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Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

purpleleafsoftware.com

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Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#161

Post by Svoka »

pmx wrote: post #152
z3t4 wrote: post #146

I hear a lot of people complain they got falsely banned by some automated process. But automatic processes are easy to game, so just do what the spammers likely do, slightly edit the app, re-upload using another account and IP, etc, repeat. I'm sad every time I install an Android app, thinking how much crap/spyware it will install on my device ... Android should allow other "app stores", just like you can have differ…

There is nothing stopping you from using other app stores on android. Amazon has their own (amazon underground) and samsung have their own (galaxy store). There are others out there, too!

Google is de-facto monopolist if you want to make money off your apps/games. Company was publishing same game on basically all android stores, and returns were less than one hundredth comparing to the Play Store; even if it was featured in other stores.

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#163

Post by yorwba »

z3t4 wrote: post #146

I hear a lot of people complain they got falsely banned by some automated process. But automatic processes are easy to game, so just do what the spammers likely do, slightly edit the app, re-upload using another account and IP, etc, repeat. I'm sad every time I install an Android app, thinking how much crap/spyware it will install on my device ... Android should allow other "app stores", just like you can have differ…

The niche store focusing on open-source software is https://f-droid.org/ . The only apps I get from Google are various proprietary messaging apps where network effects prevent me from deleting them.

There are also OEM-specific stores (Amazon, Chinese manufacturers) and some focusing on countries where Google Play is unavailable like https://cafebazaar.ir/?l=en for Iran or, again, various Chinese stores.

Edit: the situation is a lot like that of browsers, actually. There are many alternatives, but most people are only aware of the one they're using.

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#164

Post by lotsofpulp »

fouc wrote: post #79
_jgvg wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I, the engineer, do not want them to do this. You don't matter, consumers matter. > Before Google and Apple, I didn't have this problem. And you didn't have distribution either. > But it wasn't always this way! Indeed, there wasn't even distribution. Do you actually remember what was shipping mobile software back in 2005? > I want them to pay back the negative externalities they've leveraged onto us. Again, you as…

Why can't mobile follow the same model as desktop?

Because people don’t want to spend hours uninstalling malware their devices.

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#165

Post by lotsofpulp »

cf141q5325 wrote: post #155
em500 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The desktop distribution model was awful. I wasted many many hours in the past cleaning crapware from family PCs.

To be fair, complain about your family, not the desktop model. Its like babyproofing, the equivalent of no one beeing allowed to buy a steakknife because some people are not grown up enough to handle one carefully. edit: Its ofcourse a difficult subject, like with your parents getting too old to drive and not recognizing it, but after all not a technical but a societal problem.

And society fixed it by voting for the vendors that baby proofed the devices.

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#166

Post by noitsnot »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #119

From the blog comments: > Good luck man. I had an app removed because someone did a review of it and their review had screenshots of my app and Google banned the app for copyright infringement siting them as the source. No appeal, one strike, never got through to a human. If true that’s laughablly insane.

Google banned me for deceptive ads. I converted the app. to Objective-C and made it into iTunes with no issues.

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#167

Post by netsharc »

thatoneuser wrote: post #157
quickthrower2 wrote: post #119

From the blog comments: > Good luck man. I had an app removed because someone did a review of it and their review had screenshots of my app and Google banned the app for copyright infringement siting them as the source. No appeal, one strike, never got through to a human. If true that’s laughablly insane.

Had similar experience. Several years ago app with 6+ digit installs in the first six months. Got some generic excuse and our app was down. We could contest but then they threatened to take even more away. I don't like these platforms...

Cloud feudalism... https://hbr.org/2013/06/you-have-no-control-over-s

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#168

Post by realusername »

Nextgrid wrote: post #148
golergka wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a mobile app developer, what choice do you have?

Publishing on the web or iOS is always a choice.

It's pretty much the same issue on iOS, we only have two crappy (and poorly managed) walled garden in the mobile world.

Re: Google removed my ads-free app for “deceptive ads”

#169

Post by Avamander »

jakobegger wrote: post #147
a_imho wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Developers pay $25 or so on sign up.

And after paying those $25 they are free to spam the review team with hundreds of submissions? Doesn't sound sustainable to me. If App Stores charged a fee per submission, that would drastically cut down on spam submissions, and free up resources for those of us who actually put a lot of effort into our apps.

Once you set a fee I know apps will be updated less often, it'd be sad for open-source apps - which I'd say are the most useful of all apps on Google Play.
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