31–40 of 108 posts
Besides the point/argument laid out in the article, could you mention any possible reasons you think this may have happened? Would help to hear.
Exactly. From the wording of the email, it sounds like his previous ventures might have been doing something shady and those accounts are linked to the startup account.
> We recommend that you use an alternative method for distributing your apps in the future.
There is no reasonable alternative method for distributing commercial apps on android. The app store is a monopoly.
Wow, I feel for that company. I was always skeptical of people raising alarm bells at everything "going chrome," but now I'm starting to get it - Google has the ability to just nuke a company from orbit on a whim, and I'm not sure anybody can do anything about it. Sure, that company developed a business around Google. But it still feels bad. The only problem is that I don't trust a large portion of American politicia…
And that's why you don't build that critical point of failure into your product, even if it's harder and more expensive to do it another way. Which, sadly, means don't build your company around an Android app.
They can do this to your personal Google account, too. What are the repercussions, to most people, of being summarily banned from all Google products? (Hint: What's the recovery email address for all of your random online services? What's your personal contact email for work, taxation, etc.? Do you have a local backup of your Gmail archive?) It's unlikely, sure, but if it does happen then it's gonna suck.
As someone who has built and published apps on both major platforms, this issue of not being able to speak to someone is a problem on the Apple platform as well (as on Googles). As mentioned in the article, it’s heart wrenching to receive an email saying there is a problem with your app and know that the app or the release you worked so hard on might not get published. Having a release rejected can also be as bad as…
I'd believe I'd rather just have a secure platform that's open to any apps, no gatekeepers. Kind of like the web. Almost anyone can make an website and no gatekeeper gets in the way. We mostly trust the browsers are secure (or at least I trust Chrome to be secure, maybe Firefox too soon). I feel like iOS in particular could already do this. They could just let users install apps from anywhere and then do their best t…
>Do not attempt to register a new developer account. Any new accounts will be closed and your developer registration fee will not be refunded. We recommend that you use an alternative method for distributing your apps in the future. If this is a serous problem, why is there no other app store? There should be plenty of programmers who need another method to reach their customers. For starters, Amazon's app store shou…
It is serious, but only for a few developers, not for most, nor for Google. It has to be wide-spread to make alternative store(s) viable.
Still not entirely sure what kind of apps this guy is making, are they legitimate? Otherwise, it looks like a reoccurring HN thing, where people plea for help while they're actually involved in some shady stuff. Not trying to accuse the author, of course. At the same time, it drives me nuts to see these kinds of flaws in the system. People get invested in a platform, and then one day that platform kicks you in the nu…
https://web.archive.org/web/20170428152946/https://play.goog...
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lx9Xke...
At first glance doesn't seem to be scummy, but you never know.
We also have this story on HN today https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18781473 Imagine a world in which Google Pay is dominant, and your Google Play account is terminated, and nowhere takes cash, and you can't buy food now, or ever.
As someone who has built and published apps on both major platforms, this issue of not being able to speak to someone is a problem on the Apple platform as well (as on Googles). As mentioned in the article, it’s heart wrenching to receive an email saying there is a problem with your app and know that the app or the release you worked so hard on might not get published. Having a release rejected can also be as bad as…
Wait, am I understanding correctly that Apple and Google actually charge developers money to produce the content that Apple and Google monetize on their app stores?
I can't find Pablo A. Martinez's personal developer account; the closest match is com.pablomartinez, which belongs (belonged?) to a law form, according to the description on Google. (The page is no longer accessible and doesn't seem to be archived anywhere.)
Pablo A. Martinez has additional work history publicly posted on his LinkedIn profile [4]. I just gave it a quick skim, but I don't see anything shady. At least on the surface, there's no clear explanation for the account terminations.
Pablo, if you're reading this, please consider adding more info about the apps you published, ideally with links to back up your claims. It'll make your case stronger.
[1]: https://www.greenlionsoft.com/
[2]: https://web.archive.org/web/20170428152946/https://play.goog...
[3]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=583922732690913554...
As someone who has built and published apps on both major platforms, this issue of not being able to speak to someone is a problem on the Apple platform as well (as on Googles). As mentioned in the article, it’s heart wrenching to receive an email saying there is a problem with your app and know that the app or the release you worked so hard on might not get published. Having a release rejected can also be as bad as…
I'd believe I'd rather just have a secure platform that's open to any apps, no gatekeepers. Kind of like the web. Almost anyone can make an website and no gatekeeper gets in the way. We mostly trust the browsers are secure (or at least I trust Chrome to be secure, maybe Firefox too soon). I feel like iOS in particular could already do this. They could just let users install apps from anywhere and then do their best t…