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Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

danfitdegree.hashnode.dev

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Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#231

Post by mariojv »

enumjorge wrote: post #228
bogwog wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a completely ridiculous solution to a very simple problem. How do we give bargaining power to developers? We break up the app store monopolies. That's it. Google/Apple giving you shit? Give them the finger and put your app on another store. There's no stronger bargaining chip than the free market.

Which other store? The only stores that matter as far as mobile goes are Google and Apple's.

I'm not an Android user, but aren't third party app stores allowed on Android? https://www.androidauthority.com/best-app-stores-936652/

They're probably not great places to try and grow your userbase based on the number of users compared to the Play Store, but they exist.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#232

Post by TylerE »

moffkalast wrote: post #135
TylerE wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never felt the need to do so on iOS. I cannot say the same about Android.

You mean aside from when you see every free android app cost $6.99 on iOS?

I’ll take a 6.99 price over android craware loaded with ads.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#233

Post by legec »

We have had a similar experience, spanning over several months, where even updating the application and giving instructions on how to test it didn't trigger any reaction (just the same repetitive mail: "Your app does not comply with Google Play rules ...").

When I mean "give instructions on how to test it" : we created a test subscription on our platform, sent instructions on how to register and see what our app is doing, and our logs showed that no one attempted to go to that test subscription.

We also asked ourselves if we were exchanging emails with a human or a robot, and couldn't reach a conclusion.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#235

Post by brutusborn »

Gentil wrote: post #179
fleddr wrote: post #119

And this is why we need to cherish the web. I see no reason why a yoga app can't be done on the web. I do know that apps tend to convert better, if only we could bridge that gap. It's in particular troubling how much of this madness we've internalized to just accept. The idea that you need to resubmit a 100 apps because Google decided you need to target a different internal version number is insane. It would be very…

Cos users want mobile apps. When Roam research and Obsidian launched, one of the biggest thing people were ranting about was that their lack of mobile apps. Simple. Google also is dominating the browser market. Not to mention, I see Manifest v3 as something in this direction. They just don't have the exact amount of control they do in Play store is all. So my question is, how long are you gonna run?

Sorry, what does the last sentence mean, gonna run?

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#236

Post by megablast »

ncallaway wrote: post #5

I think at least one thing worth a try is: make a tiny, relatively inconsequential change, and submit it again. If you had a 93% success ratio before, you've got pretty good odds that you'll get a new reviewer on the next update and it'll be approved. Maybe something like the copy change puffoflogic recommended. Just make any tiny change in the area, re-submit the app, and hope you get lucky with a better reviewer.

You don’t have to change anything to submit a new version.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#239

Post by jiggawatts »

iepathos wrote: post #173
TimTheTinker wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I somewhat doubt Google responds effectively anymore to bad PR on HN, because (a) they're so large and each group is acting in its own best interest, and (b) Google has for so long had a cultural belief in the fiction that better automation ™ or at least mechanical turk-style automation (low-cost, powerless, script-following, outsourced support agents) is always preferable to personally serving people. In other words…

I've seen posts on HN within last year where Google screwed something up with censorship or app review. Posts get massively upvoted here and within a day or two Google fixes it. Could be coincidental, but highly probable that some Googlers read HN and act to fix high publicity problems or even just problems that they weren't really aware of until reading about it here.

I ranted here about a YouTube app problem that only occurs on Google TV (Android-based), and within like two weeks it was fixed. Coincidence?

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#240

Post by Joeri »

dekhn wrote: post #14

Is there any large group representing App developers that could manage the large-scale negotiation and legal wrangling required to force Apple and Google to be more helpful when rejecting legitimate applications? When I worked in Google (Ads, then later in Recommendations for Play and youtube) people often said this was intention to avoid teaching spammers how to get around the rules. But it's clear there are enough…

IANAL, but isn’t that group called “the court system”? This person is stuck in google’s kangaroo court, but they should just switch venues as soon as the apps are removed and sue google for damages. They can demonstrate google materially impacts their business and is acting in bad faith. Going through google’s legal department is probably going to quickly get the result they want.
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