Google Play Store delisting hits Indian app developer business by 40%

The Google versus Indian application (app) developers’ tussle reached a new height after the global search giant banned apps from 10 developers from its Play Store. Although several of these apps were reinstated within a day, the impact of the ban has been immense. Many told Business Standard that business has been impacted by as much as 40 per cent.

The parties concerned have sought a meeting with the government on Monday to discuss the contentious issue, sources aware of the development said.
 

“Since delisting, our business is down 30-40 per cent, which means we went from being a profitable, growing company to an unprofitable, de-growing company. It has caused complete value destruction,” Anupam Mittal, founder and chief executive officer of People Group (Shaadi.com), told Business Standard.
 

As many as 50 per cent of People Group’s apps, Mittal said, had been delisted from the Play Store.
 

Snehil Khanor, chief executive officer, TrulyMadly, a matchmaking app, said that their business as well as its user experience were “deeply impacted” by Google’s move. “The impact of the ban on TrulyMadly’s business was 20-25 per cent on Day One. Until Saturday the platform has seen a dip of almost 40 per cent,” Khanor said.
 

Google had, on Friday, announced that it had removed apps from 10 developers from the Play Store for alleged non-compliance with its user choice billing system. These include apps like Shaadi, Bharat Matrimony, Balaji Telefilms’ Altt (formerly ALTBalaji), audio platform Kuku FM, and dating service Quack Quack.
 

Two apps from the Sanjeev Bikhchandani-led Info Edge Group — Naukri.com and 99acres.com — were also taken down. Bikhchandani claimed that these apps were delisted without any notice from Google about them being non-compliant.

Several of these apps are now back on the Play Store after being modified to fit Google’s payment policy. But many are on a consumption model, which means for any transaction or payment, a user has to go to the app’s website or out of the Play Store ecosystem. This, in turn, breaks the user experience.
 

“We had to modify our apps according to Google’s directions. We removed all payment methods and billing systems from our apps. They are now operating without payment gateways. None of our apps are directly monetised. Business is bound to take a hit,” said another app developer.
 

The re-listed apps are now running on what Google calls a consumption-only model, wherein any products or services, whether digital or physical, cannot be purchased from within the app. This allows developers to not pay Google the 11-30 per cent service fee.
 

The apps can, on the other hand, undertake transactions through their respective websites.
 

The absence of a billing system on the Play Store would, however, take a toll on the companies’ operations, several founders said.
 

According to industry sources, Indian founders and app developers have sought a meeting with the government on Monday, led by Communications Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, to discuss the issue.
 

Vaishnaw, who intervened on the issue, made it clear that India is very clear in its policy that startups will get the protection that they need, and this kind of delisting cannot be permitted.
 

The development comes amid an ongoing spat between Indian developers and Google over its billing policy. After the Madras High Court dismissed pleas of several Indian startups against Google’s billing policy last year, app developers escalated the issue to the apex court.
 

Although the Supreme Court (SC) agreed to hear the appeals filed by 10 developers, it refused to provide any interim relief to them.
 

“What was the hurry? Why couldn’t Google have waited for a few more weeks until these matters are fully heard in the courts,” Mittal said, adding, “The interim protection went away recently, but that does not mean that the Competition Commission of India or SC has said that you (Google) can go back to the status quo and charge whatever you want.”
 

Google, on the other hand, claims that developers have had more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the recent SC order, saying that the developers in question “have chosen to not pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play by securing interim protections from the court”.
 

“Only 3 per cent of developers in India sell digital goods or services and therefore need to pay a service fee, the vast majority of whom pay 15 per cent or less — the lowest of any major global app store. In fact, in India, less than 60 developers on Google Play are subject to fees above 15 per cent,” the company said in a blog post.

While developers who have had their apps delisted have voiced their discontentment with Google, some developers have spoken out in favour of the tech giant.
 

“As an Android developer since 2011, I've always known that if you’re selling ‘content access’ on Play Store, you need to use their in-app billing. They have made it clear from Day One, but didn’t enforce it. Now that they are enforcing it, our entrepreneurs need the government to intervene,” an app developer wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

Author Arnab Roy said: “Google is a private company which has no obligation to make you successful. You use its platforms, and you have to obey its rules. If you don’t, doesn’t make them evil. They sell their platform just as you sell your products, simple as that.”