Paytm app removed: In a surprise move, Google on Friday pulled the Paytm app from the Google Play store. Google has said that it won’t endorse any gambling app on its platform and has posted a blog that talks about Play gambling policies. We have reached out to Paytm for the story and will be updating once we hear from them. Also read: Private Railways Will Have Freedom To Set Their Own Fares: Government
Google on Friday posted a blog titled “Understanding our Play gambling policies in India” where it highlighted the issues related to such apps that endorse or promote gambling in India.
Paytm app removed
“Google Play is designed to provide a safe and secure experience for our consumers while also giving developers the platform and tools they need to build sustainable businesses. Our global policies have always been designed with that goal in mind, considering the good of all our stakeholders,” said Google in its blog.
Highlighting the issue of online casinos available through the app, Google’s Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security, and Privacy wrote, “We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies.”
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Paytm app removed from Google Play Store a few hours after Google’s Suzanne Frey, who is Vice President, Product, Android Security, and Privacy, detailed the guidelines in a blog post. “We have these policies to protect users from potential harm. When an app violates these policies, we notify the developer of the violation and remove the app from Google Play until the developer brings the app into compliance. And in the case where there are repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts. Our policies are applied and enforced on all developers consistently,” she wrote.
“We have the same goals for our gambling policy. We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies,” wrote Suzanne.
What this means is that Google has apparently removed Paytm from the Play store because it believed the app was violating its new guidelines on online gambling or contests.
Reports have claimed that Google had notified the developers of Paytm about the removal and it continues to be in touch with Paytm to get the app back on Play Store.
Paytm is owned by an Indian company called One97 Communications Ltd, which was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma but the company had received massive funding from fintech firm Ant Financials, which is an ally of China’s Alibaba group.
