Google Play is Learning From Apple

Earlier this year, after making bold moves to clean up the App Store, Apple decided they would continue to allow individually branded apps made by app building services like Subsplash to be placed in the App Store. After previous statements saying they would disallow them, this was a very welcome change!

The only catch: all apps of this kind have to be placed on Apple developer accounts that are owned by the app content creator. For Subsplash, that means owned by our clients.

Apple’s rationale is simple. This decision empowers them to rid the App Store of spam while still providing an avenue for nonprofits, churches, small businesses, and other organizations to create their own, custom branded iOS apps. Ultimately, this a win-win.

A few weeks ago, Google Play also changed their policy, and it’s clear they are following Apple’s lead. Here’s an excerpt from their new policy:

“Apps that are created by an automated tool, wizard service, or based on templates and submitted to Google Play by the operator of that service on behalf of other persons are not allowed. Such apps are only permissible if they are published by an individually registered developer account belonging to the user of the automated tool, not the operator of the service.”

While Google Play isn’t currently enforcing this policy change for Subsplash apps, we expect their administrative efforts to catch up with their new policy eventually. This means that new Subsplash client apps will someday soon be placed on their own Google Play accounts, rather than the Subsplash account. We’re working with Google Play now, as we always have, to plan for this latest policy change.

Fortunately for our clients, the process of signing up for a Google Play developer account is cheaper, easier, and faster than with Apple. Everything we’ve learned from helping clients accommodate Apple’s policy can easily be applied to Google Play.

App Store and Google Play policy changes are nothing new or unexpected. We’ve been working with all the major app stores since 2009 and have helped thousands of clients submit their apps and maintain a constant and uninterrupted presence in the app stores. Submitting apps on behalf of our clients, whether on our account or theirs, is something we delight in and excel at. We’re the experts in this space so our clients can focus on engaging their audience. For our team, this is just another wrinkle in the path to ensuring our clients succeed in their mission.

So, if you’re a client and have any questions or concerns about this new Google Play policy, please reach out. That’s why we’re here!