Sell bot access off-platform
Buzzio does not run checkout, invoices, Stars, or membership flags for bots. Developers who want paid features sell them on their own website, then gate logic in their bot brain.
This keeps Google Play / App Store rules clear: digital bot access is not sold inside the Buzzio mobile app.
What Buzzio provides
| You get | You do not get |
|---|---|
Ordinary HTTPS url buttons in messages |
In-chat pay buttons / invoices |
Opaque user id bu_… on Updates |
Buzzio-stored has_premium |
/start <payload> deep links |
grantUserPremium / payment webhooks into Buzzio |
Bot API payment and bot-premium method names return 404. See Bot API methods.
Recommended flow
1. Bot sends: “Unlock Pro” → url button → https://yoursite.com/pay?bot=myhelperbot
2. User pays on your Stripe (or Razorpay, etc.) Checkout
3. Your webhook marks customer paid in your DB
4. You redirect or tell the user to open the bot with /start <signed_token>
5. Your webhook/getUpdates handler maps bu_… ↔ customer and sets premium locally
6. Your bot checks your DB before premium replies
Tips
- Key membership by
bu_…, not by Buzzio username (users can change handles). - Put a short-lived signed token in
/startafter payment so you can bind the payer to the bot user. - Never ask for card numbers inside Buzzio chat.
- You are the merchant of record and an independent privacy controller for payment data (Bot Privacy on developers.buzzio.dev).
What not to do
- Do not embed an in-app purchase UI inside Buzzio for bot digital goods.
- Do not expect Buzzio to unlock app features after your off-platform payment (v1).
- Do not put “Subscribe on web” checkout CTAs inside the Play Store Buzzio app for digital bot access (anti-steering). Link users to your product from your own site, docs, or ordinary bot message URLs they already opened.
Later (not shipped)
Buzzio may optionally broker entitlement (webhook → membership flag on Updates). That is not live. Track: bot/BOT_WEB_PREMIUM_AND_CHAT_PLAN.md Phase C.