Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
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Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#2This is my personal nightmare as a android developer, and knowing google it's not a matter of "if" but rather "when".
(Google did remove my app from store once for not providing a link to a privacy policy document, abruptly, with no warning and notifying me post-factum, reading other horror stories I consider myself lucky)
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#3The easiest way to identify a monopoly is to look at how badly a company can treat its customers and still get away with it. My company has a half dozen stories like this about Google in the last year alone.
Know what Google is doing to its AdSense partners on a massive scale? They wait until your site has just under the earnings when they have to write you a check, then they terminate your AdSense account for “policy violations”.
I’m taking about AdSense sites that have been running for years with very little traffic, accumulating a few pennies a day.
They suspended a client of ours who was spending $40k a month on Google Ads with a two word explanation of “policy violations”, and steadfastly refused to explain any reason why. Our client was perfectly reputable, ran multi million dollar ad campaigns on television and radio, and was FDA approved.
When what Google has been getting away with finally comes to light... well, let’s hope it does come to light and they pay the consequences.
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#4I don't really see any mention of it, but do you at least have some idea of what may have triggered this issue? I see that your open-source Android app is serving ads. I'm also curious why your app isn't on F-Droid?
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#5The easiest way to identify a monopoly is to look at how badly a company can treat its customers and still get away with it. My company has a half dozen stories like this about Google in the last year alone. Know what Google is doing to its AdSense partners on a massive scale? They wait until your site has just under the earnings when they have to write you a check, then they terminate your AdSense account for “polic…
I would want any company that is abusing their power to face consequences. However, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out that some of these companies complaining about getting banned are legitimately doing something wrong and their only cards to play are hoping for a political reaction, rather than suing Google in court and being exposed for why they were actually banned.
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#6The easiest way to identify a monopoly is to look at how badly a company can treat its customers and still get away with it. My company has a half dozen stories like this about Google in the last year alone. Know what Google is doing to its AdSense partners on a massive scale? They wait until your site has just under the earnings when they have to write you a check, then they terminate your AdSense account for “polic…
I would want any company that is abusing their power to face consequences. However, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out that some of these companies complaining about getting banned are legitimately doing something wrong and their only cards to play are hoping for a political reaction, rather than suing Google in court and being exposed for why they were actually banned.
Sure. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit either if there was an active policy on the part of Google that optimized for profits at the expense of the rest of the world either.
See, if a company can do something for years then the least thing you can do is explain why they've been banned, 'policy violation' is such a great fig-leaf for a lot of trickery that it should be a requirement to spell out exactly what the violation was unless the account was only a few days old and did not have a history of good behavior right up to that point.
If Google wants to hide behind the mantra that they do not wish to tell the world what rules they have to avoid giving spammers an edge then they should improve their enforcement; not to send away the bulk of the complainants without a way to improve or some kind of dialogue.
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#7The easiest way to identify a monopoly is to look at how badly a company can treat its customers and still get away with it. My company has a half dozen stories like this about Google in the last year alone. Know what Google is doing to its AdSense partners on a massive scale? They wait until your site has just under the earnings when they have to write you a check, then they terminate your AdSense account for “polic…
I would want any company that is abusing their power to face consequences. However, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out that some of these companies complaining about getting banned are legitimately doing something wrong and their only cards to play are hoping for a political reaction, rather than suing Google in court and being exposed for why they were actually banned.
Court costs and lawyer fees are expensive, Google the monopoly can afford the best lawyers... So this is crying for a class action lawsuit with the best lawyers. When all is said and done it will be a slap on the wrist compared to Google's revenue. So unless the courts hand out huge punitive judgment it would not do much. And even if they do the parties effected will see a small fraction of their loss. Corporate psychopathy at its best or worst.
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#8Wow, I can't believe they suspended Mon transit! It's been a while since I lived in Montreal, but it was super helpful back then, showing the next bus times and the number of available public bike system bikes at nearby stations.
Sorry to hear that, Mathieu, and best of luck!
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#9Perhaps a sneaky competitor exploited some flaw in the app reporting process to knock the app off the store?
Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app
#10> 4 of my apps were reviewed and suspended on Friday ..
What were the other three?