An open letter to Google: Unplug Google Plus from the Play App Store | Hacker News Reader

An open letter to Google: Unplug Google Plus from the Play App Store

blog.getkeepsafe.com

22 pointsphilippb14 comments

I don't see how Google is losing with this. I doubt the store reviews matter to them. For example would it bother them if an app gets 50 reviews instead of 500? I wonder if this will make any difference to final review scores which is the real test.

There is a trend in many places to remove anonymity such as when commenting. Note how many places do not allow anonymous comments any more. Heck some only let you comment with an (allegedly) strong identity such as Facebook.

Google is always going to do what is in Google's interest - we really don't matter to them.

"I don't see how Google is losing with this."

Yeah, except for maybe the outraged developer in the link.

this is the worst article i've ever read on this blog

It's all emotion and no meat.

Yes, we get that you're mad at google for doing this, but explain the reasons. Why is this worse than ping? Do they have evidence yet that there are less reviews than expected? Are they different quality?

I wanted to read a rational argument as to why it's a bad idea, and I left hungry.

"Why is this worse than ping?"

Did you even read the article? Becuase he pretty clearly says why: Ping tried to add Facebook (something many users like) to iTunes and was not mandatory.

Good read, but it's going to take more than a rant to turn that behemoth of a mess around.

"EPIC FAIL ... epic fail ... Epic Fail Whale"

It’s kinda silly asking them not to use their identity system that was meant precisely for this sort of thing. A user doesn't have to “use” g+ to have a g+ account, and the review process is straightforward when you already have a profile set up on the account you're using to access the Play store with. Perhaps some refinements are in order but as mentioned it doesn't seem to be fully rolled out yet.

And reviews have somewhat more authoritative looking profiles behind them now, for example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.etsy.andro...

Also I'm not sure that the boilerplate G+ bashing is necessary.

Ya. I don't really see the big deal. But I already have a G+ account (even though I hardly use it) so I can't speak about the user flow when you don't already have one. I've also never left a review... only ratings. shrugs

as mentioned, even ratings are not possible without a linked account anymore. Also changing a rating is not possible anymore...

yes. My point was that since I've only left ratings, I don't believe my G+ profile is visible thus no real concern to me. Others seem to be very irritated with this change. It doesn't bother me.

The Play sore app does even require a Google Plus account when you just want to leave a rating. Ratings are 100% anonymous as they don't show up in the reviews and are global (where as reviews a language specific). This just doesn't make sense to me.

Mobile apps that require a e.g. facebook account as their only sign up have up to 50% drop offs because people don't want to sign in with a service like Facebook.

I strongly believe that ratings and reviews are a core function of a app store eco system. Links to profile pages don't give me as a person who wants to download the app a real benefit. Google did a really nice job with their NLP to highlight reviews that had more depth in the store overview.

My guess is that after it's rolled fully they will log interactions and iterate accordingly. And I'm sure they care about the health of their ecosystem at least as much as you do. Remember that creating a Google account now also creates a G+ profile, account and profile go in tandem now.

I came across a malicious android app, i wanted to leave a review and point out what's wrong. google wanted me to have a g+ account. I refused, even tho I'm using a dummy account.

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