Android app - free to paid strategy

Question

I have an Android app which is free but contains ads.

I'm thinking of making a paid version by publishing an unlocker which will remove ads and will enable more functionalities (functionalities which are all included already in the free version).

The problem is that to do so, I will have to "limit" the functionalities in the free version to be able to enable them with the unlocker.

But doing so those users who have the free version today (i.e. with full functionalities) will get angry when they get an update which will limit the functioanalities and thus I will get bad reviews on Google Play.

Is there a way to keep full functionalities for those who have the app from before, while limiting the functioanlites for those who download the app for the first time?

Answer 1

Is there a way to keep full functionalities for those who have the app from before, while limiting the functioanlites for those who download the app for the first time?

No you cannot do that with the same app, since you have already rolled out a full featured app as free. What you can do now is you can take down your existing app from store(unpublish) and upload a new one with In app purchase capability. Hence existing users will not get affected and you will have a Free app which new users can download and upgrade to get more features. But by doing so you will loose reviews on your existing app.