Google’s Play Store took down several notable cryptocurrency apps, including CoinDesk, CoinTelegraph
The Google Play Store for Android smartphone apps appears to have trouble reporting cryptocurrency and Blockchain news. They removed several cryptocurrency applications, including Cointelegraph, CoinDesk, etc.
Does Google continue to block cryptocurrency applications?
Since 2:00 PM EST, applications of cryptocurrency news sites, including Cointelegraph and Coindesk, have disappeared from the Play Store.
Screenshot of returned results for Cointelegraph and Coindesk
Google did not contact Cointelegraph about this removal plan. Till now. Google remained silent, even though Cointelegraph contacted the company directly.
Google has voluntarily removed many cryptocurrency applications
This is not the first time the Google Play Store has shown an aversion to cryptocurrencies. The Google App Store has long been famous for having unusually strict rules regarding crypto-related applications. Especially applications that provide financial services. Previously, Google Play hosted a lot of legitimate crypto applications. However, perhaps because the previous censorship mechanism is still loose, there have been quite several fake and fraudulent claims that have entered and greatly affected the security and user assets.
Therefore, any cryptocurrency project must be censored by Google over and over again. And probably because of a misunderstanding that MetaMask violated its cryptocurrency mining ban policy, by the end of December 2019, Google removed the Ethereum (ETH) wallet and the MetaMask dApp from the Google Play store.
In the last week, the MetaMask Android client was suspended by the Google Play App Store @googleplaydev. They cited their policy that bans mining on mobile, which we don’t. Appeal rejected. #ProtectWeb3.https://t.co/rfP4EbOAqv!?zippy_activeEl=cryptocurrencies%23cryptocurrencies
— MetaMask (@metamask_io) December 26, 2019
At the time, Dan Findlay, co-lead developer of MetaMask, said:
“I very much hope that this is an honest mistake for Google reviewers, but combined with all the crypto bans on YouTube, that makes me feel uncomfortable about how Google engage in decentralized technologies.”
Findlay mentioned YouTube’s ongoing ban on cryptocurrency content, although it only lasted for a few days, creating a massive wave in the community.
Mobile cryptocurrency mining is a relatively new trend in the cryptocurrency market. Interestingly, the only project that offers this feature is the Electroneum wallet. And currently, this application is still provided on Google Play. I don’t know when it’s Electroneum’s turn to be Google.
Read more:
- Bitfinex Prepares To Delist 46 Crypto Trading Pairs That Have Very Low Volumes
- Bitcoin Price Has Risen Nearly 4% As The Traditional Market Recovers And BTC Hit A New All-Time High In Terms Of Hashrate