Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free
- ID
- 28927
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 26 Sep 2026, 6:55 PM
- Fetched
- 26 Sep 2026, 11:15 PM
- Provider
- Hacker News
- Category
- dev-community
- Original URL
- https://gultsch.de/posts/breaking-up-with-google-play/
- Source URL
- https://hnrss.org/best
Summary
- Score
- 7.0
- Created
- 26 Sep 2026, 11:15 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_founders
What happened
Daniel Gultsch writes that Conversations, his federated Android instant-messaging client first released publicly on March 24, 2014, is now free as he breaks up with Google Play. He says Play Store revenue had been a steady income source that 'pays my rent,' but Google repeatedly rejected updates, removed the app twice, once accused him of uploading users' contacts, and at publication he had waited 14 days for an app-update review. The Hacker News thread drew 314 points and 121 comments.
Why it matters
Indie Android developers and SaaS founders who sell paid apps on Play should treat this as a concrete platform-risk case: Gultsch says the paid Play version provided steady rent-paying income, yet a 14-day review delay, repeated rejections, or removal can interrupt that cash flow. If your business depends on Play Store distribution, decide now whether to keep it as your only paid channel or test direct APK, F-Droid, donation, or support models before a review dispute forces the switch.
Discussion angle
If Play Store revenue was paying the rent, what is the replacement model now that Conversations is free—donations, grants, paid support, direct sales—and which distribution channel can realistically replace Play Store convenience without recreating the same dependency?