A well-known messenger app does not play by Google’s rules and is therefore blocked in the Play Store for new app updates by Google.
Here in Germany, KakaoTalk is not so well known or used much, but it is a very popular messenger. The creators behind the app, which today has over 100 million downloads in the Google Play Store, recently violated Google’s specifications and even after some time simply couldn’t get rid of this error. Every app developer had a deadline.
Messenger with more than 100 million downloads can no longer offer updates
KakaoTalk displayed an external payment link in its own app and Google doesn’t really like that. There are guidelines against which this procedure violates.
They probably didn’t react quickly enough to Google’s demands and that’s why the app has now been blocked in the Play Store with regard to new app updates. Now the Play Store will no longer provide any updates for the app, the media reports.
Google and its specifications in the Play Store: A story that is stirred up again and again
Google can no longer force app developers to use their own billing system. Nevertheless, developers are not allowed to simply set any links for external websites in their apps in order to bypass Google’s system. But you can see which side has the upper hand first. For this, Google is often criticized harshly enough and warned by politicians.
It is not as easy as one might think at times. The Play Store belongs to Google and the company, therefore, makes the rules for the App Store. But Google cannot simply enforce everything because the market power is too great for it and then the antitrust authorities intervene. Google and Epic Games (Fortnite) have been arguing in court for several years.
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