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Comment by duncan_bayne | Hacker News Reader

This may seem like a rude question, but - why would you build a business that significantly depends upon the arbitrary decision of the owner of a walled garden? I mean, it's not like this hasn't happened many times in the past. Why would you invest your money to build on such a risky platform as Android or iOS?

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I don't think the question why we develop for Android is relevant here. The fact that the two most important smartphone platforms are walled gardens is interesting in itself. (Google has for long claimed that Android is more open than iOS, but with the current state of things where not being published on Google Play means your app doesn't exist, this claim is not really valid anymore).

Okay, perhaps a more general question then, for people who develop for walled gardens of all types: how can you justify the investment, when your app might be cut off at the knees tomorrow?

I would rather ask the opposite question: Is it possible to develop a fast growing mobile service without developing an app on iOS/Android? How could Instagram have grown the way it did without their iOS and Android apps? I'm sure people occasionally post copyrighted content as a picture on Instagram, were they just lucky not to get pulled by Google for copyright infringement?

They're not opposite, they're related.

Put another way: you have $X to invest. Why would you invest in a mobile service that requires a native app, when the only viable 'markets' for same are walled gardens with arbitrary rules?

Courts exist in capitalist societies to provide the rule of law, and thus the stability, required for investment. There is no such thing in the Android or iOS world.

I could also find a ton of nudity on Instagram right now if I wanted to.

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