Live data from Hacker News

Google bans yet another small business

dkzlv.com

21–30 of 32 posts

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#21
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how preventing this business from giving Google money is meant to enrich Google? It's fine to suggest a nefarious scheme here, but surely we need to choose one more complex than raw profit, since it seems like Google and MS are declining to profit from specifically this company, right? Also, FWIW, I have found that it doesn't usually go over well to compare my non-civil rights struggle with civil r…

> I don't understand how preventing this business from giving Google money is meant to enrich Google? The effects do not always have to be immediate, Google once got caught reducing its labor pool by agreeing not to hire from the competition. At first glance you would think that less workers would result in higher wages when it actually fucked over the workers a dozen times harder because they could no longer get alt…

Seems like a stretch tbh. I cannot think of a way that banning or not banning a small budget tracking company will materially affect the top line for the better.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> do not use the “get out of debt” header, because you look like a “get rich quick” scheme. It reminded me of the times when Apple nagged me about the translations in my app that was never supposed to target an english-speaking audience. Opinions are my own. Tbh, any ads with the phrase "get out of debt" sounds very shady to me. I wouldn't give it the benefits of doubt personally. > Microsoft never answered at all. A…

Or they exchange info. The article even says that MS banned them before they even knew what the business was.

Author's here.

Yes, that is true and was the big red flag for me. I believe it would be in their best interest to exchange the data on potential fraudsters, because it would make their life simpler.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#23
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wouldn't be unheard of a small business being virtually sentenced to death because the opaque byzantine maze of unwritten rules got triggered by some keywords or automated systems. I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt here.

Isn't the benefit of the doubt usually something we extend to the accused, not the accuser? :) But for what it's worth I went to Google's financial services advertising page and quickly identified at least a few items that might be the cause of an issue. It seems likely that some of these items, like providing a physical address, would also be required by Microsoft. It's also worth noting that the service seems to be…

Thanks for the support. It's hard to defend against all the people that keep screaming to my face that I'm the scam here.

> Google's financial services advertising page

Can you give me the link?

> It's also worth noting that the service seems to be offered from Russia

That is true. But Google is available in Russia and allows businesses to buy ads without any limits. I know a Russian service called raindrop.io (bookmark sync app) that buys ads in Google and runs a worldwide service, and they get no bans.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#25
post #18

Why isn't it possible to make a new ad if the first one was rejected ? I don't fully understand how it played out. A service about money like this one is a very sensitive business. I'm not sure it's the encryption or privacy the problem. Google has to protect it's ad readers and when in doubt, they probably prefer to avoid it. As this business is probably starting, it has quasi zero credibility in term of honesty. Ot…

> Why isn't it possible to make a new ad if the first one was rejected ? I don't fully understand how it played out.

The whole account was banned, that's why. The ad actually passed the moderation and even had 200 impressions.

> Other marketing strategies should be used to bootstrap it and grow it's user base

It's pretty common for the new players to burn money on ads, because it's scalable and predictable. So it actually would be super difficult to run the app for a few years without any predictable traffic source.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#26
post #10

Just crate a new account from a new computer and new ip. Read guides (using tor browser on a separate computer) about how to beat the system. Thats how you win against the big guys.

I am afraid this it what I will have to do. Small rebranding, new domain, fresh IP, new card, etc.

Still it's hard to understand this decision.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#27
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the benefit of the doubt usually something we extend to the accused, not the accuser? :) But for what it's worth I went to Google's financial services advertising page and quickly identified at least a few items that might be the cause of an issue. It seems likely that some of these items, like providing a physical address, would also be required by Microsoft. It's also worth noting that the service seems to be…

Thanks for the support. It's hard to defend against all the people that keep screaming to my face that I'm the scam here. > Google's financial services advertising page Can you give me the link? > It's also worth noting that the service seems to be offered from Russia That is true. But Google is available in Russia and allows businesses to buy ads without any limits. I know a Russian service called raindrop.io (bookm…

Here you go https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/2464998?hl=en-GB

Also if you intend to advertise in countries with stricter requirements e.g. the UK or the EU there are additional obligations you need to meet such as business verification:

https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/9703665#901

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#28
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the support. It's hard to defend against all the people that keep screaming to my face that I'm the scam here. > Google's financial services advertising page Can you give me the link? > It's also worth noting that the service seems to be offered from Russia That is true. But Google is available in Russia and allows businesses to buy ads without any limits. I know a Russian service called raindrop.io (bookm…

Here you go https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/2464998?hl=en-GB Also if you intend to advertise in countries with stricter requirements e.g. the UK or the EU there are additional obligations you need to meet such as business verification: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/9703665#901

Oh, yeah, thanks, but those should not be applied to us. Probably.

> For the purposes of this policy, we consider financial products and services to be those related to the management or investment of money and cryptocurrencies, including personalised advice

We don't do anything of this kind. We're basically an excel spreadsheet with your expenses, no "money" actually involved here.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#29
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here you go https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/2464998?hl=en-GB Also if you intend to advertise in countries with stricter requirements e.g. the UK or the EU there are additional obligations you need to meet such as business verification: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/9703665#901

Oh, yeah, thanks, but those should not be applied to us. Probably. > For the purposes of this policy, we consider financial products and services to be those related to the management or investment of money and cryptocurrencies, including personalised advice We don't do anything of this kind. We're basically an excel spreadsheet with your expenses, no "money" actually involved here.

Yes they should you are asking people to submit their financial information, you fall under the financial services category.

You literally have a service for money management that also according to you provides an “advice”.

*Planning and budgeting

This would be considered financial advice under UK law for example.

You are running a weird looking service from Russia, stating that it falls under Russian law, no contact details no business registration info.

The name is dodgy as hell, and overall it looks to be more like sage books for a small scale illicit operation than a budget planning app for Grandma.

There are plenty legitimate budget apps out most of them rely on open banking standard rather than CSV/OFX import or manual entry.

Pretty much nothing here seems to be useful to the average user, however if I ever decide to start selling dirty bombs (hi NSA…) on the black market and I need to run my books somewhere I might give it a go.

Re: Google bans yet another small business

#30
post #25
post #18

Why isn't it possible to make a new ad if the first one was rejected ? I don't fully understand how it played out. A service about money like this one is a very sensitive business. I'm not sure it's the encryption or privacy the problem. Google has to protect it's ad readers and when in doubt, they probably prefer to avoid it. As this business is probably starting, it has quasi zero credibility in term of honesty. Ot…

> Why isn't it possible to make a new ad if the first one was rejected ? I don't fully understand how it played out. The whole account was banned, that's why. The ad actually passed the moderation and even had 200 impressions. > Other marketing strategies should be used to bootstrap it and grow it's user base It's pretty common for the new players to burn money on ads, because it's scalable and predictable. So it act…

Not sure if it helps, but there are ads on apple mobile devices.

I'm sorry about the difficulty you are facing. As I said, it is a difficult business because you have to build up trust. Too many scammers out there. You should do everything to build up this trust and a good reputation. If you are based in Russia or some eastern country, it will be even harder. The banned account is harsh.

Post reply on HN