Disclaimer: I'm not an app developer, but works in PR and marketing.
Months in, a new update and Google banned the app forever with no recourse.
You can distribute it but not as you. T&C violation.
We had to create a new app and remove the download.
With this as the explanation: Potentially malicious external APKs within the App.
The App had a link to our website on it's dashboard, our website had a download for all installers (we're cross-platform) and it was the same APK but because of potential for it being malicious, they suspended the app with no recourse. (We did remove the APK download, but couldn't update the App to remove the link to the website)
This was in 2018 and we had been in the store for about a year at that point. It was a patch update that triggered it.
> user engagement and revenue stream
Well, if you're making an app for the sole purpose of making charts go up...
>Well, if you're making an app for the sole purpose of making charts go up...
Unless the app is a hobby project, most people would put maximizing their potential revenue stream and marketability of their product as a high priority.
Discussions about the old Internet made me go back to developing and using the web like its 1999. It's quite liberating.
If the tool is good it doesn't need the crap stores to hoist it up. I could care less about the tech unsavy.
There are benefits to both.
API churn seems to kill both, but if you can support your app properly having lots of users will certainly alert you to issues more quickly.
On iOS, that's not even an option. On Android, that's hidden behind some scary checkboxes that state they're only for developers.
Side-loading apps like this is advertised as "insecure" and "dangerous" so as to discourage people form doing so.
It should make you think a little about how things are done in Silicon Valley.
A little tougher now that the current companies have the government on their side.
Apple and Google can eat a d#%$
I don't feel crazy enough to waste time in things that can't exist without me permanently touching it for no reason
Apple had(has?) two years policy for app removal if not updated, I feel that's fair considering quality & security.
But Apple did me real good when overnight it moved my arcade type game from Arcade category to some other generic category because it named its game store as 'Arcade'.
That was the beginning of the series of events ending with semi-mandatory vaccine apps being available only these platforms (no web) to put bad taste in my mouth. Now I've gone back to web development for my products.
The only reason an average app publisher want their app to not be on web is because it cannot steal as much private data(or users can easily protect themselves) .