The Indian company, whose apps were pulled by Google last week, has reluctantly started complying with Play Store billing rules to get its apps back on the shelves.
Apps such as Shaadi, Matrimony.com and Bharat Matrimony have been restored after being removed from the Play Store on Friday. Other returning apps 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 in-app purchase options to developers. A consumption-only model with no service fees (developers such as Netflix offer consumption only to account holders); Google Play’s billing system (where developers agree to pay Google a 15% or 30% long-term fee); or offer alternatives billing system (where developers pay Google approximately 4% less). Many of the protesting developers are currently opting for a consumption-only model, while others are opting for Google Play billing.
The companies have also sought intervention from the government and India’s antitrust regulator.Over the weekend, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that he Worked with Google He also believes that Google’s removal of applications is “unallowable.” Affected developers are meeting with the minister today.
Kuku FM co-founder and CEO Lal Chand Bisu criticized Google for providing preferential treatment to big companies such as Spotify. Last year, during the Epic v. Google trial in the US, the search giant admitted that Spotify didn’t have to pay for in-app purchases on Google Play thanks to an agreement between the two companies.
Developer allocation issues
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 marketing dollars to drive installs and that Google’s fees are an additional burden on businesses.
On Monday, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal echoed the sentiment and said the company was losing a significant portion of its revenue due to Google’s fee structure.
While alternative app stores were allowed on Android, they failed to achieve mass. Aptoid, for example, told TechCrunch last month that it generates 500 million downloads globally each year. In India, PhonePe’s new Indus app store is in its infancy and may not provide an adequate distribution platform for apps.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Bharat Matrimony CEO Murugavel Janakiraman said 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 through sideloading because most people go to the Play Store to download apps. So what about alternative app stores like the recently launched Indus app store by PhonePe?” Janakiraman told the publication.
Google’s argument
Google has stood its ground, saying it has given developers multiple options to comply with its rules. The search giant said that fewer than 60 developers in India were charged more than 15%.
“While we always try to work with developers to help them navigate our policies and find workable solutions, allowing this small group of developers to receive differential treatment from the vast majority of developers who are paying their fair share is an issue throughout the This creates an unfair 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. Additionally, it said that Google gave developers a three-week grace period after the Supreme Court rejected the protesting company’s request to prevent 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 company develops job-hunting apps like Naukri and real estate listing apps like 99Acres, 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, debate Google has not complied with the CCI’s previous ruling to allow developers to use third-party billing systems.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), an industry association representing India’s largest startups and international companies, said it was “deeply concerned” by Google’s move to remove the app.
According to Reuters, Indian startups wrote to the CCI on March 1, requesting the antitrust agency to intervene and asking Google to restore applications that have not yet been restored.
