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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

#171

Post by laingc »

cbanek wrote: post #74
dollar wrote: post #3

The 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…

This also makes me feel even more strongly that the FTC should really clamp down on these very strict app stores. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/amicus_briefs/app... Both the App Store and Google Play stores I think are basically illegal monopolies. I should be able to install whatever app I want, without having to jailbreak my phone and deal with warranty nonsense from the manufacturer. Just like my comp…

Personally, as an iOS user, I do not want the App Store opened up at all.

Currently, I can go to the App Store, install any app, and be about 99.9% confident that the app will do me (or my technologically illiterate mother) absolutely no harm.

This is something I value highly, and am happy to pay the “Apple premium” for.

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#172

Post by Gorgor »

To be exact, Google did not “delete” the app. It cannot even do that. It removed the app from its own app store. The fundamental problem is that Google’s own app store is perceived by many users to be the only way to install Android apps.

Are there any ideas about how to convince users to use other app stores?

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#173

Post by bamboozled »

Our company had ~15 Google accounts shut down the other day due to apparently the content of our emails being flagged by some kind of automated curation system.

This happened without any warning.

The problem was rectified within 30 minutes of the incident occurring because we contacted support immediately. As soon as they looked over it, we were back online, so it can't have been too serious.

It feels like Google take internal company policies and apply it to all their customers.

Anyway, I'm glad I don't have my personal stuff hosted there anymore.

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#174

Post by panpanna »

Macha wrote: post #132
panpanna wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. As you stated, Google forces devs to rely on presence of the Google Play Services Not forcing per se. Google just provides a convenient services that devs are happy to use.

That time has passed. There's functionality on Android that can only be reliably provided through play services these days (push notifications being the big one).

You are correct, but how many applications need push notifications?

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#176

Post by oblio »

laingc wrote: post #171
cbanek wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This also makes me feel even more strongly that the FTC should really clamp down on these very strict app stores. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/amicus_briefs/app... Both the App Store and Google Play stores I think are basically illegal monopolies. I should be able to install whatever app I want, without having to jailbreak my phone and deal with warranty nonsense from the manufacturer. Just like my comp…

Personally, as an iOS user, I do not want the App Store opened up at all. Currently, I can go to the App Store, install any app, and be about 99.9% confident that the app will do me (or my technologically illiterate mother) absolutely no harm. This is something I value highly, and am happy to pay the “Apple premium” for.

You could just not void the warranty (more or less) for installing apps from other sources.

Your mom always uses the App Store, everybody else is happy.

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#177

Post by snorkasaurus »

jefftk wrote: post #152
pnw_hazor wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what everyone says about bad places. That's what they always say when asked to do terrible things. There will be people they could hire, but it wouldn't be anyone that would get invited to conferences, and so on. Nobody that would make Stanford proud. People who work at Google know they are working for a terrible company doing terrible things (there are plenty of those...) but those programmers, every single o…

> People who work at Google know they are working for a terrible company doing terrible things I work at Google, and I don't think it's terrible. Neither do most of my coworkers. There are things I wish were better, and things I'm working on improving, but overall I think Google's impact on the world is strongly positive.

> It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.

Upton Sinclair

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#178

Post by ldng »

cateye wrote: post #113
dollar wrote: post #3

The 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…

This happened more than 10 years ago to me too. Actually, my Adsense account is still in a strange way inaccessible while I'm using all other Google services like Gmail. I tried in all ways to get an explanation why my account was locked down and what I could do to resolve it: without any success. The whole situation is just depressing because there is literally no way to discuss it in a reasonable manner other than…

Yes there is! At least for Americans. I can not understand why these practices have not lead by now to a class action suit?

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#179

Post by HeavyStorm »

A very cool thing to reflect on:

Valve held a tight leash on Steam for years. Games and apps had to be approved by Valve, and what they allowed was, at the very least, subjective.

After a while it began to gradually let go of control. Nowadays, there are just a few things that might get blocked and I haven't heard any more stories about developers who got blocked.

Funny thing is: Valve is privately owned, and Google is a public company. One should expect it to be the other way around.

Re: Google just deleted my nearly 10-year-old free and open-source Android app

#180

Post by ericmay »

oblio wrote: post #176
laingc wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, as an iOS user, I do not want the App Store opened up at all. Currently, I can go to the App Store, install any app, and be about 99.9% confident that the app will do me (or my technologically illiterate mother) absolutely no harm. This is something I value highly, and am happy to pay the “Apple premium” for.

You could just not void the warranty (more or less) for installing apps from other sources. Your mom always uses the App Store, everybody else is happy.

Which sounds fine until your mom hears about this cool App Store from her friend on Facebook, downloads a bunch of crap, and winds up at the Apple Store with Apple having to fix damage caused to her phone. I’m a little less sympathetic with the repairability stuff, but when it comes to the App Store, daddy Apple is doing a job that I want them to do, and changes here are not to my benefit and would make me less likely to buy the product.
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