Google issues clarification on taking down apps from India's Play Store

Google has issued a clarification to give out details as to why it made apps like Mitron and Remove China Apps unavailable from its Play Store in India.

 

In a letter signed by Sameer Samat, vice president, Android and Google Play, it has been revealed that the apps were removed because of a number of technical policy violations. 

 

Among the apps removed was Mitron, which had functions similar to TikTok.

 

The statement added that Google is working with developers to help them fix issues and resubmit their apps. Google has given the developer some guidance and once the issue has been addressed the app can go back up on Play.

 

'Remove China Apps' was one more app that was deleted from the Play Store. The app encouraged users to remove apps from China and back local ones. 

 

On this topic, the statement clarified:

 

"We also recently suspended a number of apps for violating the policy that we don't allow an app that 'encourages or incentivises users into removing or disabling third-party apps or modifying device settings or features unless it is part of a verifiable security service'. This is a longstanding rule designed to ensure a healthy, competitive environment where developers can succeed based upon design and innovation. When apps are allowed to specifically target other apps, it can lead to behavior that we believe is not in the best interest of our community of developers and consumers. We’ve enforced this policy against other apps in many countries consistently in the past - just as we did here. We hope this helps clarify the rationale behind these recent actions. We thank our developers for all the amazing work they do and our consumers for their continued support in helping to create a safe and secure mobile app ecosystem."