Ask HN: How is this legal that you must use Google Billing for Android apps? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How is this legal that you must use Google Billing for Android apps?

#51

Post by coldtea » Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 1:01 AM UTC

zamadatix wrote: post #32

coldtea wrote: post #4

> How is this legal that if I want to publish an Android app on Play Market and charge for subscriptions, I must use Google Play Billing and pay 30% to Google? This is insane It's bad for the developer, sure, but what exactly is "insane" or "illegal" about it? They have created a product marketplace, and they let you sell there, and you must abide by their rules. If you want to sell on Gumroad or similar services you…

It's not the presence of a marketplace with rules that's the root problem it's the bundling of said marketplace which forces its dominance. It has nothing to do with whether these things are public utilities either, not sure why it would as that seems like an odd criteria for a business practice to be either insane or illegal. "Everyone just start using an alternative on March 3rd" is an unrealistic way to break the…

>It's not the presence of a marketplace with rules that's the root problem it's the bundling of said marketplace which forces its dominance.

They're bundling with their own OS, though.

Not to mention Android already supports sideloading and other marketplaces.

Re: Ask HN: How is this legal that you must use Google Billing for Android apps?

#52

Post by coldtea » Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 1:03 AM UTC

beeboobaa wrote: post #23

coldtea wrote: post #4

> How is this legal that if I want to publish an Android app on Play Market and charge for subscriptions, I must use Google Play Billing and pay 30% to Google? This is insane It's bad for the developer, sure, but what exactly is "insane" or "illegal" about it? They have created a product marketplace, and they let you sell there, and you must abide by their rules. If you want to sell on Gumroad or similar services you…

They created a phone and bully users into only using their one officially blessed store. Apple is the worst offender, Google is a little better in that they only warn you a million times when side-loading. But that is still far, far too much fear mongering. And it's obvious they do it so they can get that juicy 30%. It's just a shitty form of rent seeking.

>They created a phone and bully users into only using their one officially blessed store

Well, they did create their own phone platform (OS, libs for app creation and so on), not some public open infrastructure.

Re: Ask HN: How is this legal that you must use Google Billing for Android apps?

#53

Post by skyzyx » Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 7:50 AM UTC

sharts wrote: post #49

Well you are using their store-front and real estate at their shopping mall. There are plenty of alternatives to the play store. They just don’t get the same amount of eyeballs or require slightly more technical users.

This is what Google’s and Apple’s (and Nintendo’s, and Microsoft’s, and Sony’s) cut covers. They built the platform, the system, provide straightforward billing, provide the “shopping mall” that draws eyeballs, etc.

It’s not just payment processing.

Fair fees for the exchange of value they provide is perfectly valid and fair in capitalistic societies. The percentage number is up for discussion, but “charging for value” by the platform vendors who built the thing and provide the platform itself is a valid point.