Tag: play store

Fortnite Maker Epic Games Moots Google Play Store Reforms After Antitrust Win

Fortnite video game maker Epic Games has urged a federal judge in California to force Google to open up its Play Store to greater competition after a jury found the U.S. tech giant had abused its power as a gatekeeper for apps on the Android mobile platform.

Epic made its proposal in a court filing on Thursday to U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco, seeking in part to require Google Play Store to allow users more freedom in how they download apps and to limit Google’s ability to make agreements with device makers to restrict preloading of competing app stores.

Epic said in a statement on Friday it should be allowed to bring its Epic Games Store to Android “without delays and barriers.” The company also said consumers and developers must have greater control over “how they make and offer in-app purchases, free from anticompetitive fees and restrictions.”

Responding to Epic, Google in a statement on Friday said the court filing “shows again that [Epic] simply wants the benefits of Google Play without having to pay for it.” Google said “Android is an open mobile platform that faces fierce competition” from Apple and other competitors.

Donato presided over a blockbuster antitrust trial that ended in a jury verdict against Alphabet-owned Google in December.

Donato is not bound to grant Epic’s proposal, and a hard fight is likely before any permanent order on Google is issued. But the new filing sets up the next key test of Google’s ability to impose controls on app developers and consumers.

The jury in December said Google unlawfully impeded developers’ ability to freely distribute their apps outside of Google’s Play Store and kept an overly tight grip on payments for transactions within apps. Google imposes an industry standard 30% commission on many apps and in-app purchases.

Google has defended its app store practices and denied any wrongdoing. The company has a May 3 deadline to respond to Epic’s proposal. Epic’s lawsuit did not demand monetary damages.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has said Google’s December settlement did not go far enough to restore Play Store competition.

North Carolina-based Epic Games is a privately held company, in which China’s Tencent owns a 40% stake and Walt Disney owns a stake of about 9% as of February.

Google separately in December agreed to pay $700 million to resolve state and consumer allegations over its Play Store restrictions.

The company said then it was expanding the ability of app and game developers to provide consumers an alternative billing option for in-app purchases. Google said it had piloted “choice billing” in the U.S. for more than a year.

Google has said it will appeal the December antitrust jury verdict, and it can separately challenge any reforms ordered by Donato, which could stretch the case for years.

A similar case Epic lodged against Apple in 2020, challenging its grip on its App Store, is still being fought after a non-jury trial and appeals.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Google Files Lawsuits Against Chinese Nationals for Promoting Fraudulent Crypto Apps on Play Store: Report

Google is taking a conscious approach towards identifying risky apps being promoted on its Play Store. In a fresh development, the search engine giant has identified two suspects who could have been using the app storefront to advertise fraudulent crypto apps. In order to deal with this situation, Google has filed a lawsuit against two Chinese nationals residing in mainland China. Google’s major competitor Apple has maintained a policies-based boundary from crypto-related activities, aiming to safeguard its community members from financial risks.

In the lawsuit filed by Google, the company has alleged that the two Chinese nationals were luring people to engage with scam crypto apps, getting them to deposit funds and later blocking access to their deposits, a report by CoinTelegraph said.

The individuals named by Google in the lawsuit are Yunfeng Sun, aka Alphonse Sun, and Hongnam Cheung, aka Zhang Hongnim or Stanford Fischer. In its filing, the tech giant has accused the defendants of having misrepresented their identity, location, and the nature of fraudulent apps in order to have them published on the Play Store.

Google estimates that these malicious crypto apps were collectively downloaded over 100,000 times. One such app that has been named is the TionRT exchange, among at least 87 crypto scam apps that Google has alleged the duo for having advertised and published on the Play Store.

The alleged culprits have been blamed for exploiting the international reach of platforms like YouTube to advertise these apps while also reaching out to potential victims through text message campaigns.

The tech giant is also suing the developers behind these apps for breaching the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) law. Passed in the US back in 1970, the RICO law aims to eradicate organised crimes.

Over the last few years, the crypto sector has blossomed on an international level, with thousands of cryptocurrencies having been launched in circulation. Taking advantage of this boom, crypto scammers also ramped up their activities and have managed to steal billions of dollars from the community.

Now, several nations are deploying rules to regulate the crypto sector, hoping to make it secure for their nationals to engage with. Fake apps, false high return schemes, scam airdrop promises are just a few ways that scammers have been establishing connections with potential victims.

With the rising number of crypto crimes, platforms like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store have time and again been reminded by authorities to be vigilant in identifying problematic apps.

In November 2022, for instance, US authorities had asked Apple and Google to provide elaborate details on crypto-related apps available on App Store and Play Store, respectively. The tech giants were also, at the time, asked to explain how and how often they monitor apps that are available for download on their respective app stores.

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CCI to Probe Google Amidst Dispute With Indian Firms Over In-App Billing Policy

India’s antitrust body on Friday ordered a probe into Alphabet Inc’s Google in an ongoing dispute with local startups over its in-app billing system, saying the U.S. company implemented its policies in a “discriminatory manner”.

Indian startups have been at odds with Google for months over the fee it charges for in-app payments.

The dispute escalated earlier this month after Google removed more than 100 Indian apps from its app store for violations related to billing, though it restored them after the Indian government intervened.

The startups had asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to look into the matter and the watchdog on Friday ordered an investigation, saying: “Google is implementing its policies in a discriminatory manner”.

The CCI also directed its investigation unit to complete the probe within 60 days.

“We are examining CCI’s order initiating the investigation,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters, adding that the company will cooperate with the process “in every way”.

The dispute centres on efforts by some Indian startups to stop Google from imposing a fee of 11% to 26% on in-app payments, after the country’s antitrust authorities ordered it to dismantle a system of charging 15% to 30% in 2022.

Google denies wrongdoing and says it charges the fee for supporting investments in Google Play app store and the Android mobile operating system, ensuring it distributes it for free.

The CCI has already spent months looking into startups’ complaint that Google is not following the earlier antitrust directive that prevents it from taking adverse measures against companies which use alternate billing systems.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Google’s Removal of Apps From Play Store in India ‘Cannot Be Permitted’: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Google’s decision to remove some apps in India from its app store “cannot be permitted”, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday, amid an ongoing dispute over service fee payments to the US firm.

Google on Friday removed from its Play Store many Indian apps, including Matrimony.com’s popular Bharat Matrimony and job search app Naukri, saying the companies were not abiding by its in-app payment guidelines.

Vaishnaw said he has held talks with Google and will meet the startups, which needed protection in India.

“This cannot be permitted. This kind of de-listing cannot be permitted,” he said in a statement.

Google declined to comment.

The removal has sparked criticism from many startups who have for years protested and legally challenged many of the US giant’s practices, including its in-app fee. Google says the fees help develop and promote the Android and Play Store ecosystem.

The dispute centers on efforts by some Indian startups to stop Google from imposing a fee of 11 percent-26 percent on in-app payments, after the country’s antitrust authorities ordered it to not mandatorily enforce an earlier system of charging 15 percent-30 percent.

But Google effectively received the go-ahead to charge the fee or remove apps after two court decisions in January and February, one by the Supreme Court.

Google said on Friday that some Indian companies had chosen not to pay for the “immense value they receive on Google Play”.

Among the worst hit by the removals is Matrimony.com which has seen more than 150 of its apps dropped from the Play Store.

“All our apps have been removed and we are out of Play Store and (that) means out of business,” founder Murugavel Janakiraman told Reuters on Saturday. “If this continuous for a long term then we will have significant drop in revenue.”

Info Edge, another affected company, had seen its job search app Naukri and another real estate search app, removed. Many of the company’s apps had been restored, its founder said on Saturday on X, without elaborating.

Google briefly removed popular Indian payments app Paytm from its Play Store in 2020 citing some policy violations. The move led to the company’s founder and the wider startup industry joining together to challenge Google by launching their own app stores and filing legal cases.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Google I/O 2023 saw the search giant repeatedly tell us that it cares about AI, alongside the launch of its first foldable phone and Pixel-branded tablet. This year, the company is going to supercharge its apps, services, and Android operating system with AI technology. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Google to Take Action Against 10 Indian App Developers Over Play Store Fee Non-Payment

Google, on Friday, March 1, said it would enforce action against a group of Indian app developers as they had not complied with the Play Store’s billing policies. The Alphabet-owned company claimed that ten Indian app developers, which include “many well-established” companies, have failed to pay the Play Store fee for availing its services, and now may get removed from the Android app marketplace as a result of it. The tech giant also highlighted it was taking measures to not give differential treatment from the majority of its developer base who have been paying their share.

According to a report by TechCrunch, a group of Indian companies had filed petitions to the Madras High Court challenging Google’s Play Store billing policies, arguing that the tech giant charges a very steep amount as a fee for its services. The crux of the issue lies in the fact that the tech giant levies between 11 percent to 26 percent as a service fee per download of a paid app as well as on purchases made in-app.

The group reportedly includes Bharat Matrimony, Shaadi.com, Unacademy, Kuku FM, Info Edge, and more. While the High Court dismissed the appeal, the Supreme Court of India agreed to hear pleas filed by the firms, as per a report by NDTV Profit. The Supreme Court, however, refused to give any interim order to Google to not delist the companies’ apps from the Play Store.

Later, the group of app developers wrote to Google requesting it to not delist the apps till March 19, when the Special Leave Petition (SPL) would be heard by the Supreme Court, reported The Economic Times. However, it now appears that Google has decided not to listen to the pleas and instead begin taking action against the non-paying developers.

In a post, Google acknowledged the Supreme Court’s decision to not request the tech giant to keep the apps on the platform. It stated, “For years, no court or regulator has denied Google Play’s right to charge for the value and services we provide. On 9 February, the Supreme Court also refused to interfere with our right to do so. While some of the developers that were refused interim protection have started fairly participating in our business model and ecosystem, others choose to find ways to not do so.” Additionally, it stated that only 60 developers in India were charged a fee above 15 percent.

Further, the Android platform developer highlighted that not taking action would be unfair to more than 2 lakh Indian developers who have been complying with its billing policy. “After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Court’s order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally,” Google added.

The TechCrunch report mentioned, citing unnamed sources, that the tech giant will begin removing a few of these apps from its marketplace starting Friday. We, at Gadgets 360, found that the matrimony app Shaadi by Shaadi.com and Jodii by Matrimony.com, the content streaming platform by Alt Balaji Altt, and the dating app QuackQuack have already been removed from the platform and the search result shows the icon of the app and its name with the message “This app isn’t available”.

Removal from the platform is not the end, however. Google stated that developers can resubmit their apps to be listed on the Play Store by adhering to the payment policy, and likely clearing their dues. Alternatively, a favourable decision by the Supreme Court after March 19 could result in Google being ordered to revise its billing policy.

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Threads App Sees Rise in Downloads, Competitor X Falls in Top Downloaded Apps List: Report

Threads was launched by Meta’s Instagram in July 2023. It is a microblogging platform, similar to X (formerly Twitter). Within the first five days of its launch, the application saw 100 million registered users. However, the platform struggled to retain regular users on the text-based app after the initial rush. Since then the company has introduced several new features on the application aiming to enhance user experience. Threads appears to be gaining its footing back in the game as it saw an increase in the number of new downloads, while competitor X took a tumble.

An app intelligence firm Appfigures claimed in an analysis that Threads had 12 million new downloads on Apple’s App Store and 16 million on Google Play in December 2023. This resulted in the application ranking at number 4 and number 8, respectively on the Most Downloaded Apps list drawn up by the firm. Combined, Threads ranked at number 6 on the list of new downloads.

Threads currently has an estimated 160 million users, according to an online tracker, which notes that it uses “an approximation method based on a sampling of follower counts” since Meta stopped sharing user count numbers on July 11, 2023.

Threads parent Instagram ranked number 1 on the list with a combined new downloads count of 54 million, surpassing TikTok, which was listed with total new downloads of 47 million. Meta-owned Facebook and WhatsApp also made it to the top 10, with combined new downloads of 39 and 38 million, ranking at number 3 and 4, respectively.

A TechCrunch report shared an extensive version of the list, which showed Elon Musk-owned X with an estimated total new downloads of 8.5 million, resulting in the application climbing down to the 36th position. The drop may not be as alarming as it looks as a PCMag report notes that Twitter was launched in 2006 and already has 540 million users.

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Microsoft Copilot Now Available for Android Users as a Standalone App; May Come to iOS Soon

Microsoft Copilot appears to have been quietly rolled out to Android users. Copilot, driven by the latest OpenAI models GPT-4 and DALL-E 3, is capable of generating content and creating visuals from basic text descriptions and requests. It is Microsoft’s Bing Chat AI chatbot and other existing AI features rebranded and bundled together as a generative AI assistant. Although the company has not announced the release officially, Microsoft Copilot is currently listed on Google’s Play Store and is available for download to all Android users.

The Play Store listing (first spotted by Neowin) of Microsoft Copilot lists the app as free-to-use, suggesting there could be in-app purchases. As per the listing on the Play Store, the app was last updated on December 19. Microsoft rebranded its Bing Chat AI to Copilot in September this year. However, unlike Bing Chat, the new app is completely dedicated to providing access to Microsoft’s AI conversation helper. There is no distraction from Bing’s search engine or rewards, but advertisements will show up occasionally in this new app.

Copilot, as suggested by the listing, offers free access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 artificial intelligence models, which are claimed to help offer users “fast, complex, and precise responses, as well as the ability to create breathtaking visuals” from simple text cues. 

The Microsoft Copilot app for Android does not require users to sign in to a Microsoft account. However, the company explains that signing in using a Microsoft email ID would allow “more questions” and “longer conversations” with the chatbot. The app also asks for an approximate location permission but it is not mandatory to share. A toggle within the Microsoft Copilot application enables users to turn on GPT-4 access, which the app also warns will be “slower while being creative.”

Meanwhile, a report by Windows Latest citing internal sources suggests that Microsoft is working on an iOS version of Copilot. The report claims that it is “nearly ready” and could launch soon although it does not detail a timeline. For the time being, iOS users can access Microsoft Copilot via the Bing Chat app.

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Google Play Store Update Adds Remote App Uninstall Feature: How it Works

Google has updated the Play Store app for Android smartphones and the latest version adds support for a new feature that allows a user to uninstall applications on one device from another smartphone — similar to the existing process of remotely installing Android apps. With the latest Play Store version, you will be able to remove apps not only from other Android smartphones but also from smartwatches running on Wear OS, smart TVs running on Android TV, and Android Auto devices.

With version 38.8 of the Google Play store that began rolling out to users last week, the search giant describes a “new feature to help you uninstall apps on connected devices.” The feature will be available for smartphones, computers, smart TVs, automotive systems, and smartwatches, according to the company.

The remote uninstall feature is yet to roll out to Android smartphones
Photo Credit: TheSpAndroid

 

After downloading and installing the latest update, Gadgets 360 was unable to test the new functionality, which suggests it is being enabled via a server-side switch. Technology blog TheSpAndroid reports that the feature is not as simple as installing apps on another device — the Play Store already allows you to select an app for installation on another smartphone logged in with the same account.

In order to uninstall apps from another device, you will first have to make sure that your devices are logged in using the same Google account. Then, you can tap on your profile image and select Manage apps & devices > Manage in the Play Store app and select the device from the pop-up menu. You can then pick from apps installed on those devices and remotely delete them, according to the report.

The remote app management feature could come in handy when you want to quickly uninstall an app from your smart TV or your smartwatch, especially when these devices aren’t nearby. You can also reportedly select multiple apps to uninstall from another device. You can also sort the app by size or name — the former will let you identify which apps are taking up the most space on your phone.  

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Google to Pay $700 Million to US Consumers, States in Play Store Antitrust Settlement

Alphabet’s Google will pay $700 million (roughly Rs. 5,819 crore) and revamp its Play app store to allow for greater competition as part of an antitrust settlement with US states and consumers, according to the company and filings in San Francisco federal court on Monday.

Google will pay $630 million (roughly Rs. 5,238 crore) into a settlement fund for consumers and $70 million (roughly Rs. 582 crore) into a fund that will be used by states, according to the settlement, which still requires a judge’s final approval.

The settlement said eligible consumers will receive at least $2 (roughly Rs. 166) and may get additional payments based on their spending on Google Play between August 16, 2016 and September 30, 2023.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, joined the settlement.

Google was accused of overcharging consumers through unlawful restrictions on the distribution of apps on Android devices and unnecessary fees for in-app transactions. It did not admit wrongdoing.

Attorneys for the states and consumers announced the settlement in September, but the terms were kept confidential ahead of Google’s related trial with Fortnite maker Epic Games. A California federal jury last week agreed with Epic that parts of Google’s app business were anticompetitive.

Wilson White, Google vice president for government affairs and public policy, in a statement said the settlement “builds on Android’s choice and flexibility, maintains strong security protections, and retains Google’s ability to compete with other (operating system) makers, and invest in the Android ecosystem for users and developers.”

The company said it was expanding the ability of app and game developers to provide consumers an alternative billing option for in-app purchases next to Play’s billing system. Google said it had piloted “choice billing” in the US for more than a year.

As part of the settlement, Google said it would simplify users’ ability to download apps directly from developers.

California, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee and Utah led the states’ coalition. State regulators spent hundreds of hours negotiating the settlement, Monday’s court filing said.

Democratic North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein told Reuters on Tuesday that “the changes Google is required to adopt will result in more innovation among app developers and lower prices for consumers, and that was always our number one goal.”

The states’ attorneys said “no other US antitrust enforcer has yet been able to secure remedies of this magnitude from Google” or another major digital platform.

Epic sued for an injunction, but not money damages, and the company next year is expected to make its own proposal to the judge hearing the cases, US District Judge James Donato, about potential changes to Google’s Play store.

In a statement, Epic public policy head Corie Wright said the states’ settlement “did not address the core of Google’s unlawful and anticompetitive behavior.”

Wright said Epic will press at the next phase of its trial “to truly open up the Android ecosystem.”

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, in a post on social media platform X, said the states could have won a larger damages amount “if they’d stayed in the fight a few weeks longer.”

Google faces other lawsuits challenging its search and digital advertising practices. It has denied any wrongdoing in those cases.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Google I/O 2023 saw the search giant repeatedly tell us that it cares about AI, alongside the launch of its first foldable phone and Pixel-branded tablet. This year, the company is going to supercharge its apps, services, and Android operating system with AI technology. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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FM Sitharaman Says Google Took Down Over 2,500 Loan Lending Apps From Play Store: Report

Google took down over 2,500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store between April 2021 and July 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly claimed in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha Monday. The minister also said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had shared ‘whitelist’ of betting apps with the government to separate applications that operate legally from those that flout guidelines. Earlier this year, the Indian government banned over 230 Chinese-linked lending apps that facilitate betting and loans following complaints of extortion and harassment.

According to Sitharaman, the government has been in talks with the RBI and other industry stakeholders over curbing illegal loan apps in the country, a report in the Mint said.

“Between April 2021 and July 2022, Google also reviewed approximately 3,500 to 4,000 loan lending apps and suspended or removed over 2,500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store,” Sitharaman was quoted as saying in the report. The issue of fraudulent loan apps is regularly brought up in meetings of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), the report added.

The FM also said that a ‘whitelist of legal loan apps, prepared by the RBI, had been shared with the government and further sent to Google, as well. The search engine giant has also updated its Play Store policy on enforcement of loan lending apps and implemented stricter requirements for lending apps in the country.

Back in April, Google had said that it had acted against more than 3,500 loan apps in India for violating Play Store policy requirements. The company had claimed it prevented 1.43 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play, banned 173,000 bad accounts, and prevented over $2 billion (nearly Rs. 16,350 crore) in fraudulent and abusive transactions last year.

Google’s announcement had come weeks after the Indian government banned over 230 loan lending and betting apps with Chinese links following complaints of extortion and harassment from borrowers in February. The crackdown on loan apps saw 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps blocked under Section 69 of the IT Act.

In March, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed charges against payment gateway Razorpay and three Chinese-linked fintech companies, among others, in a money laundering probe linked to fraudulent loan lending apps.

In addition to Razorpay, firms named in the chargesheet included fintech companies Mad Elephant Network Technology Private Limited, Baryonyx Technology Private Limited and Cloud Atlas Future Technology Private Limited — all allegedly controlled by Chinese nationals — and three non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) registered with RBI.

Earlier this month, security researchers revealed details of apps used by loan sharks to defraud users, and listed the methods used by the apps to bypass some of the restrictions put in place on the Play Store. As many as 18 apps identified as ‘SpyLoan’ malware were found on the Play Store in 2023.

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