Why Google and Android App developers are fighting?

Epic Games’ legal battles with Apple and Google over Fortnite in-app purchases have been going on since August 2020. More companies have pushed back against Google in recent months, affecting how people can (or cannot) spend money in Android apps. Here is why Google and Android App developers are fighting you need to know.

If an app or game wants to offer in-app purchases such as cosmetic items in a game. Google requires all Android apps on the Play Store to use the company’s own Play Billing system. Play Billing is available in over 135 countries and accepts a wide range of payment methods, but Google does take a small percentage of each transaction to cover operating costs. The service fee used to be 30% of each transaction, but Google reduced it to 15% for most apps last year.

Match Group, which owns dating apps Tinder, OkCupid, and Match, sued Google last month over “anticompetitive payment tactics.” Although the legal battle continues, Google has agreed to keep Tinder and other apps on the Play Store until an agreement is reached.

Except for Fortnite, no high-profile apps or games have been removed from the Play Store as a result of the new rules. Some popular apps, however, have already been updated to comply. Rather than giving Google a cut, Barnes & Noble and Audible removed the ability to purchase books through their Android apps, so books can only be purchased by visiting the stores in a web browser.

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