Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
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Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
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Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#2It doesn't matter if you're dealing with a store run by Apple or Google (or presumably anyone else): the stories are all the same.
Presumably because to make the economics work, review and approval are done by poorly trained contractors who don't have time to do a proper job and need to meet quotas. And with anything security related, there's an inherent bias toward not giving information on the exact violations because this can be used to get around the "spirit" of the law while sticking to its "letter" (very true for spam, questionable for app stores).
Serious question: is there any better model though? In the non-virtual world, similar standards for the public good are achieved through things like FDA regulations, health inspections, building codes and permits, etc.
Since it doesn't seem like there's any kind of elegant free-market or crowd-sourced solution here, what should the standards be for regulating apps and extensions? What kind of "due process" ought there be, or appeal, or whatever? Is there going to come a point when app stores get regulated by a democratically legislated government agency?
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#3It doesn't matter if you're dealing with a store run by Apple or Google (or presumably anyone else): the stories are all the same. Presumably because to make the economics work, review and approval are done by poorly trained contractors who don't have time to do a proper job and need to meet quotas. And with anything security related, there's an inherent bias toward not giving information on the exact violations beca…
But regulations, inspections, codes and permits are all government-run systems. As a result, at least in principle in a democracy, citizens (including companies) can request to learn why those systems rejected them. Otherwise they can take them to court.
Neither Apple nor Google are governments. When laws and constitutions were crafted, those framers did not comprehend a future where private companies had effective control (and even monopoly) on what might amount to critical infrastructure, and if not critical, then infrastructure nonetheless.
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#4Tangential but for those who are developing Chrome extensions, I've made a post about what to expect when submitting a update and how to avoid the manual review from CWS.
It can be found at https://getsnapfont.com/posts/avoiding-lengthy-review-times-...
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#5This happened to an extension of mine as well, with 10k users. After repeatedly emailing them and getting back different snippets of the policy each time, I think there's some kind of AI or a very process-driven team that doesn't do any critical thinking handling each request.
I've ignored them now and the extension is still up so let's see what happens.
It's pretty clear that the walled garden approach will eventually stifle innovation, and building businesses or even apps for fun inside the frameworks of giant corporations is just not a good long term strategy.
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#6It doesn't matter if you're dealing with a store run by Apple or Google (or presumably anyone else): the stories are all the same. Presumably because to make the economics work, review and approval are done by poorly trained contractors who don't have time to do a proper job and need to meet quotas. And with anything security related, there's an inherent bias toward not giving information on the exact violations beca…
Imagine if you were getting your house inspected and your insurance drops you as a result of the inspection, but won't tell you why.
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#7Some previous discussions from a quick search to give some context to the frustration (sorry for the length, it's intended to be illustrative, I cut it at 10):
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23219427
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23229073
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20186915
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21232438
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23285466
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12442048
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21990566
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23168874
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21233041
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20587440
I'm not suggesting Google doesn't care, but...
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#8This happened to an extension of mine as well, with 10k users. After repeatedly emailing them and getting back different snippets of the policy each time, I think there's some kind of AI or a very process-driven team that doesn't do any critical thinking handling each request. I've ignored them now and the extension is still up so let's see what happens. It's pretty clear that the walled garden approach will eventual…
This is why I like the hybrid approach that Android has for apps, at least as of 2020.
That it has its walled garden, but it is possible to install from arbitrary sources (with sufficient warnings to users of those dangers). In iOS, you can't sideload at all.
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#9Google/Apple/MS app stores are pretty much a bastardization of software repositories found in the Linux world for years beforehand[1]. I doubt we'll see requirements to allow importing 3rd party repositories/signing keys at this point without some legislation.
Yes, I get some users don't always know what they're doing and it might be a big security risk, but just put up a big enough warning. People shouldn't be locked in to what software they're allowed to run on their own devices.
[1]: https://battlepenguin.com/tech/android-fragmentation/#packag...
Re: Chrome killed my extension and won’t tell me why
#10It doesn't matter if you're dealing with a store run by Apple or Google (or presumably anyone else): the stories are all the same. Presumably because to make the economics work, review and approval are done by poorly trained contractors who don't have time to do a proper job and need to meet quotas. And with anything security related, there's an inherent bias toward not giving information on the exact violations beca…
But regulations, inspections, codes and permits are all government-run systems. As a result, at least in principle in a democracy, citizens (including companies) can request to learn why those systems rejected them. Otherwise they can take them to court. Neither Apple nor Google are governments. When laws and constitutions were crafted, those framers did not comprehend a future where private companies had effective c…
But that's my point. If app stores are an important enough part of our economy -- not just monetarily, but particularly with regard to privacy and cybersecurity -- then there may reach a point where we need laws around their policies.
It doesn't matter that Apple and Google aren't governments. Either app store approval could be done by a new government agency (after all, aren't doctors and lawyers regulated?), or (far more likely) the legislature could pass laws determining how Apple and Google have to run their own or face stiff penalties that actually have teeth.
So that, at the end of the day, if Apple or Google make a wrong decision and refuse to correct it, you can ultimately sue them in court and win.