Google Play removes ROM Manager app because of policy violation
It has been reported that the popular app ROM Manager has now been deleted from the Google Play Store due to violation of the Google developer policies.
The ROM Manager, developed by Koushik Dutta a.k.a Koush allowed people to upgrade to the premium version directly from within the app using either the IAP system by Google or an alternative one that allows payments through PayPal. The problem was that Google Play has a policy that requires users to use only Google’s in-app purchase system, which has been in play since the middle of 2012.
This issue went unnoticed until the developer Dutta apparently received a notification from Google that his newest app Helium was in violation of the IAP policy. They had informed him that he had six weeks to fix the program in all of their apps, which violated the rules, or they would be pulled from the website.
It was said that Koush had indeed responded that he would be addressing this problem, he also proposed a user flow, which he hoped would satisfy the Google Play terms. In his email response he writes:
“User installed Helium through Google Play. The user wants to now upgrade to premium and will see the following options:
- Google Play
- Redeem Code (this is useful to provide free copies to the press, unhappy customers, etc)
If the user wants to pay using PayPal, they will need to sideload Helium APK from the Clockwork Mod website (not Google Play) and then they will also see a PayPal payment option (as they do now). That way, all downloads of the free app delivered through Google Play will only see Google Play as a payment option.”
But it looks like Google wasn’t happy with this proposal, so as a result the ROM Manager has been taken down from the website today, with two weeks left on the deadline.
It’s hard to say why exactly Google decided to shut it down before its time was due, but there is speculation that they may have noticed that the other apps were also violating the rules. There is no word from Koush on this development so far.
Source: Android Authority
