Google Starts Removing Apps From 10 Companies In India Due To Payment Disputes

JAKARTA - Google began removing apps from 10 companies in India on Friday, March 1 including several popular matchmaking apps such as Bharat Matrimony and work search app Naukri, due to disputes over service fee payments.

Indian startups have for years protested against many of the US giant practices, including in-app costs. Google says the costs help develop and promote the Android and Play Store app ecosystem.

On Friday, India's Matrimony.com matchmaking apps, including Bharat Matrimony, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony, and Jodii were removed from the Google Play Store, said the company's founder, Murugavel Janakiraman.

He said it was a dark day for the Indian internet. "Our applications are removed one by one. This literally means all the top matchmaking services will be removed," Janakiraman said, quoted by VOI from Reuters.

Matchmaking apps and websites are now increasingly popular in India as the younger generation avoids traditional matchmaking by their parents.

Matrimony's Bharat Matrimony.com application has been downloaded more than 50 million times, Janakiraman said. The company claims to have more than 40 million subscribers.

Google, a unit from Alphabet Inc, sent a Play Store breach notification to Matrimony.com and Info Edge on Friday.

Naukri's job search application from Info Edge and real estate search company 99acres were also removed, according to the Google Play Store list.

Matrimony.com shares fell to 2.7% initially but closed up 2.2% on Friday, while Info Edge fell 1.5% before cutting losses.

The dispute centers on efforts by several Indian startups to stop Google from charging 11% to 26% for in-app payments, after the country's business competition authorities ordered the company to dismantle previous systems that cost 15% to 30%.

But Google was effective at getting the green light to charge fees or remove apps after two court decisions in January and February, one of which was by India's Supreme Court.

Earlier on Friday, Edge Founder Info Sanjeev Bichhandhani told Reuters the company had paid all Google delayed bills on time and complied with its policies.

In a blog post, Google said 10 Indian companies had voted for an extended time not to pay the "big value they received on Google Play". The company did not identify the company.

"Over the years, neither court nor regulator have rejected Google Play's right to charge," the company said.

Google says it allows some developers to "get different treatment from most developers paying for their fair share creating unbalanced competition."

Google dominates the Indian market as 94% of mobile phones are based on its Android platform. Only 3% of India's more than 200,000 developers use Google Play platforms are required to pay for service fees, Google said.

In 2020, Google removed popular Indian payment app Paytm from its Play Store citing some policy violations. This move led wider company founders and startup industries to join forces to challenge Google by launching their own app stores and filing legal cases.