Android Question Protecting an app from cloning

Sasuke Sama

Sasuke Sama

Active Member
Licensed User
I recently got my hand on someone on the playstore who copied and modified one of my apps including the name, icon, colores and even put his on firebase ads insted of mine then re-uploaded on the playstore in his account
I tried to reach for google several times but they dont seem to care
My app is not the only app all his published apps are a modified apps.
So is there anyway i can protect my apps from cloning?
 
Jmu5667

Jmu5667

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Sasuke Sama said:
I recently got my hand on someone on the playstore who copied and modified one of my apps including the name, icon, colores and even put his on firebase ads insted of mine then re-uploaded on the playstore in his account
I tried to reach for google several times but they dont seem to care
My app is not the only app all his published apps are a modified apps.
So is there anyway i can protect my apps from cloning?
Click to expand...

what is your app, and the closed app, post the playstore links here
 
S

sorex

Expert
Licensed User
if they ask him about it he can just say it's reversed enginered and there's not much they can do about it I guess.
 
MarkusR

MarkusR

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
the screenshots in app store looks different. i guess someone just copy the idea and made own app.
 
S

sorex

Expert
Licensed User
in that case everyone can start complaining as 100% unique apps are like non existing (after a few months).
 
Star-Dust

Star-Dust

Expert
Licensed User
What does cloning mean to you?
  1. Recover the source code illegally to reuse it
  2. Create a similar app that has the same goal as yours
 
Sasuke Sama

Sasuke Sama

Active Member
Licensed User
Jmu5667 said:
How do you know it was cloned ? Have you de-compiled the suspected cloned APK ?
Click to expand...
Screenshot are not what the app really is ... When i send a notification to my app the clone received it as well
The clone also uses my firebase database ... My servers and my users accounts
 
Sasuke Sama

Sasuke Sama

Active Member
Licensed User
Star-Dust said:
What does cloning mean to you?
  1. Recover the source code illegally to reuse it
  2. Create a similar app that has the same goal as yours
Click to expand...
My app is closed source
Screenshot are not what the app really is ... When i send a notification to my app the clone received it as well
The clone also uses my firebase database ... My servers and my users accounts
 
Star-Dust

Star-Dust

Expert
Licensed User
Sasuke Sama said:
My app is closed source
Screenshot are not what the app really is ... When i send a notification to my app the clone received it as well
The clone also uses my firebase database ... My servers and my users accounts
Click to expand...
It could be a clone as you suppose, but the developer could have created an alternative client. Sniffing the network, some developers have reproduced alternative clients to aim, icq, messenger and even WhatsApp in the past.
Recreating that menu is not difficult.

Of course, if they manage to access your firebase there was certainly a reverse engegneer or someone had access to your PC.
Is it a successful app that would justify such an action?

Peter's suggestions are excellent.

PS the size of the APKs is different, they are not identical
 
Sasuke Sama

Sasuke Sama

Active Member
Licensed User
Star-Dust said:
It could be a clone as you suppose, but the developer could have created an alternative client. Sniffing the network, some developers have reproduced alternative clients to aim, icq, messenger and even WhatsApp in the past.
Recreating that menu is not difficult.

Of course, if they manage to access your firebase there was certainly a reverse engegneer or someone had access to your PC.
Is it a successful app that would justify such an action?

Peter's suggestions are excellent.

PS the size of the APKs is different, they are not identical
Click to expand...
I managed to contact him and he confirmed that he is using my app and modified it
He also refusing to remove it from the store
Guess ill have to do it the hard way
 
Sasuke Sama

Sasuke Sama

Active Member
Licensed User
sorex said:
just update the app every week and change the firebase database/pushmessage passwords aswell. (if there are any)

he'll give up after a while.
Click to expand...
I thought about that as well i will do that alongside the suggestions above
Thanx everyone best community ever : D
 
techknight

techknight

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
The only way to fix this and prevent it for awhile is to design a kill switch inside the app that is part of an algorithm that is required to generate mathematically, numbers used to run the app, that is so intertwined that its not easily patched out.

To start off with, UI code. all the font sizes and alignment codes could be generated by this algorithm. All your For loops and compare if statements could be obfuscated numbers that get corrected by yet another algorithm that has to execute to change the state of the variable to the correct value.

When you throw the kill switch, the whole app is basically junk unless its "recreated" by putting in so many patches.

The trick is, make it elaborate like I have explained, but also make it very subtle so it goes unnoticed. the seeds/keys to the algorithm can be embedded in an image, it could be sent from the server with account info, make it so it goes unnoticed.

Then, when the killswitch gets thrown, the reference data is no longer there to "replay attack" the system anymore.
 
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