one more thing that might be relevant:

By hosting apks (even free ones) you create a logistical issue for the dev/publisher.

When I write apps, they are never perfect the first time around ;). So I'm constantly updating them with bug fixes and new features.

With free apps they often rely on advertising. These apps usually need to change what advertising is shown from time to time (ie they change ad networks to one that pays a bit better per ad). Some of the most popular apps change this kind of stuff constantly.

So when an app gets an update, these blogs will almost invariably miss it or lag behind. And with the case of advertising, this could directly have a financial impact.

Hope that helps give some perspective :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom