Google Play bans open-source Matrix client Element, citing “abusive content” | Hacker News Reader

Google Play bans open-source Matrix client Element, citing “abusive content”

arstechnica.com

32 pointsstoicanalyst9 comments

By that logic they should ban Chrome for allowing people to be able access all sorts of content hosted on someone else's server/deployment.

It's scary how Google can automatically ban a client for a network with millions of users like this without even batting an eye.

Scarier that it was probably a single person/reviewer involved.

To me it feels more like a single reviewer who didn't get an entire view of the big picture and lacked judgement.

Looks like the app will be restored on Google Play. https://mobile.twitter.com/element_hq/status/135566375338003...

It is really easy to setup your own matrix server on something like Linode. https://linuxhandbook.com/install-matrix-synapse-docker/

Yes but that's pretty irrelevant here, Google Play banned Element, a Matrix _client_.

If we used company's webapps, or our own local webapps or selfhosted webapps, everyone wouldn't need the app stores...

They could use GrapheneOS, and be safer.

Assuming people know how to host a webapp or save a safe webapp or companies are not releasing malware laced webapps...

Happy to let you teach my mum how to run/host a webapp and her whole network of friends then I'll jump onboard so I can converse with her then. /s

We currently need app stores because we're talking about consumer based Operating Systems. Not everyone in the world is up to speed on computing, and currently it is up to the OS developers to create a bridge to step over the technical knowledge insufficiency; thus app stores.

To say that webapps are the end game to address the issues in the current state of consumer application lifecycles, I personally feel is a developer's/prosumer's view of apps.

Although if you have a link/happy to explain to me why WebApps are better than an AppStore for general consumers, I'm all ears.

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