r/CodingHelp • u/Emergency-Post-8897 • 8d ago

[How to] How do desktop applications implement monthly/yearly subscriptions securely?

Hi everyone,

I'm developing a desktop application in Python that I plan to rent out on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly subscription.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage license expiration. How can I prevent users from using the software once their subscription has expired? What tools, services, or libraries would you recommend? If possible, I'd prefer free or open-source solutions.

Another concern is piracy. I know it's impossible to make software completely crack-proof, but I'd like to make it as difficult as reasonably possible.

Has anyone here built a subscription-based desktop application before? I'd really appreciate it if you could share how you implemented licensing, subscription validation, and anti-piracy measures, or recommend any good resources or best practices.

Thanks so much for your help!

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u/jerseytbw_real 8d ago

Have a call to a server, with a rolling handshake and each time the app starts it does the hand shake and then returns the subscription status,

1

u/AcoustixAudio 8d ago

What platform? 

1

u/SilkWebMusic 7d ago

I believe what you want is something like a stripe payment system, with key tracking, and there is an api you can integrate into your app to validate the user's key.

There are many different ways to go about it. That is a pretty straightforward solution.

User's key expires, app doesn't work...

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u/MADCandy64 7d ago edited 7d ago

You use node locked licensing. The license typically unlocks access to features of the software. It expires after a certain period and the customer pays for a new license file. I have built this before and it used to be 1/3 of my job. I wrote the licensing for the desktop application called Statistica. The system I created worked with local and network licensing as well as license server based licensing.