# Monetisation

## The decision

**File Manager is a one-time paid app.** No ads, no subscription, no in-app purchases, no
free tier and no trial. The price lives on the Play listing, not in the build — so there is
no Billing client, no `com.android.vending.BILLING` permission, and no purchase code in the
APK.

That is not a detail: it is what keeps the "no network permission, nothing leaves your
device" claim true in the *shipped artefact* rather than merely in the source.

## Price

| | Value |
|---|---|
| Base price | **€4.49** |
| Launch price | **€2.29** (≈49% off) for the first **14 days** |
| Model | One-time purchase, all features, no unlocks |

Both are set in the Play Console under *Products › App pricing*. Nothing about them is in
this repository, and nothing about them needs to be: changing the number is a Console edit,
not a release.

### Why €4.49

- **Anchors.** The only comparable *pure-paid* file manager on Play is MiXplorer Silver at
  **€6.99**. Everything else is free with ads or free with a €3–5 one-time unlock (Solid
  Explorer, FX+, X-plore, Cx). €4.49 sits below the premium paid rival and above the
  free tier's unlock price, which is where "no ads, no account, no network" earns its keep.
- **Scope.** A file manager is a daily-use tool across every app on the device, not a
  single-purpose utility. A one-shot photo-deduplication tool is reasonably priced at
  €2.99; a file manager does more, more often.
- **Headroom.** It is much easier to discount a €4.49 base than to raise a €2.49 one. The
  base price anchors future sales; the sale cannot anchor the base.

### Why a launch price

A temporary lower price gives early adopters a reason to commit and — more importantly —
produces the first reviews, which a paid app needs far more than a free one does. Once the
window closes, the price returns to €4.49. The same discount can be repeated for any later
milestone; the base price never has to move.

**Keep it honest:** the launch price is a genuine time-boxed reduction, not a permanent
"discount" — a base price that never applies is just a two-tier price with extra steps.

### ⚠️ This decision is irreversible in one direction

Play's own wording: *"You can change your app from paid to free. Once your app has been
offered for free, the app can't be changed to paid."* So:

- The price **must be set before the first upload**.
- Paid → free remains possible later if the strategy changes.
- Free → paid never does.

## Why not the alternatives

| Option | Rejected because |
|---|---|
| Free with ads | The product's whole pitch is "no clutter". Ads in a file manager are also a privacy problem — every ad SDK wants `INTERNET` and an advertising ID. |
| Free with a one-time unlock (IAP) | Would add the Billing client and the `BILLING` permission, require purchase-state plumbing and a restore path, and make the app's own "works offline forever" promise contingent on a Play check. |
| Subscription | Nothing here is a recurring service. Users are paying for a tool they already own a copy of. |
| Free | M9 exists to fund the work. See the irreversibility note: once free, never paid. |

## What is in the build — verified, not assumed

```bash
# None of these may return anything:
grep -rniE 'billing|vending' app/src gradle/ app/build.gradle.kts
$ANDROID_HOME/build-tools/36.0.0/aapt2 dump permissions \
  app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk | grep -i billing
```

Checked 2026-10-14 against the release APK: **no billing reference in the source, no Billing
dependency in the version catalog, no `com.android.vending.BILLING` permission, and no
`INTERNET`**. See [PLAY_RELEASE_CHECKLIST](PLAY_RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md) step 7.

## Console steps

1. Create a **payments profile** (identity, tax, bank details) for the developer account.
2. In the Play Console, on the app's *App pricing* page, set the base price to **€4.49**
   (Play fills in local equivalents; review the suggested prices rather than accepting
   them blindly).
3. Set the **launch price of €2.29**, and diarise changing it back after 14 days.
4. Do all of the above **before the first upload**.