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Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

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Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#11

Apparently andOTP was removed for the same reason a couple of days ago: https://github.com/andOTP/andOTP/issues/396 . As mentioned in the announcement, you can switch over to F-Droid (for the time being) to get the latest version: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.wireguard.android .

>(for the time being)

Why do you have that caveat ? You can use f-droid forever.

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#12
post #5

For anyone else publishing mobile apps: Neither Apple nor Google allow bypassing the store's purchase system by linking to external donation pages. No matter the app type, it will result in rejection.

The same app has the same link on its iOS app and just in the last week was updated twice.

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#13
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F-Droid already exists.

Yes but none of my friends and family who own an Android device know about it. I'm talking about a mainstream alternative android store. The design of f-droid is not appealing enough.

F-Droid has a pretty strong foundation in my opinion. It just needs more resources to be able to publish app updates more quickly. It also needs a redesign, like you said, but I don't think there's a need to start from scratch

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#14
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F-Droid already exists.

Yes but none of my friends and family who own an Android device know about it. I'm talking about a mainstream alternative android store. The design of f-droid is not appealing enough.

So do you mean a store run by a company that has the money and intent to promote such a store enough for everybody knows about it, e.g. Facebook, Amazon, or Microsoft?

I don't think this is a solution.

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#15

Apparently andOTP was removed for the same reason a couple of days ago: https://github.com/andOTP/andOTP/issues/396 . As mentioned in the announcement, you can switch over to F-Droid (for the time being) to get the latest version: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.wireguard.android .

>(for the time being) Why do you have that caveat ? You can use f-droid forever.

Because I prefer sticking to APKs signed by the author of the app. F-Droid APKs are signed with different keys, typically.

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#16

Apparently andOTP was removed for the same reason a couple of days ago: https://github.com/andOTP/andOTP/issues/396 . As mentioned in the announcement, you can switch over to F-Droid (for the time being) to get the latest version: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.wireguard.android .

I wouldn't want the app from any other place than Fdroid!

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#17
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F-Droid already exists.

Yes but none of my friends and family who own an Android device know about it. I'm talking about a mainstream alternative android store. The design of f-droid is not appealing enough.

1. F-Droid can't be published on Google Play Store, because they're an "alternative market".

2. Please, make it appealing for you and others! https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidclient

Re: Open-source apps removed from Google Play Store due to donation links

#18
post #8

It's unfortunate that the developer resubmitted the app without the donation link, open source projects having a donation link in their apps does not violate Google Play policies. > Here are some examples of products not currently supported by Google Play In-app Billing: > One time-payments, including peer-to-peer payments, online auctions, and donations. https://play.google.com/about/monetization-ads/

It indeed is unfortunate. But what other recourse did we have? The first objective, before we even consider donations or anything, is to make our software available and functional to our users. So we had to resubmit. And it's not like the resubmission process is instantaneous; as of writing, the app still isn't back in the store.

But anyway, now what? Let's say things return to normal, but we still want to put the silly link in the app. Our appeal was rejected. We could send letters, I suppose. Perhaps this article on HN will get the attention of the right people? We could appeal the appeal, maybe. And then appeal the appeal for the appeal. At what point does this become a waste of energy that could be spent coding and improving the app in other ways? It's hard to know where to draw the line and which battles are worth fighting. I'm happy to hear folks' opinions on the matter.

I certainly agree, though, that it is unfortunate.

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