So long Google, and thanks for all the nudes
- ID
- 29552
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 29 Sep 2026, 2:04 AM
- Fetched
- 29 Sep 2026, 7:08 AM
- Provider
- Hacker News
- Category
- dev-community
- Original URL
- https://lecaro.me/20260921-google-less.html
- Source URL
- https://hnrss.org/best
Summary
- Score
- 6.5
- Created
- 29 Sep 2026, 7:08 AM
- Tags
- Audience
- developersvibe_coderssaas_startup_founders
What happened
A developer who bought 10 identical Android 6.0.1 phones (2GB RAM) for an SMS-gateway deployment describes being pushed off Google Play: their text editor Tabby was rejected with a screenshot of an unrelated NSFW app attached to the review, and the appeal was rejected without explanation. They note that repeat offenses can lead to full developer account deletion, so they stopped trying to 'debug' the review process and will ship games and tools via F-Droid and itch.io instead. They also reference an unspecified 'latest monopoly consolidating move' by Google without giving details.
Why it matters
If you distribute on Play, this is a concrete argument for maintaining a second channel: the stated downside here is losing the entire developer account, not just one rejected app, which is why the author refused to re-submit and probe the review. There is also a hardware note for anyone building device fleets — Android 6.0.1 with 2GB RAM was sufficient for their SMS-gateway use case. Nothing in this piece is Malaysia- or SEA-specific; it is a general platform-risk account.
Discussion angle
If a store review can attach an unrelated NSFW screenshot to your app and reject the appeal with no explanation, at what point do you stop treating Play as your primary channel — and what would a realistic F-Droid/itch.io fallback cost you in reach?