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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”

#231

Post by justtopost »

weberc2 wrote: post #217
dmitryminkovsky wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I feel like there ought to be a google competitor now that google is so crappy. I switched to DDG on my phone and it’s good. Recommend it.

I’ve been using DDG full time everywhere for a year and it was really good but has become pretty bad in the last few months. I begrudgingly have to open Google more and more. Not sure what is up.

Yup, it keeps treating all search terms as optional. My searches all "look" "like" "this" now, and it still omits stuff. Infuriating. Respect my search query.

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

#232

Post by justtopost »

SonicSoul wrote: post #224

it seems that in such cases easiest approach is to contact someone at Google to forward your case to the right person. I met Goog people at my coffee shop and had cases where weird behavior happened (when i tried to leave a review for example) and i just emailed them and they said "oh @#$ that looks like a bug I've forwarded this to PM at xxx. here's interim solution.." I couldn't believe it was that easy.. in the en…

So what do the other 4 billion people do who dont eat lunch in SV? Sounds like a great example of how privlidge blinds you to the endemic problems the world faces.

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

#233

Post by wogg »

sercand wrote: post #20

When you receive that email from Google you can only fill a generic form given at the bottom of the email. You can't contact a human being to understand why it is rejected/removed. Problem is not written clearly and it doesn't include a screenshot as apple does. Google is terrible at support on Play Store (and some more of its services).

Same experience at RescueTime. I don't understand why Apple is able to have humans interact with developers, but Google is not.

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

#234

Post by justtopost »

Nasrudith wrote: post #95
ok_coo wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google still has complete control over how well your web app is ranked in search results and they change rules and criteria all of the time, sometimes with little notice. Google search console is infuriatingly vague. Google is inescapable and opaque and I’m glad politicians are finally seeing these entities as monopoly powers that need to be addressed. They have a monopoly market share in web search and mobile device…

You seriously overestimate their both their automated and manual control if you think they are capable of passive aggressive actions to non-entities. They closest they can come is hiding autosuggest when too many people complain or it becomes too sensitive like say "Ted Cruz Zodiac Killer".

They have much much done more than soft-censor autocomplete.

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

#235

Post by anyzen »

SonicSoul wrote: post #224

it seems that in such cases easiest approach is to contact someone at Google to forward your case to the right person. I met Goog people at my coffee shop and had cases where weird behavior happened (when i tried to leave a review for example) and i just emailed them and they said "oh @#$ that looks like a bug I've forwarded this to PM at xxx. here's interim solution.." I couldn't believe it was that easy.. in the en…

> I met Goog people at my coffee shop...

> I couldn't believe it was that easy

You're kiding, right? :)

Yes, it looks like this is one of the few ways one can make the appeals work. Awful solution though.

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

#236

Post by ucaetano »

wolco wrote: post #105
ucaetano wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can do all of that, just download the apk. What you seem to want is that app stores should be forced to accept any apps? The rest is just saudosistic nostalgia. There wasn't mass access to the internet, you're just missing the times when a small elite had access to the internet. Consumers are far better now than they were.

There was open access to the internet when aol started giving away cd-roms. Rich and poor, educated and less educated roamed different sites often clashing. The interest wasn't massive because things were not super easy. Phones bridged the gap. Fast forward to today you have less choice but bigger buy buttons.

> rich and poor

You seem to have a mental image of the internet that doesn't correspond to reality. Poor didn't have access, they couldn't afford a computer, much less an internet plan.

Step out of the Hacker News bubble for a bit.

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

#237

Post by ucaetano »

supermatt wrote: post #120
ucaetano wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> App stores are monopolies That is a huge claim, thrown around by you with no backing. You could get a few economists to discuss that for ages without reaching a conclusion. Unless you're talking about the layman's definition of monopoly, which means "whatever I want it to mean". This is particularly relevant when there's the Amazon app store, and app preloads, and the Korean app store, and Fortnite isn't available…

Is the market the common market, or is the android market? Is the commodity mobile apps, or android apps? Google have absolute monopoly of android apps in the common market, and a monopoly of mobile apps in the android market. The EU already ruled this http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4581_en.htm I really don't understand app-store apologists. Its abuse of dominance, plain and simple.

You also don't seem to understand economics. It isn't plain and simple, things are far more complex than that.

And if you read the EU decision, you'll notice that they're assuming that Android doesn't compete with iOS...

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

#239

Post by Tsubasachan »

phillc73 wrote: post #201
Tsubasachan wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Android you can easily sideload apps. So there is a choice. I understand that 90% of people get their apps exclusively from the Play Store but that is not because Google is evil. Its because people prefer one store were they can find everything: the supermarket model.

And not just the consumers, but it would seem the producers too. By choice, I do not have a Play Store account and wherever possible install apps only from F-Droid. However, there are (rare) times where I want to install a free (as in beer) closed source app. However, the publisher only chooses to make the app available via the Play Store. I would really, really like a direct apk download. I appreciate this approach…

Absolutely. If developers don't want one app store to dominate the marketplace they have to publish in multiple places. Otherwise what can they expect is going to happen? Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

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

#240

Post by criddell »

sercand wrote: post #20

When you receive that email from Google you can only fill a generic form given at the bottom of the email. You can't contact a human being to understand why it is rejected/removed. Problem is not written clearly and it doesn't include a screenshot as apple does. Google is terrible at support on Play Store (and some more of its services).

I understand that Google wants to handle as much as possible with a support.py script, but they really should start having people to contact.

Maybe there should be a fee for a support request and if the Google rep finds that Google's automated system messed up they report the problem internally and refund the fee to the app developer.

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