For the longest time, XDA has been a bastion, a pillar in the world of development. This is essentially because we try our hardest to make the free flow of knowledge and information our main focus so that everyone can benefit and grow, but more importantly, because it encourages others to share as well.

Everyone understands that very few things in this life are free and many simply see the things that started as hobbies either as a potential business or even as a waste of time that would need to be monetarily justified in order to carry on with their continued existence. This almost inevitable shift in mentality of people who slave themselves behind keyboards has led into a rather interesting new business in the underground world of mobile development: paid apps. Mind you, we are not saying that this is a bad thing. In fact, economic stimulus can be a fantastic driving force to get you to do more. But again, remember: XDA is a place to share knowledge, not make a quick buck.

Having said that and because of a large influx of brand new developers due to the advent of Android, we feel that we needed to clarify a few things regarding paid work on this site. First off, lets start with the most obvious place, Rule 11:

11. Don’t post with the intention of selling something.

• Don’t use XDA to advertise your product or service. Proprietors of for-pay products or services, may use XDA to get feedback, provide beta access, or a free version of their product for XDA users and offer support, but not to post with the intention of selling. This includes promoting sites similar/substantially similar to XDA-Developers.com.

• Do not post press releases, announcements, links to trial software, or commercial services. unless you’re posting an exclusive release for XDA-Developers.com.

• Encouraging members to participate in forum activities on other phone related sites is prohibited.

• Off-site downloads are permitted if the site is non-commercial and does not require registration.

• Off-site downloads from sites requiring registration are NOT encouraged but may be permitted if the following conditions are met:A) the site belongs to a member of XDA-Developers with at least 1500 posts and 2 years membership who actively maintains XDA-Developers’ support thread(s) / posts, related to the download,B) the site is a relatively small personal website without commercial advertising/links (i.e. not a competitor forum-based site with purposes and aims similar to those of XDA-Developers.com.)

Now, a big chunk of Rule 11 deals with other topics aside from paid apps, so we will only focus on the two bold, underlined sections (the first two bullets for those reading this in apps that may not display formatting correctly). Both of these converge to the same point: Do not use xda to make money. Use it to share, to learn from others, to teach, to help; this is the intent of our site. This is what we are here for and the sole reason why we have survived for 10 years (and counting). If you feel that you must/want to post your paid work in here, you are welcome to do so. But if you choose to, please make sure that you follow a few simple guidelines to keep you out of trouble:

Pro-Tip #1 – Sell in the correct area

If you have a paid app that you are advertising on xda-developers, it must be posted in the Paid Software Announcement and Discussion section, which has a few guidelines that need to be followed before posting. To save you some reading, you must be a member in good standing with some good history behind you on the site. This way, we ensure that people are not here solely to sell stuff.

Pro-Tip #2 – Sharing is caring

If you do not have the status to sell your apps directly on the aforementioned Paid Software section, you may link to your paid app in the app store from a thread that offers a free version of the app you are trying to sell. In other words, you must create a free version of the app that is either exclusive to xda-developers or at the very least, free of charge. The free app, however, must not be:

• a time trial (expires after some time post installation);
• crippleware (an app whose core functionality is affected to the point of it being unusable – ie a back-up app that will only allow you to back up a small number of apps per day);
• If ads are present, please ensure that they do not interfere with the app’s usability.

So, what you can do is to go about using some of the commonly used methods of free app developers, such as

• ads;
• in-app purchases;
• unlock extra functionality (think Ever-Root in Mobile Odin or touch free batch back up in TiBU).

To sum this one up, feel free to have a Pro/Advanced/Plus/Premium/Donate (or whatever you want to call it) version of your app alongside the one you are sharing with the community. If people like your work, they will likely want to see what you can do when money is involved.

Pro-Tip #3 – Link =| Spam

Be mindful of the amount of advertising you do with your paid work. Again, you can link from within the thread of your free version. However, you cannot include direct links to your paid apps in your signature, profile, or anywhere else. You can, however, put links to your free app threads in the aforementioned places, which already contain links to the paid counterparts. Simply put, you must first present your free app before you direct others to your paid work.

Pro-Tip #4 – We Showcase Free Apps!

We tend to feature free work on the Portal, regardless of whether it has a paid counterpart or not. Use it to your advantage. And don’t forget to submit a tip if you feel that you meet all of the above and wish for additional exposure.

That is essentially it. Following the above will certainly ensure that your stay at our site maximizes your time spent here as that of others. Always remember, sharing in here is about sharing knowledge and not finished goods. That is what the Play store is for. Thanks for reading and happy sharing!

Small link to the rules for a bit of a refresher course for those who need them

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