What happens to my apps after my developer account membership expires? [closed] - iphone

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When my paid developer membership runs out with Apple, what happens to my existing apps on the app store?
I know that I cannot add new apps then, but do my existing apps stay? Can I change prices? Can I get paid for sales? Can I update those apps? (Am I missing any questions here?)

One important addition to the previous answers: your apps will NOT be completely removed by Apple, so if you renew your membership later, they will return in the App Store within 24 hours. You do not need to resubmit them. Please note that this doesn't invalidate the other answers, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
What happens to my apps on the App Store if I do not renew my membership?
If your membership has already expired when you renew, your renewal will
activate once you complete the renewal process and any free apps you had
available for download will become available again within 24 hours. Any
paid apps you had available for download will become available again after
you sign in to iTunes Connect and complete your Paid Applications
contract. You do not need to resubmit your apps.
From: https://developer.apple.com/support/renewal/

From https://developer.apple.com/support/renewal/
What happens if I do not renew my iOS
Developer Program membership?
Once your membership expires, your apps will no longer be available on
the App Store and you will lose the ability to submit new apps. You
will lose access to pre-release software, the Apple Developer Forums,
Developer Technical Support, and the Certificate Utility. In addition,
your existing iOS Distribution certificates will be revoked and
invalidated. Finally, if you enrolled in the program as a company, you
will lose the ability to manage your development team.
You will, however, retain your status as a Registered Apple Developer
and will have access to free development resources.

Your apps will be removed from the app store, although it won't happen instantly. This is what an Apple sales rep told me a few months ago.

Most importantly for me, already purchased and installed apps will continue to work. Per the FAQ pointed to earlier:
If I don't renew my iOS Developer Program, will my app still function for customers who have already installed or downloaded it from the App Store?
Yes. If you do not renew your iOS Developer Program your app will still function for customers who have already installed or downloaded it. However, without renewal of your Program you will lose App Store distribution and your app will no longer be available on the App Store.

All the existing apps will not be removed from App Store, only user will not be able to manage their applications on App Store like adding new apps, updating the existing apps.

Related

How can I make an app available without adding it to the Apple app store? [closed]

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I want to create an iPhone/iPad application for a restaurant menu. The application works only for this restaurant. I want to install the application without uploading it in the app store.
I don't want to install the application into the devices as developer device.
What options do I have for this kind of distribution scenario?
Look at docu for Enterprise Apps. But then the restaurant needs an Apple Enterprise license, and everybody installing the app must be an employee of the restaurant.
Developper and ad-hoc apps work only for a limited time (3 months if i remember correctly).
Apple offers two ways you can do this. (The third is jailbreaking.)
The older way, an Enterprise membership. This is more designed for large organizations with an IT department:
$300 annually
you deploy directly to the device
terms of the contract say: may only deploy onto devices owned by the business (and yes, they can tell if you abuse this)
apps last 1 year, must be re-signed and re-deployed
kinda labor-intensive and fiddly, especially if the developer and device manager are different people, or use different signing keys; really needs an MDM system to work well
since Apple doesn't review your code, you can use private API if you want. woo hoo.
There's a newer way, which I highly recommend: the B2B App Store.
works with your $100 developer membership
deployment uses Apple for hosting, doesn't expire
needs no special software; works well with Apple Configurator
app is private to whoever you specify
the business gets access by signing up for the free "volume purchase program".
In fact, the whole process is almost exactly like a normal app store app, except that the app is not public. Apple reviews it, puts it in the "secret" store. Developer specifies some Apple IDs; only those Apple IDs can see the app in the store (through the volume purchase interface.) They can install it, AND/OR generate redemption codes for it (which work for anyone.) It's very slick. There's a good 2012 WWDC video about it for dev program members.
https://developer.apple.com/programs/volume/b2b/
Both programs require the business to have a DUNS number. This is generally not a problem.

Is it possible to open an Apple Developer account for a client? [closed]

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My company is developing an iPad app for a technically unsophisticated government client, and I understand that they need their own Apple Developer account. We would like to open and maintain the developer account for them, because we'll be much happier to have the control of our own destiny, and they'll be much happier to delegate the work to us.
But in the Apple Enrollment Guidelines, it says this:
I'm a contractor who develops apps for companies other than my own.
How do I ensure my client's name is listed as the “Seller” on the App
Store?
If your client plans to distribute the apps you create for them on the
App Store with their legal entity name as the “Seller”, they must
enroll in the iOS Developer Program. They can add you as a member of
their development team so you can access the resources you need to
create the app. While they must be the one who submits the app for
review, you can assist them if necessary.
This makes it sound like any company that wants to be a "Seller" must physically create their own account and do at least some of the work, even when it's clear that another party is the only one that is going to be able to do any of the work. Am I reading this right? Is it really not possible for a contractor to set up a developer account on behalf of a client?
Yes that is correct. Your client is responsible for creating an account and paying the developer fee.
You could create the account, but then when your contract is over you would be getting support requests, be responsible for all future updates, and have to renew the account every year. It's better for your client to create the account. SEE EDIT
Edit: Found a thread on this discussion - http://www.buzztouch.com/forum/thread.php?tid=10608297F86BD057C74C0F9. The post by MGoBlue on 10/10/11 at 09:04 PM is Apple's stance, which says not to do that. Don't mess with Apple, have your client create an account and invite you to it.
There's also a note about this on Apple's Program Enrollment FAQ:
I'm a contractor who develops apps for companies other than my own. How do I ensure my client's name is listed as the “Seller” on the App Store?
If your client plans to distribute the apps you create for them on the App Store with their legal entity name as the “Seller”, they must enroll in the iOS Developer Program. They can add you as a member of their development team so you can access the resources you need to create the app. While they must be the one who submits the app for review, you can assist them if necessary.

iOS development and client control-- What are my legal and best options? [closed]

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I work for a company that would like to create an app that we can distribute to our customers. We manufacture industrial equipment and we would like to provide an iPhone/iPad app to our customers that can interact with their equipment.
The problem is that we would prefer that the app not be downloaded from the App Store. We would like for this application to be available for our customers free-of-charge and would also like for them to have the ability to download and install the application on as many devices as they desire. However, we do not want non-customers (ahem, competitors) to be able to download and use our application.
What options are available? We have considered allowing the app to be available through the app store but in that case the app would be locked until the user entered an application key. This would keep the app free to download and it would give us the ability to control who could use our software. I'm not sure, however, if that is allowable by the Apple TOS.
The Enterprise license sounds like a potential option. If it is, what are the specific steps necessary for installing an iOS app on an Apple device if not through the App Store? I'm also not sure if it would break the TOS to distribute our app for this purpose under the Enterprise license. Is that the case?
What options do I have? Please realize, I don't own a Mac and I've never even attempted to write or distribute an iOS application-- I'm 100% new to all of this. Thanks for you help.
EDIT
Thank you all for the wonderful responses that I have so far received. Half of the questions that I have stem from the fact that I can't find the actual TOS agreement that I would have to sign if I became a standard or enterprise developer. (Yes, I've googled it.) Does anyone have a link to such documents?
If you want to distribute your app outside the App Store, you need to get an iOS Developer Entreprise license ($299/year). You're going to need a Dun & Bradstreet (D-U-N-S) number to enroll and can only deploy to 500 (registered) devices.
Edit: Another option would be to demand the user some authentication (such as user/pass) to use the app (think Facebook or Twitter). You could provide your clients with the credentials to ensure only a certain users have access to the app.
I think #ibeitia's answer is the best one, but here's an additional option: put the app on the app store, but make it all-but-useless without a login to your server.
For example, the Google+ app is useless unless you have a Google account.
You'd have to give a login to Apple so they can vet it, and of course I can't guarantee they'll allow it, but it's an option I'd consider.
(If you do go down that route, send an email to Apple's approval team asking for clarification before you start development!)
I work for a company that would like to create an app that we can
distribute to our customers.
From http://developer.apple.com/support/ios/enterprise.html (bold is mine)
I am a developer who wants to create an in house app for my client.
Can I join the iOS Developer Enterprise Program to do that?
The iOS Developer Enterprise Program should be used to develop and
distribute proprietary in-house applications to your own employees
within your own company. As such, your company would not qualify for
direct Program enrollment in this situation. We would suggest that
your client apply for enrollment in the Program, and, once enrolled in
the Program, your client may add the appropriate developers from your
company to their iOS Development Team.
The Enterprise Developer program doesn't allow you to sell your app to your customers. It's the customer, not you, who should enroll in the program.
I think your best bet will be to use Apple's B 2 B program:
http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/
This will allow you to have apps in Apple's business app store (not the ordinary app store), and control who gets the apps. You'd provide the redemption codes to your customers.
btw, I can confirm that providing an app with a login to make it useful would be okay with Apple - I've done it before.
Well your options are really limited.
You could go with the enterprise license but this is still limited to 500 device which still need to be register with the some how. (never had to work with the enterprise license).
But could you not make your app available in the appstore foor free but only make it work with you equipment. Thus make the app search for the equipment (via bonjour of wifi) and only work when it finds the device. This will make getting the accepted a bit harder but will work. There are some IP camera manager that work that way.
If your competitors really want your app they will get it one way or an other.
Just be sure you release an app before the competitors, do that way your company has the advantage.

Will my app stay in the app store after I stopped paying developer fee to Apple? [closed]

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I have found another question
where the marked answer, from June 2010 is "Your apps will be removed" however, another person answers that apps will not be removed, and claims as recent as February this year to be sure of this.
I think Apple support pages are very vague on this matter.
Is there anyone out there who knows for sure what happens?
(I hope this behavior is okay (re-asking the same question in a new post) - ideally a bump of that thread would have been my choose, but I don't know how to do that, or if it is possible on Stack Overflow. I don't have enough reputation to comment or edit the other question.)
No.
See http://developer.apple.com/support/ios/program-renewals.html:
If I don't renew my membership will my
application(s) still function for
those customers who have already
installed my application(s) from the
App Store?
Yes. Although you will lose App Store
distribution, your application(s) will
still function for customers who have
installed your application(s) from the
App Store on their device(s).
It makes commercial good sense for Apple to stop featuring your app in their store when you're not paying the yearly fee, since the infrastructure used to host your app would still be an ongoing cost for them.
Also, if Apple didn't purge non-paying customer's apps, over time the app store would become a huge aggregation of unmaintained apps which would dwarf newer higher quality apps. Remember that Apple often releases updates to iOS which requires updates and tweaks to existing apps -- for them to keep stale unmaintained apps around just doesn't make any sense at all.
Today I got this reply from Apple Developer Support:
As for your inquiry regarding to program renewal, please know that we advise you that your application will be removed from the App Store upon your expiration date unless you renew. If you'd like to continue to distribute your application on the App Store beyond your current expiration date, you'll need to renew into the Program before your current Program expires.
i can confirm that your app will be removed from the apple app store if you do not renew you apple developer program account. it just happened me, what a bummer. Hope this helps clarify this question

How many developers can use one iPhone developer key? [closed]

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I'm looking to create an iPhone application and will enroll in the iPhone Developer Program. However, it isn't clear to me how many developers I can have if I enroll in the Standard Program. It says the Enterprise Program is for companies with more than 500 developers, so if I work on a team with 2-3 other developers, will the Standard Program work? Does that just mean all of the applications we create to put into the app store will have the same company info? What does it take to get each developer enabled to test on their own iPhone? Is it just a license key that has to be entered?
Two or three developers can easily share a single Developer Certificate, it just needs to be copied to each development machine. The Standard Program should be fine for your purposes.
All of the apps you sell on iTunes will be listed under the one company or individual name. If you don't want that, you'll need to open multiple Program accounts.
To test on a piece of hardware the code must be signed using a Developer Certificate and a Provisioning Profile which ties the app to the device (by it's UDID number).
The point of code signing is that it identifies the source of the app, so you are free to let employees/partners share a certificate if you are willing to take responsibility for whatever they produce.
Also, Apple uses separate certificates for Development (test as you work) and Distribution (submitting to the store), so sharing the Development Certificate doesn't put your "storefront" at risk.
You can have multiple developers if you register as a company. You have three options:
Simply apply for a "Doing Business As" from your state clerk
Register your company as an LLC, process varies by state, contact your clerk
Incorporate your company, this is the most expensive option, and has tax implications
Next apply for the standard program under that company name. Remember that this is the name your apps will be released under.
You will be required to mail proof of your company to Apple. It will take some time for your company to be approved, Apple pays to have a background check done to ensure the company is in fact valid.
Once you are approved you need your other developers to request certificates, here is a link from apple with that process: (requires login)
https://developer.apple.com/ios/manage/certificates/team/howto.action
It's quite more complicated than that, you need to get a unique Certificate from Apple for each developer and device (which you can do once you purchase a License). Anyways the bottom line is 1 license = 1 developer + X devices.
So you can register more than one device, buy not more than one developer, so the Standard license will be an odd fit for your needs. So your options are to but a license per developer, or go Enterprise (likely cheaper than several single licenses), or you could have a complicated build setup where a single machine/account does all builds and updates binaries on the devices.