App Fair

Terms of Distribution for Developers

Welcome to the App Fair, the free and open source app marketplace! We’re excited to have you on board as a developer. In order to maintain a high-quality and trustworthy platform, we’ve established some guidelines for distributing apps on our marketplace. Please read the following terms carefully and make sure your apps comply with them.

1. Content Guidelines

Your app must comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where it is available. This includes, but is not limited to, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, and export control laws.

1.2 App Content

The App Fair Project reserves the right to determine what constitutes inappropriate content and to remove any app that violates this policy.

1.3 User Privacy

Apps must respect user privacy and only collect, use, and share data with user consent. Developers must provide a clear and accessible privacy policy that explains their data practices.

1.4 Intellectual Property

Your app must not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. This includes using copyrighted material, trademarks, or trade secrets without proper authorization.

2. Business Model Guidelines

2.1 Free and Open Source

Apps must meet the developer inclusion criteria. The app and all dependent software, including transitive dependencies, must have publicly available source under licenses that meet the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), with terms compatible with distribution under the app’s chosen license. Binary dependencies, such as Maven JARs, are permitted only when their released binaries can provably be reproduced by building the available source. Submit the source revisions, build instructions and verification evidence for review. Closed-source components are prohibited.

2.2 Monetization

The App Fair Project is a non-commercial endeavor. Apps are developed and maintained for the common good, not for profit or commercial gain. Developers may not monetize their apps through payment, in-app purchases, subscriptions, or donations.

2.3 Advertisements

Apps must not contain advertisements, advertising SDKs, analytics, tracking or telemetry. Consent does not create an exception to these prohibitions. See the app rules.

3. App Submission and Review

3.1 Submission Process

Follow Getting started and the inclusion criteria, including the required App Fair Publisher installation and published project website. Provide the following information:

  • App name
  • App description
  • Link to the app’s source code repository
  • Link to the app’s privacy policy (if applicable)
  • Contact information for the developer

3.2 Review Process

The App Fair team will review your submission to ensure it complies with these terms. We reserve the right to reject or remove any app that does not meet our guidelines.

3.3 Updates and Maintenance

Developers are responsible for keeping their apps up-to-date and maintaining their functionality. The App Fair Project may remove apps that are no longer maintained or have become incompatible with the platform.

4. Acceptance of Terms

By submitting your app to the App Fair Project, you agree to abide by these terms and conditions. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not submit your app.

We look forward to working with you to create a thriving, open source app marketplace! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at support@appfair.org.

Last updated March 28, 2024