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Same here, Google unpublished one of our 10 million+ downloaded apps without warning. I appealed using the option to upload a PDF file to have a 2 page descript

by thijser 12y ago

Same here, Google unpublished one of our 10 million+ downloaded apps without warning. I appealed using the option to upload a PDF file to have a 2 page description of our processes and efforts to deal with user generated content, only to get the standard canned response "We (...) will not be reinstating your app. This decision is final (...) We are unable to comment further on the specific policy basis for this removal (...)". Needless to say, this is a very disappointing way to be dealt with when this concerns a significant revenue stream.

duncan_bayne 12y ago
This may seem like a rude question, but - why would you build a business that significantly depends upon the arbitrary decision of the owner of a walled garden? I mean, it's not like this hasn't happened many times in the past. Why would you invest your money to build on such a risky platform as Android or iOS?
- thijser 12y ago
  I don't think the question why we develop for Android is relevant here. The fact that the two most important smartphone platforms are walled gardens is interesting in itself. (Google has for long claimed that Android is more open than iOS, but with the current state of things where not being published on Google Play means your app doesn't exist, this claim is not really valid anymore).
  - duncan_bayne 12y ago
    Okay, perhaps a more general question then, for people who develop for walled gardens of all types: how can you justify the investment, when your app might be cut off at the knees tomorrow?
    - thijser 12y ago
      I would rather ask the opposite question: Is it possible to develop a fast growing mobile service without developing an app on iOS/Android? How could Instagram have grown the way it did without their iOS and Android apps? I'm sure people occasionally post copyrighted content as a picture on Instagram, were they just lucky not to get pulled by Google for copyright infringement?
      - jliptzin 12y ago
        I could also find a ton of nudity on Instagram right now if I wanted to.
      - duncan_bayne 12y ago
        They're not opposite, they're related. Put another way: you have $X to invest. Why would you invest in a mobile service that requires a native app, when the only viable 'markets' for same are walled gardens with arbitrary rules? Courts exist in capitalist societies to provide the rule of law, and thus the stability, required for investment. There is no such thing in the Android or iOS world.
jliptzin 12y ago
Truly disgusting. They just don't care about disrupting the livelihoods of developers who have poured hours upon hours of hard work into their apps, only to be whimsically squashed without explanation. Not to mention the 30% revenue share - where does that money go if not to some basic level of support that lets you speak to a human being in these situations?
onthesameboat 12y ago
I'm on the same boat as you mate although my app didn't have 100 M+ downloads. But they suspended the app under the claim of "Keyword Spam". I know I didn't do that. I appealed, only to get a boilerplate e-mail response saying that they will not un-suspend my app but I can upload it under a new package name. How the FUCK am I supposed to resubmit if they don't tell me what exactly was wrong before? All they do is give you a vague explanation and point you to their terms and conditions, proving they REALLY don't know why on earth they are banning you. I'm in a bit of a dilemma now. I had a lot of work and effort put into that app and I'm afraid that resubmitting it might get me another suspension (for no reason at all!) which can get my entire developer account banned and fuck all my other apps! And before any blind Google defenders come here: no, my app was NOT in the grey area and it was 100% legitimate.

by thijser 12y ago

duncan_bayne 12y ago

This may seem like a rude question, but - why would you build a business that significantly depends upon the arbitrary decision of the owner of a walled garden? I mean, it's not like this hasn't happened many times in the past. Why would you invest your money to build on such a risky platform as Android or iOS?

thijser 12y ago
I don't think the question why we develop for Android is relevant here. The fact that the two most important smartphone platforms are walled gardens is interesting in itself. (Google has for long claimed that Android is more open than iOS, but with the current state of things where not being published on Google Play means your app doesn't exist, this claim is not really valid anymore).
- duncan_bayne 12y ago
  Okay, perhaps a more general question then, for people who develop for walled gardens of all types: how can you justify the investment, when your app might be cut off at the knees tomorrow?
  - thijser 12y ago
    I would rather ask the opposite question: Is it possible to develop a fast growing mobile service without developing an app on iOS/Android? How could Instagram have grown the way it did without their iOS and Android apps? I'm sure people occasionally post copyrighted content as a picture on Instagram, were they just lucky not to get pulled by Google for copyright infringement?
    - jliptzin 12y ago
      I could also find a ton of nudity on Instagram right now if I wanted to.
    - duncan_bayne 12y ago
      They're not opposite, they're related. Put another way: you have $X to invest. Why would you invest in a mobile service that requires a native app, when the only viable 'markets' for same are walled gardens with arbitrary rules? Courts exist in capitalist societies to provide the rule of law, and thus the stability, required for investment. There is no such thing in the Android or iOS world.

jliptzin 12y ago

Truly disgusting. They just don't care about disrupting the livelihoods of developers who have poured hours upon hours of hard work into their apps, only to be whimsically squashed without explanation. Not to mention the 30% revenue share - where does that money go if not to some basic level of support that lets you speak to a human being in these situations?

onthesameboat 12y ago

I'm on the same boat as you mate although my app didn't have 100 M+ downloads. But they suspended the app under the claim of "Keyword Spam". I know I didn't do that. I appealed, only to get a boilerplate e-mail response saying that they will not un-suspend my app but I can upload it under a new package name. How the FUCK am I supposed to resubmit if they don't tell me what exactly was wrong before? All they do is give you a vague explanation and point you to their terms and conditions, proving they REALLY don't know why on earth they are banning you. I'm in a bit of a dilemma now. I had a lot of work and effort put into that app and I'm afraid that resubmitting it might get me another suspension (for no reason at all!) which can get my entire developer account banned and fuck all my other apps! And before any blind Google defenders come here: no, my app was NOT in the grey area and it was 100% legitimate.