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Google requiring Android apps on Play store to use its billing system next year
- rock_artist 6y agoUnlike Apple’s approach, Google’s one is more fair for both sides. * you don’t need Google to sign every app. You can allow external apks and even keep Play monitoring for malicious apps. * you can add another App Store. * the fact you can say a user there’s another purchase way and it is relevant information. Android feels like a democratic country vs Apple’s meritocracy. The past few years I’ve switched back to Apple. But I still miss the ability to just compile something and run it without it being expired after a week (Apple’s free developer certs expires after a week)
- dontspeak 6y agoI wonder if these relaxed terms are only meant to lure someone in and lock them into Google's ecosystem. Once, you're locked in, the beast turns against you again
- viktorcode 6y ago> * you don’t need Google to sign every app. You can allow external apks and even keep Play monitoring for malicious apps. They've updated the rules. You will need to sign every app on Play Store with the certificate provided by Google. Just like on App Store.
- saghm 6y agoIf I understand GP's comment correctly, they're referring to the fact that Android lets you install apps directly from the .apk file without needing to get it though the Play store, and you can still have Android scan the app to see if it's known to be malicious if you enable that.
- rock_artist 6y agoYes. but also just running your own compiled code on Apple's iDevice eco-system. You MUST register a namespace (com.mycompany.MyApp) and get a it a certificate from them. For paid - that's 1YR for your app to run. For free - that's 1week for the cert. There's no way running YOUR code on YOUR device without it being signed by Apple (or jailbreaking).
- GeekyBear 6y agoEpic already attempted to transition users away from the Google Play Store. >“After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we’ve come to a basic realization,” reads Epic’s statement. “Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store.” https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/21/21229943/epic-games-fortnite-google-play-store-available-third-party-software https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/21/21229943/epic-games-fortn... Then Epic attempted to cut deals with device makers to preinstall their App Store on devices. >Epic claims that Google forced phone manufacturer OnePlus to break off a deal that would have seen a special Fortnite launcher preinstalled on OnePlus phones — and demanded that another Android phonemaker, LG, abandon any plans to do the same. https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/13/21368395/fortnite-epic-games-oneplus-deal-google-play-store-lawsuit-lg https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/13/21368395/fortnite-epic-ga...
- gundmc 6y agoThe original blog also talks about getting better support for third-party app store choice which should help with these issues. https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-...
- rkangel 6y agoI am in agreement with remarks elsewhere here that this is being done cynically to be pointed at by lawyers rather than as an actual intention to make third party app-stores better for either users or the app-store operators.
- gundmc 6y agoYou're entitled to that view, but at this point it's nothing more than baseless speculation.
- greatgib 6y agoLet's be honest. This is just plain racket! When regulator will finally act on this? Just because you get an app through their store does not mean they own the apps and the users!
- parasubvert 6y agoIt’s not a racket, it’s their store, and thus their rules. Regulators won’t act on this until it’s decided that App Stores are public utilities. Which might happen, but also would be a bit of an overreaction.
- II2II 6y agoSomething to consider: many of the apps affected are given away rather than sold. Imagine if brick and mortar stores were run like that ... Now Google has several different ways to respond: - Accept that this will happen and try to generate revenues based on other services. These services may be for developers, publishers, or consumers. - Charge higher rates, perhaps differentiating the rates based upon the amount of exposure an app receives. - Find a means to charge publishers based upon the revenues generated by the app. Using their own billing system is likely the best way of doing this. Each approach has its own benefits and drawbacks, but I would be hard pressed to call any of them a racket.
- kkarakk 6y agoif you own the platform you DO own the apps and the users...
- izacus 6y agoThe Apple/Epic hearing about this very issue had the judge say several times that they don't really see a big issue. So waiting for your regulators to do anything is very optimistic.
- mobilio 6y agoAs developers we all know that one day this MAY come. So don't be "surprised" please!
- CogitoCogito 6y agoGoogle says that the fact that 97% are already using the system somehow supports them in their goal for making it mandatory. I read the fact that 97% are already using the system as demonstrating that the system obviously doesn't need to be expanded since it basically already serves everyone as well as demonstrating that 3% obviously are not served by it and therefore shouldn't be covered by it. Then again I guess you can interpret basically any fact in your favor if you prefer a certain interpretation. edit: Also I might add that Google is almost certainly being disingenuous. They say that only 3% don't use the system say that includes "Netflix, Spotify, and other big services". It seems pretty obvious that it's not 3% of revenue. This explains that Google is actually doing this for money and simply lying about their intentions.
- parasubvert 6y agoEveryone knows Google is doing this for money, that’s what every company does everything for. It’s not lying to promote other perspectives or positives - that’s called marketing.
- jojobas 6y agoNetflix and Spotify wouldn't care. After not finding an app in Play Store a quick google will bring them to an alternate store or something like that, it's not Apple's walled garden. It can only affect the apps that users don't know they need.
- wutbrodo 6y ago
- radley 6y agoThis is an interesting play and a signal that Google wants out of the app store game. Keep in mind Google is supposedly opening up Android to better support third-party app stores. Essentially, these two changes will motivate major apps like Netflix, Fortnite, Spotify, Tinder, etc to leave the Play Store next year (before the deadline). They may start their own stores (like Epic), but they could also be available as exclusives for a major new, third-party Android app store (probably already in development). In turn, more app devs will jump ship and the Play Store could be a ghost town by the end of 2022.
- fendy3002 6y agoThey try to follow Apple's way. If that's the case nothing will prevent google from shipping newest Android with exclusive play store and non installable apk, making it closed environment.
- CameronNemo 6y agoCan you actually have automatic updates for other app stores? Even on 3 year old phones that do not get updates anymore? Because it that is not the case, a lot of users will continue to prefer the Play Store.
- kelnos 6y agoThe article talks about Google working to make it easier for users to install 3rd-party app stores; I'd hope that allowing automatic updates would be a part of that. Unclear if Google would be able to ninja that in to older phones as a Play Services update. My guess is that they probably couldn't since that's pretty fundamental to the OS's permissions system.
- kuschku 6y agoThey could offer a Play Services API that allows app stores to update apps which the user previously installed through them. As Play Services already has an API and the permissions to replace installed apps (although this API is currently only available to the Google Play Store), and as Android already tracks from where an app was installed, this would be easily possible. But knowing Google, they won’t allow this.
- jtsiskin 6y agoThe actual announcement: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-... (They quoted it twice yet didn’t link to it - what’s up with that?)
- russelg 6y agoThe 9to5 sites are infamous for this. Can't even count the number of times I've read an apple article on 9to5mac about an apple press release, only for it to not be linked at all.
- srtjstjsj 6y agoIt's 90% PR puffery corpspeak to try to cover something up. What are the actual facts of the matter?
- tegovich 6y agoI read this in Dale Gribble's voice.
- rhizome 6y agoAh, this must be why they added the ridiculous complication to taking screenshots.
- drivebycomment 6y agoGenuinely curious. What complication? And what does screenshot have to do with the billing change?
- stefan_ 6y agoWhich billing system is that, even? Google must have at least three concurrent payment systems, with another one launched as one is deprecated every year.
- babesh 6y agoThey’ve been strongly encouraging larger developers to do this for years.
- t0astbread 6y agoWhy do mobile platforms have the confidence to do this? I'd imagine businesses would gravitate towards web apps if native apps require restrictions like these. Discoverability over app stores is a benefit for sure but is it that much easier to get featured on an app store compared to SEO and online advertising for a web app?
- threeseed 6y agoConsumers hate mobile web apps. They've been around for over a decade in various incarnations and they are always clunky, poorly designed and developed for the lowest common denominator. And often what developers are vocal about wanting is anti-consumer e.g. most people like a single point for all subscriptions/payments.
- FpUser 6y ago>"And often what developers are vocal about wanting is anti-consumer e.g. most people like a single point for all subscriptions/payments." And then they get into dispute with Google and get their account terminated as the result along with their only email etc etc. Thanks but no thanks. I do not know about most but personally I prefer freedom of choice.
- thrwn_frthr_awy 6y agoI believe the counter argument is platforms are purposefully crippling or at least not advancing their mobile web experience in order to keep native apps a better experience. Personally I don't believe the case since even on the desktop web-based apps are a poor experience. Slack has such a weird desktop UI all because it isn't a true native app.
- pjmlp 6y agoThat isn't the case for Android or Windows, both Google and Microsoft are pretty heavy on PWAs, including providing access to native APIs if you package them for the stores.
- pjmlp 6y ago
- samfisher83 6y agoThey aren't blocking you from just downloading the app. Windows has been doing this forever. Most people just download the executable you want.
- userbinator 6y agoThe one big difference between Google and Apple --- you still have to jump through a few hoops with the former, but the latter gives you zero control over what you're able to run unless you're able to jailbreak.
- harry8 6y agoEvery pre-installed android device I have ever used or seen had a bunch of utter garbage I did not want, wanted to be rid of and yet could not simply uninstall like any regular app. How to reconcile this with what you're saying here? What am I not understanding?
- SargeZT 6y agoYou're seeing phones from vendors that have tacked their own stuff on top of the Android platform. Buy a Google phone and you'll find no cruft. There are still things you can't uninstall, but they're mostly essential to the functioning of the phone.
- harry8 6y agoGoogle drive. Uninstall is "unistall all updates to this system app" Google play movies and tv - likewise, essential? Google play music Google Hangouts The list goes on... And you're telling me the manufacturer decided I can't rid myself of these and google are as suprised as I am about that? Really? I mean you can make the same argument with Apple. They're happy for you to install/uninstall whatever but the manufacturer did it their way.
- WoefullyInept 6y ago
- modeless 6y agoNo mention of the other part of this announcement [1]: "we will be making changes in Android 12 (next year’s Android release) to make it even easier for people to use other app stores on their devices" [1] https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-...
- ineedasername 6y agoYeah, I see both moves as being part of a careful dance around pending anti-trust issues. They're about to force holdouts to use their IAP system, which would be bad optics from an anti-trust point of view. However, if at the same time they make 3rd part app stores more viable they have a strong defense of "Look developers can sell their apps in other places on Android but if they want to sell through us, these are the terms." If they really do follow through with reasonable support for other app stores, that will be a good thing.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- bogwog 6y ago> If they really do follow through with reasonable support for other app stores, that will be a good thing. It will better, but it’s hardly “good”. It would still mean that Google gets to decide exactly which rights and protections their competitors should have on Android. It should be the other way around: government regulators (to protect the interests of consumers and the health of the free market) should decide how much power Google has over its competitors.
- ineedasername 6y agoThat depends on how they implement 3rd party app stores. If anyone can make one, then Google doesn't have undue control over competitors. I'm not sure government regulation needs to enter the picture unless courts decide there's an anti-trust issue, which open 3rd part app stores might make less likely. For Android, at least. Good still would face anti trust problems in other areas.
- zmmmmm 6y agoWhy is the title inaccurate / different to the article? "Google requiring Android apps on the Play Store" Requiring all android apps (eg: from third party app stores, built in apps shipped with phones or from vendors) as implied by the HN title would be a huge leap and have a lot of implications. But this is not that. I'm very surprised though by this statement from their post about it: > Less than 3% of developers with apps on Play sold digital goods over the last 12 months That seems astonishingly low - while I understand the Play Store is very ad driven, I had thought IAP was still a decent component of monetization. From this it sounds like the Play Store is a bit of an advertising wasteland ... or am I misunderstanding?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- p1necone 6y agoWow yeah that is a very crucial bit of information to leave out of the title.
- harry8 6y agowhat percentage of user installed android apps in the wild come from somewhere other than the play store? Is it high?
- 9HZZRfNlpR 6y agoThanks to China yes, they have their own ecosystem.
- harry8 6y agoYeah china is different. Instead of play store, "Default app store" to cover what ever comes with chinese phones. Or, US and Europe, what percentage...?
- chungus_khan 6y agoBecause there isn't a single unified store (vendors have their own), it's extremely common for Chinese websites to have a link on their homepage/in their header to an apk file that can self-update.
- srtjstjsj 6y agoIt's surprising they are doing this right now, while they are under the DOJ antitrust gun and also Apple is in a high profile lawsuit about this.
- chacham15 6y agoGoogle is also being sued by Epic (who is suing Apple for essentially the same thing): https://www.businessinsider.com/epic-games-sues-google-over-fortnite-play-store-removal-2020-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/epic-games-sues-google-over-...
- srtjstjsj 6y agoOh, that make much more sense. Google enforced the policy against Epic, while allowing others (including itself!) to violate the policy. So it's doing uniform enforcement now to fend up charges of discrimination against Epic.
- neuspadrin 6y agoI think while semi related, that falls under a different rule breaking that Epic did. If I recall correctly Epic was actually giving a discount to their own payment and charging more for Google/Apple. That is the violation they crossed. Using a different payment processing wasn't.
- djmips 6y agoMaybe the analysis is go to the money trough while you can?
- srtjstjsj 6y agoThe new enforcement is still a year away.
- p1necone 6y agoThere's a crucial difference in that Android allows sideloading and the use of other app stores. Given this I feel like a lot of things that are not okay for Apple are fine for them to do as you have alternatives.
- karmasimida 6y agoWhat about Amazon shopping?
- jasongi 6y agoIt's only "digital goods"
- karmasimida 6y agoAmazon has digital goods right? Songs/Movies/Digital Game code
- kkarakk 6y agoTrying to get a Prime subscription through the app sends you to a webpage right now. Always wondered why Google was cool with that...
- srtjstjsj 6y agoSeems like a relatively minor change -- services can still collect payment elsewhere. For example, I can upgrade my Netflix without Google getting a fee under the new(ly enforced old) rules. This only affects initial signups where the customer hasn't yet provided payment instrument info to Netflix. You can imagine Netflix paying commission on in-app sign ups and then emailing the customer to beg them to hand over a CC# in exchange for a free month or something.
- paledot 6y ago"The other 97%" sounds like 9to5google's misreading of a deliberately misleading statement in the press release. Less than 3% of all apps use their own billing - but most apps don't use in-app billing at all. I suspect Google is pulling some Apple-style sleight of hand to make the impact sound trivial instead of like yet another cash grab.
- adrianmonk 6y agoGoogle's announcement (https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-...) addresses the apps that don't use in-app billing: > Less than 3% of developers with apps on Play sold digital goods over the last 12 months, and of this 3%, the vast majority (nearly 97%) already use Google Play's billing. The only way I see to read that is: 97% of 3% already comply, and 3% of 3% don't comply.
- paledot 6y agoI stand corrected; thank you. As others have more accurately pointed out, though, that still ignores number or value of transactions, which is a more reasonable metric to determine impact.
- candiddevmike 6y agoSo this should impact Steam, Xbox Game Streaming, and any other software that allowed digital purchases outside of Google play right? Our app is leveraging this "loophole" as we provide license keys for self hosting as part of purchasing the app. It's also a TWA and Google hasn't published ANY guidance on how to use a TWA with Google Play Billing. What are we supposed to do, get off Google Play?
- jasonlotito 6y agoFTA: "Google notes how developers are “free to communicate with [customers] about alternative purchase options,” but only outside of apps. Consumption-only reader apps are also allowed." So, yes, it will have an impact, but potentially not as great as it might seem.
- candiddevmike 6y agoI saw this but wasn't sure if that's what it meant. Seems like a silly policy to have, all it does is inconvenience users.
- p1necone 6y agoI'm not sure exactly what their rules are - it sounds to me like this is only for if you process payments in the Android app itself.
- bluedays 6y agoThis somehow feels related to the outcome of Epic v Apple.
- harry8 6y agoGoogle and Apple are duopoly for smartphones which basically everyone has and needs to get on with modern life. The duopoly means we get a race to the bottom. "Oh they got away with that, ok we'll do it to and then try going further in the ripoff." We badly need real competition. The N900 was better than android back in the day. No locked in store. Microsoft killed it, I wish someone with money picked it up to hold their middle finger to apple and google. Maybe pine etc will get it done, but it seems like trying to fight a tank batallion with bb guns. Nokia got the N900 to the point where it was comparably as good in some ways, better in others. Microsoft utterly failed in their attempt but killed maemo and here we are commenting that their is no bottom on this race with both of the duopoly options equally repulsive.
- parasubvert 6y agoNot going to get much competition if folks keep arguing for public utility regulation of App Stores. Consent decrees and regulated markets never work out the way you’d expect.
- sidibe 6y agoThe statement is basically meeting all of Epic's problems, they are solidifying that they will treat everyone the same (take the 30%) and promising to improve life for third party app store. Follow-through remains to be seen
- burtonator 6y agoHas the US and EU just given up on anti-trust at this point? What Apple and Google are doing here is racketeering. There's no inherent NEED for app stores. The world worked JUST FINE before app stores when people downloaded apps and installed them directly. Apple disabling 3rd party downloads on their phones is just creating an artificial market that wouldn't exist normally - AKA the literal definition of racketeering. We're about to release an app on iOS and Google and we'll probably just have to yield to their rules but we're going to really make a stink over this and write letters to congress and the EU saying we believe this should be illegal.
- judge2020 6y ago> The world worked JUST FINE before app stores when people downloaded apps and installed them directly. Only after you bought your antivirus from your local best buy valid for 3 years. Even now, Windows might as well be an app store but blacklist-based instead of whitelist-based since MSFT can effectively kill any app they want by adding it to their smartscreen filters.
- nitinreddy88 6y agoThis is a pretty bad comparison logic. Windows allows you to disable anything through settings and registry keys which doesnt require any rooting/violation of support terms, which is never ever supported in Android/Apple.
- Polylactic_acid 6y agoAndroid and iOS are inherently more secure at the OS level. Sideloading a 3rd party iOS app would not expose your password for your bank app. It may contain adult content in adverts or expose your card details you type in to it but it will never require windows style anti virus programs.
- scarface74 6y agoAre you also saying sideloading an Android app wouldn’t cause a security issue? Maybe if you just sideloaded from a trusted source? https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/just-as-critics-feared-fortnite-for-android-came-with-an-epic-security-risk/ https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/just-as-critics-feared-...
- wilwade 6y agoI hope this leads to a better non-Google App store. I have to keep Google Play disabled most of the time or it forces my phone to re-enable the Chrome browser each night. I choose to use Firefox on my phone and thus have Chrome disabled (it is not uninstallable without rooting). Google Play however will enable a non-system critical app that I explicitly told the operating system to disable.
- camhart 6y agoSee https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9992660 https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ... for the actual policy change.
- mdoms 6y agoWell Apple has been getting away with it for years and American regulators are completely asleep at the wheel, so why leave all that money on the table?
- dmitriid 6y agoAnd Nintendo. And Sony. And Microsoft. And Steam. And...
- durovo 6y agoAnd Steam?
- dmitriid 6y agoSteam takes a 30% cut and doesn't let you use your own payment processor when selling through Steam.
- gamblor956 6y agoSteam competes against GoG, Epic's game store, Ubisoft's game store, Microsoft's store, EA's game store, Blizzard's game store... If you have an issue with Steam's cut you can simply sell on one of its competitors. Many companies do.
- akmarinov 6y agoiOS has Android? If you have issues, sell on Android.
- Leherenn 6y agoI can use the same device/OS to install GoG or whatever. I need to spend hundreds to get a new device to use Android. I'd say that's a fairly big difference. Whether that's enough to be considered a different market, I do not know, that's for regulators to say.
- fomine3 6y agoThis 9to5 article is half baked. Official blog post link is preferred than such article. https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-... https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9992660 https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...
- Oricle 6y agoJewgle Every fucking time! This above phase you have probably seen, or will see Alot! Because when you follow the money, or links between atrocities of the world, you will always find a jew behind it! Every Fucking Time !
- anaganisk 6y agoHuh, people get so wild about Apple, but Google takes your money and also sells your data. The saying "you are the product if the service is free" doesn't stand with Google.
- WoefullyInept 6y agoYou mean like this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/08/07/apple-ad-network-gets-special-privileges-that-facebook-google-wont-on-ios14/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/08/07/apple-a...
- danielscrubs 6y agoYou say it like Facebook should be allowed to take data?
- jart 6y agoShare more details. That would be a scandal if it's true, since it directly contradicts their public claims. http://archive.is/hF78v http://archive.is/hF78v
- 0xfaded 6y agoWell this sucks for people like me who were arbitrarily banned from making payments to google, likely because I travel too much. My current flow is: 1 tap purchase icon, 2 remember that I'm banned, 3 navigate to apps website and feel better about not losing the developer 30% of their revenue.
- TooCreative 6y agoWhat is the state of other operating systems on Android devices? Since Mobian is bringing Debian to phones, I am playing with the idea to try it. How easy/hard is it nowadays to just go to a store, buy a nice phone, go home and put Mobian on it? I am not talking about how nice the phone experience is. Just how easy/hard the switch to Mobian would be. I'm fully aware that Mobian is brand new. But I would like to have a phone where I can play with it and watch it's progress.
- ryukafalz 6y ago>How easy/hard is it nowadays to just go to a store, buy a nice phone, go home and put Mobian on it? I don't want to say impossible, because that's not quite true, but close to. Mobian runs pretty much a stock Linux kernel, and there are only two recent devices on the market designed to do that: the PinePhone and the Librem 5. The alternative is to use libhybris to run on top of an Android kernel (including all the proprietary drivers needed for a typical Android phone), but... that's really something the distro developers would have to do, not you as a user. Some Android devices are now mostly bootable with mainline Linux or something close to it (PostmarketOS has done a lot of great work here), but these are typically devices that are several years old, not the kind of thing you'd go out and buy in a store. In short: unless the device you buy happens to be a PinePhone or Librem 5 or you are a dedicated kernel hacker or distro developer... no chance, for the vast majority of recent devices you might buy.
- TooCreative 6y agoWould I be able to put Mobian on the phone in the first place? How would I do that? Is there a button combination or something that tells android phones to boot from an external media?
- Iolaum 6y agoAs a pinephone owner I can tell you that non android based Linux phones are years away from having a feature set that would make them acceptable for a general consumer. I d definitely recommend the pinephone for playing with it and watching it's progress though ;)
- archi42 6y agoWhat they say doesn't sound too bad, but: 1. They can say pretty much everything, but then behind the scenes work towards the opposing goal (and, 30% of every sale is a pretty good reason to do so) and 2. as others pointed out, Epic already realized selling Fortnite outside the Play Store was a futile endeavor. I mean, how many here are using F-Droid over the Play Store? And we're not exactly your average persons...
- onetimemanytime 6y agoat some point, Android and iPhone become like Windows, just a gateway to the internet and they can't really force much. Can you imagine Windows requiring a cut from app subscriptions?
- geogra4 6y agoIs there a point where Microsoft brings back windows mobile? Or maybe Amazon has a go at a mobile os?
- villgax 6y agoAnd resolve chargebacks with non-existent Customer Care or is that going to be another plan for devs to buy?
- superice 6y agoImagine how bonkers this is if you consider that an app store is essentially a discovery mechanism much like a search engine is for the web. Google could say: 'If you want your website to be listed on our search engine you need to let us handle your payments', and it wouldn't be fundamentally different. The whole Apple v Epic and Google v Epic lawsuits are interesting to view with that in mind.
- mumblerino 6y agoThat’s not a fair comparison, at least on Android where you do have a choice to just google apps and install them from the open web. App stores are more like Zapier, where your customers can find you, but you have to follow Zapier’s rules because you’re using Zapier’s platform.
- bogwog 6y ago> Today, Netflix, Spotify, and other big services do not use Google Play In-app Billing. Consumers directly enter their credit card information with that third-party. As such, those services get the entire cut of the payment/subscription. Google says this is the case with “less than 3% of developers with apps” on the Play Store. I wonder what percentage of customers use third party payment processors?
- sova 6y agoSo Apple, Google, and Steam all take a 30% developer cut. Normally we'd say "economics will drive this down" but is it not more reminiscent of a cartel with price-fixing behind-the-scenes?
- logicOnly 6y agoThis is a dangerous move. Android users are not Apple users. They are much more willing to research and change services based on price and performance. I wonder if this could be the point Google loses their grip.
- bokohut 6y agoAs a serial fintech entrepreneur speaking from direct experience it should come as no surprise that major technology organizations are moving to control all payments as this is one function that all need to make money. All large brands own and operate their own payments systems as this is a direct factor of controlling expenses and therefore increasing revenue not to mention customer service which is growing increasing more important in this virtual faceless world. Many companies large, medium and small are now actively looking to bring payments in house as a factor of increasing asset value while simultaneously reducing expenses. If your payments volume and expenses justifies owning the process you too should consider owning it otherwise you will be at the mercy of the layers of middle men who will continue the nickel-and-diming activity.