The paid app binary and the non paid binary are exactly the same. You do not download a new apk when you purchase content in an app. Sync’s “online verification” is through Google Play’ libraries. When you purchase, your device received an entitlement to that specific purchase which allows it to re-verify that purchase without hitting Google’s services each time the app is opened. Since it was a lifetime subscription, this entitlement never had to be renewed.
As for it working between phones, either the entitlement is bundled with the app (which I’m not positive of), or it’s entirely possible the version you had was bugged so that it acted as though you had purchased even though you had not in the event these libraries were not available.
Either way makes no difference. You need the entitlement to activate the features, not an entirely new APK, which means he’d have to produce a build either with that entitlement (not possible) or without the purchase verification code (since you don’t have the entitlement).
There is no Google Play authentication, like you describe, for APKs that require one time fee. Sync for reddit (Dev or Pro) had no subscription model. That is precisely why online verification based licensing is different and used by very few apps, since it is harder to implement.
Ljdawson actually seems to have gone the subscription route for Sync for Lemmy, precisely because of what I have described in this discussion, and because of smaller Lemmy userbase being opposite of Reddit’s larger userbase compensating for individual lower license fees.
The paid app binary and the non paid binary are exactly the same. You do not download a new apk when you purchase content in an app. Sync’s “online verification” is through Google Play’ libraries. When you purchase, your device received an entitlement to that specific purchase which allows it to re-verify that purchase without hitting Google’s services each time the app is opened. Since it was a lifetime subscription, this entitlement never had to be renewed.
As for it working between phones, either the entitlement is bundled with the app (which I’m not positive of), or it’s entirely possible the version you had was bugged so that it acted as though you had purchased even though you had not in the event these libraries were not available.
Either way makes no difference. You need the entitlement to activate the features, not an entirely new APK, which means he’d have to produce a build either with that entitlement (not possible) or without the purchase verification code (since you don’t have the entitlement).
There is no Google Play authentication, like you describe, for APKs that require one time fee. Sync for reddit (Dev or Pro) had no subscription model. That is precisely why online verification based licensing is different and used by very few apps, since it is harder to implement.
Ljdawson actually seems to have gone the subscription route for Sync for Lemmy, precisely because of what I have described in this discussion, and because of smaller Lemmy userbase being opposite of Reddit’s larger userbase compensating for individual lower license fees.