Indian companies whose apps were banned by Google last week have started following Play Store’s billing rules to get their apps back on the store.
Apps like Shaadi, Matrimony.com, and Bharat Matrimony were restored after being removed from the Play Store on Friday. Other apps to make a comeback include Info Edge’s Naukri and 99acres, audio storytelling apps Kuku FM and Stage, Alt Balaji’s Altt, and dating service QuackQuack.
Google currently offers three options for developers to purchase. a consumption-only model without paying service fees (in which developers such as Netflix offer consumption only to account holders); Google Play’s billing system (in which the developer agrees to pay Google a late fee of 15% or 30%); Or offer an alternative billing system (in which the developer fee to Google is reduced by about 4 percent). Many protesting developers have opted for a consumption-only model for now, while others have opted for Google Play billing.
The companies have also sought intervention from the government and India’s anti-trust watchdog. Over the weekend, IT Minister Ashwini Vishnu said that he was There was an engagement with Google And it was of the opinion that Google’s practice of excluding apps “cannot be allowed.” The affected developers are meeting the Chief Minister today.
Lal Chand Basu, co-founder and chief executive of Coco FM, called on Google to offer preferential treatment to major companies like Spotify. Last year, during Epic v Google’s trial in the US, the search giant admitted that Spotify doesn’t pay any fees for in-app purchases on Google Play because of a deal between the two companies.
Distribution problem for developers
Last month, at an event where Walmart-backed PhonePe launched an alternative app store, startups pointed out that they have to spend a lot of money on marketing to drive installs and that Google’s fees are an additional burden on businesses.
On Monday, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal echoed this sentiment and said companies lost a large chunk of their revenue due to Google’s fee structure.
While alternative app stores have been allowed on Android, they have failed to reach a large scale. For example, Aptoid told TechCrunch last month that it gets half a billion downloads a year from around the world. In India, PhonePe’s newly launched Indus App Store is in a nascent stage and may not provide a sufficient distribution platform for apps.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Bharat Matrimony’s Chief Executive, Moroguel Janakiraman said that sideloading is not a viable option for the company as it has more than 150 apps on the Play Store.
“We can’t offer them via sideloading because most people go to the Play Store to download apps. And what about alternative app stores like the recently launched Indus App Store from PhonePe? Janakiraman told the publication.
Google’s argument
Google has said on its ground that the company has provided developers with several options to comply with its rules. The search giant said that fewer than 60 developers in India are subject to fees above 15 percent.
“While we always try to work with developers to help them navigate our policies and find possible solutions, this allows a small group of developers to receive disparate treatment from the vast majority of developers who pay. are playing their fair share in an uneven playing field in the ecosystem. And puts all other apps and games at a competitive disadvantage,” the company said in a blog post on Friday.
Google also noted that the company has given developers three years to comply with Play Store rules. Also, it said that Google had given developers a three-week reprieve after the Supreme Court rejected the protesting firms’ plea to stop Google from taking action against them.
Companies seeking regulatory action
Companies protesting Google’s move are seeking regulatory intervention. Info Edge co-founder Sanjeev Bikchandani, whose firm makes apps like 99Acres for job search and property listing, has asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to take action against Google.
Snehil Khanor, co-founder and CEO of dating service TrulyMadly Other Founders, Reasoned That Google has not complied with an earlier CCI ruling to allow developers to use third-party billing systems.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), an industry association representing the largest Indian startups and international firms, said it was “deeply concerned” by Google’s move to remove the apps.
According to a Reuters report, the Indian startups wrote to the CCI on March 1, asking the antitrust body to intervene and ask Google to restore apps that have not been restored.