An app running on Samsung’s recently updated API new ad blocking capabilities, has been abruptly removed from the Google Play store.
Adblock Fast was Samsung’s launch partner for the new feature, but its app was pulled with little explanation this week after it garnered more than 50,000 downloads, enough to get it into the top charts on the Google Play Store.
Brian Kennish, developer at Rocketship Apps, the company behind Adblock Fast, said that Google sent this human-written email with no warning (see below)
Hi Developers at Rocketship Apps,
I reviewed Adblock Fast, com.rocketshipapps.adblockfast, and found that it violates section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement. This particular app has been disabled as a policy strike.
Just as a reminder, you’ve agreed to follow the Google Play Developer Program Policies and additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy issues with your apps.
If you’ve reviewed the policies and feel this rejection may have been in error, please reach out to our policy support team. One of my colleagues will get back to you within 2 business days.
I appreciate your support of Google Play!
The move by Google could be misunderstanding or an error, or a sign that Google isn’t interested in having these apps in its store.
Google allows various ad blocking browsers in its store already, so it’s not likely this app was removed because it blocks ads.
The company may have an issue with the fact that Samsung’s ad-blocking offering requires two apps to function, rather than performing it without the need for an additional app.
Google responded with the following statement: “While we don’t comment on specific apps, we can confirm that our policies are designed to provide a great experience for users and developers.”
