Google has now issued an official statement, clarifying its decision to remove two apps that originated in India.
Google Play Store recently took down two viral apps from India. While one was short-video making app called ‘Mitron’ the another was ‘Remove China Apps’ application which could be used to remove Chinese apps in your phone.
There was some outrage on social media regarding the move by Google as there was ambiguity about the decision behind pulling down the two applications. No clarification was issued by Google and developers also did not provide an answer.
However, Google has now issued an official statement, clarifying its decision to remove two apps that originated in India.
Sameer Samat, Vice President, Android, and Google Play, said Mitron app was taken off the store because of a number of technical violations of Google’s policies. The Remove China Apps, on the other hand, was taken down because it encourages people into removing/disabling other apps, without being a part of a verifiable security service.
“Earlier this week, we removed a video app for a number of technical policy violations. We have an established process of working with developers to help them fix issues and resubmit their apps. We’ve given this developer some guidance and once they’ve addressed the issue the app can go back up on Play,” Samat said, according to a report by BGR.in.
If the response is any indication, Mitron app could actually come back to the Google Play Store once the technical violations Google flagged off are taken care of by the developers. The app is a direct competitor of TikTok and offers similar services and as people started the boycott of Chinese apps, it saw a big growth in India.
According to the BGR, Mitron had amassed over 5 million downloads and had a 4.7 rating on the Play Store before being pulled down.
As for the Remove China Apps, Samat said it “encourages or incentivizes 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 behaviour 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," he said.
The app also became popular because of its utility amid the boycott of Chinese products, including apps. It had gathered about a million users and quickly became the top free application on Play Store before being taken down.
Considering the policy of Google regarding the app, it is unlikely that we will see the application again on the Play Store.
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