Google set to kick ‘sugar dating apps’ out of Play Store under new privacy policy

Google, which is currently working on a set of new safety and privacy policy changes, is coming up with some moves in its Android platform too. Following the policy changes, Google's Android Play Store will now ban all ‘sugar dating apps’ from the platform from 1 September. The apps that allow “compensated sexual relationships”, often referred to as ‘sugar apps’ will now lose their place in the Play Store. Google has also announced a new crackdown on inactive developer accounts in the coming months.

Google ditches ‘sugar dating apps’

Google Play Store’s policies already prohibit apps that promote “services that may be interpreted as providing sexual acts in exchange for compensation.” However, the updated policy of the tech giant’s Android platform will expand the definition to explicitly include “compensated dating or sexual arrangements where one participant is expected or implied to provide money, gifts or financial support to another participant (‘sugar dating’).” Other dating apps on the Google play store will be reviewed under the new privacy policy.

The decision by the tech giants comes amid a shutdown of online sex-related platforms owing to the introduction of the FOSTA-SESTA legislation in the US in 2018. The legislation slashes Section 230 protections for content that “promotes or facilitates prostitution”. “As a platform, we are always excited to support our developer partners, but we also work hard to provide a safe experience for users. We have updated our inappropriate content policy to prohibit apps that facilitate sexual acts in exchange for compensation following feedback we received from NGOs, governments, and other user advocacy groups concerned with user safety. This aligns our policies with other Google policies and industry norms", Google in a statement told Android Police.

Google to kick inactive developers

Alongside kicking out the explicit dating apps, the new policy will also see Google delete inactive developer accounts. Accounts behind apps that have less than a thousand installs or recent in-app purchases, will be kicked out in case of inactivity for a year. Along with this, any developer who hasn’t uploaded an app or signed in to the Google Play Console due in 12 months, will also be deleted. However, Google has also assured to notify the developers of an impending deletion 60, 30, and 7 days before any actions are taken by the company.

Google Play Console to be updated in Q1 2022

According to the company blog, Google will soon implement its new safety and privacy policies. A blog post published on Thursday had announced that the Google Play Store will receive a new Safety section, which will contain a summary of the application, the type of data collected and the purpose of data collected. Google has also said that all developers will now have to provide a privacy policy to get their application listed on Google Play Store.

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