JUCE Authorization - Recheck from time to time?

1

Hey quick question:
If I implement the plugin authorization as described in the juce tutorial - does the plugin check from time to time if the plugin really is licensed ?
Like if a customer buys the plugin and he wants a return, i somehow have to disable his plugin…

2

is this question that dumb ? or does no one know it?..

3

Disclaimer: The answer below is to the best of my knowledge. I have been wrong before. :slight_smile:

Out of the box: Once authorized a plugin will continue to be usable indefinitely.

There is nothing to stop you from implementing periodic checks.

4

Thank you! Seems like I have to figure out a good way of doing it myself then…

5

I think you either have a thread running on a timer, periodically checking, or you check somewhere in your code, like prepareToPlay, which will be called every so often naturally.

6

So far as I can tell right now the plugin seems to check the license file on startup. So I thought about additionally checking the server if a user with the given email has an active license (Could be removed when a customer gets a refund etc.). BUT the problem is: What do I do if a customer blocks the plugin from connecting to the internet?
I mean I could give out only keys that expire but then again this would probably f* up users who want to keep their device offline…

7

That’s the reason why there was no answer. The implementation is trivial, but what you do and how you communicate to your users is a different kind of fish.

Here is what I do:

  • The plugin checks every time from file
  • It also checks from server
    • if server says authorization gone (e.g. sold or NFR expired) stop working and delete license file
    • if server says ok, all back to normal
    • if server is not reached, I curteously let it run

This is to be lenient to the legit users and accept some individuals being naughty.
You can also display a popup: “please connect to the internet in the next 30 days”…

It is all up to you.