Google and Tinder Settled Dispute Over Payment Methods

In recent years, the largest app stores have come to prominence for their litigation with game and app developers over payment methods offered to users and royalties from sales. Tinder was no exception, which sued Alphabet (owns Google and Play Market).

Recall that earlier, Google changed the Play Market rules for developers, requiring them to use only a proprietary payment system through which up to 30% commission can be withdrawn. The company notified Match Group (which owns Tinder) that it was going to remove its products from the store if it did not follow the site's instructions. Of course, such a move could seriously affect Tinder's profit. According to Google officials, Match can host its applications on any other site. At the same time, apart from App Store (which also has a lot of such cases), there are practically no reliable sources for downloading mobile games and applications. Play Market accounts for up to 90% of all Android product downloads.

Google insisted that Tinder's resistance is just an act of self-interest that could affect the safety of users. In their opinion, the company does not want to pay for all the benefits it receives from Play Market. Despite this, Match Group still withdrew its lawsuit. It was reportedly done after Google made some concessions, allowed developers to offer their customers a choice of payment methods, and abandoned the monopoly on total control over user data.

By the way, the cases launched by Epic Games (the developer of Fortnite) and the US state attorneys general against Google are still ongoing. In their opinion, the company adheres to an extremely anti-competitive policy, and it is necessary to strive to weaken the monopoly in this market. Which side are you on in this conflict? Should app stores give developers more financial freedom

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