Question - Use of a 2nd extension for paid version?

[Tony Confrey]

I've been following with interest the recent posts about duplicate extensions being taken down. 

For my extensions I am planning a paid version in addition to the existing free version. I have been considering creating a second extension with a superset of the originals functionality - something like 'BrainTool - Free' and 'BrainTool - Premium'. The thinking being that this would simplify permissions, version control etc.

In light of this repetitive content policy, any insights on whether this is a foolhardy approach?

Thanks!

[Glen Chiacchieri]

Hm, that's an interesting question. Here are some tradeoffs I can think of:

- 2 extensions means the reviews get split between versions. So one extension might not have as good a reviews as the other meaning it gets found and installed less on the Chrome store. On the other hand, if one gets worse reviews then at least those reviews wouldn't affect the other as would be the case for just having one extension.

- If somehow the paid and free versions get marked as duplicates then they're both at risk.

- The two extensions wouldn't share data so a user would have to migrate all their data over if they upgraded to the paid version.

- I'd imagine that the more complicated install flow for having two extensions would mean a lower rate of people using the paid version.

Personally, I think I'd go with one extension and a simple paid upgrade flow. The experience for the user would be a lot better even if it makes it a little more complicated to develop. You can use https://extensionpay.com for a simple way to take payments in your extension either way.

[Deco]

To be clear, this is not explicitly prohibited in the CWS developer guidelines. The RCP is specifically for the content of the extension itself. So for example, if you offered a paid version of your extension which had different features, or more advanced features than a free version, this would not be an issue.

However, if both the paid and free version have broadly the same functionality as each other, then this would be a breach of the RCP.

Full details of the announcement can be found here: https://blog.chromium.org/2020/04/keeping-spam-off-chrome-web-store.html?m=1

Thanks,

Deco

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[Tony Confrey]

Thanks Glen and Deco, good food for thought. 

BrainTool mostly runs as a single page web app with the code served from my github repo (communicating with the extension to perform browser actions). Part of my motivation is to be able to serve the non-free version from a different source. But Glens comments about the user experience and splitting Web Store reviews and download stats are making me reconsider the approach.

Cheers,

Tony

[Simeon Vincent]

To be clear, this is not explicitly prohibited in the CWS developer guidelines - Deco

TBH I'm kinda on the fence here. I agree that it's not explicitly prohibited, but it's also not explicitly allowed. The Repetitive Content section of the Developer Program Policy states:

Repetitive Content: We don't allow any developer, related developer accounts, or their affiliates to submit multiple extensions that provide duplicate experiences or functionality on the Chrome Web Store. Extensions should provide value to users through the creation of unique content or services.

The Spam FAQ provides more details on how repetitive content is determined and notes that "the same user experience, even if the metadata or code are not identical." 

The big question from my point of view is how similar are the experiences provided by the two extensions? I'm hesitant because the superset of functionality Tony described may not be immediately apparent to an end user or a reviewer. That said, it feels like it should be possible to carve out a niche for the versions. The challenges is making that easily explicable.

Off the top of my head, one way to make the experience obviously distinct is to have the free version contain upsells for the premium version. Besides being an easily visible difference between the versions, it could also serve to make the functional differences more easily distinguishable between the versions.

Best of luck!

Simeon - @dotproto

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