Source
r/androiddev•
Enlightened_Chimp

Newer Developer - Banned from Google Play, Please Help

Hello, I've been banned from the google play store without warning and my appeal was denied. I was banned for "Deceptive Behavior". I'm pretty sure it's because in my game description I mentioned that my gameplay was like a hybrid of "Helicopter" and "Doodle Jump". I would have gladly removed this from the description but was not given a 2nd chance. I genuinely was not trying to deceive anyone.

I just started learning software development 2 years ago and have worked thousands of hours to build 4 Android Apps. I have yet to get an official software dev job or apply for jobs.

Can any experienced devs or anyone involved in the hiring process help me with the following questions:

  1. How bad does it look if you are applying for jobs and have been banned from the play store?
  2. How can I showcase my apps to companies if I can no longer show them on google play? Is there another recommended place to distribute them? Will it look bad if I have barely any users?

I'm thinking I just want to get into a regular software development job now and no longer want to do android development because I'm disheartened at the moment and feel as if all my hard work has been wasted. Idk how a major company/bully like google can permanently ban you without any chance for redemption. I don't want to be in a position where the fate of my career can be changed on a whim by Google's AI.

I've been grinding leetcode and feel as if i'll have the skills to pass any interviews but I don't have a CS degree so I was really banking on showing off these apps to get my foot in the door. Just looking for any general recommendations/tips cause I feel pretty lost right now. My most recent app was built using Libgdx so I'm thinking I can probably somewhat easily release it on IOS even though I have no IOS programming experience?

Thanks.

Edit: Just want to say thanks to everyone for the reassuring comments. Sounds like I'm not as screwed as I thought I was.

Posted Feb 20, 2019, 8:14 PM UTC · edited

8560
s73v3r•

Without you posting the actual apps, no one here can tell what that Deceptive Behavior was.

35
incond1te•

Right. Don't have all of the details. Not accusing op of lying, just that there's probably more to the story -or- the behavior significantly matched the patterns of a bad actor and got the hammer.

8
blueclawsoftware•

Yea while the account bans are harsh, I've never heard of someone getting their account banned without first receiving a warning about a particular app first. Something doesn't seem to add up here.

-3
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

I can't post my app cause it was banned... it just says 403 not found.

The following is gameplay to my app:

6
rosensan•

Excessively zealous banning of apps is a well-known problem right now and I wouldn't worry about it reflecting badly on you. I'll second the suggestion you put them on github, I'd be more likely to look at someone's github than the play store.

25
capilot•

Unfortunately, if you're "little people", Google isn't very interested in investing their time or money into listening to your appeal.

Google's entire business model revolves around automating every process, and if a live human has to deal with you even once, that usually negates all the profit they would have made from you in a lifetime.

Unless you're a major customer, it's cheaper to ban you and block you than to deal with you.

18
Smittyboy101•

Doesn't seem to be a part of the whole don't be evil thing they do huh

1
link-00•

Also, what you described sounds more like metadata violation instead of "deceptive behavior". Can you think of anything else?

https://play.google.com/about/storelisting-promotional/metadata/

"Misleading references to other apps or products"

15
powerje•

I was recently removed from Google Play for this. I made a live wallpaper called Nyandroid that was a lot like Nyancat and I put in my description that it was inspired by Nyancat and that PRGuitarman made Nyancat.

Apparently saying that is deceptive. Lol

14
dancovich•

Deception includes trying to deceive the bots that index your app. Mentioning other apps on your title or description would make your app appear on searches for that other app.

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

18
zackline•

Also, rating take care of fake apps anyway. But now apparently every companion app is implicitely banned and even an offense worthy of account termination, apparently. What a joke.

Glad they still allow the Chinese fake apps with the Witcher 3 gameplay screenshots though. Those they don't manage to catch anyway.

5
dancovich•

Yeah but a search result on Google isn't something that can directly hurt your device (it could indirectly do so).

An app is serious business, you don't want people thinking they installed WhatsApp when in fact they installed some malicious lookalike that sends your data to China (unlike the official app that officially sends your data to Facebook).

2
zackline•

Great thing is I'm pretty sure that my companion/stats app for a big online game will be banned.

That's just splendid, I mean it's not illegal to mention third party products, so why would that be banned?

Let the reviews do their job, I mean what the hell?

1
dancovich•

Yeah it's pretty unfair.

The issue is that the same rule that applies to the innocent also applies to the guilty. An app called "Reddit Access" that has in it's description "Works as a Reddit client, has the same features as the official Reddit client" would be a fair use of Google's right to policy it's own store, after all that's a blatant use of the words "Reddit", "official" and "client" in an attempt to appear on the same searches as the official client.

2
s73v3r•

The only thing that's about as prevalent on this subreddit as the posts complaining about Google being a monopoly are the ones complaining about the review system.

1
powerje•

Nyancat isn't another Android app it's art. Anyone searching nyancat would likely want to find my app.

1
dancovich•

The rules don't require the impersonated subject to be on the play store or even an app.

Launching an app called "The Walking Dead Episode Guide" would be considered deceptive too, or at least an attempt at impersonation.

2
nickm_27Developer - Nick Nack Development•

If you open source them you can showcase on a website like GitHub

13
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

Thanks, I already have done that actually. Do you think it would look bad if I have no users/ratings though?

5
evantatarkaWillowTree•

Might depend on what kind of place you are applying to, but we'd care much more about code quality then how popular the app is.

14
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

Ok great, that's very reassuring thanks

6
iRahulGaur•

If you have no other option and you are showing your github link, make it worth looking at Add GIFs of working of the app this will help

3
100mcg•

For most jobs you'll be applying to they'll care more about your actual app/code than your ability to market it

2
nickm_27Developer - Nick Nack Development•

You can get users to either compile the source or include an APK.

You can also distribute on websites like F-Droid and get reviews and stuff

4
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

ok thx I'll look into F-Droid

3
TheGreatCabbage2•

The Amazon app store is free for developers and pretty good, you could think about publishing there too.

3
virus200•

So is there no way to get back on the play store if your account gets banned? This seems like it could just kill someone's career

11
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

I received this message in my email:

Note that Google Play Developer account terminations are associated with developers, and may span multiple account registrations and related Google services. Do not attempt to register a new developer account. Any new accounts will be closed and your developer registration fee will not be refunded.

4
virus200•

How do they know your the same person?( I haven't opened a developer account). But that seems crazy tho like if you're an entrepreneur/indie developer and they just ban your account you're fucked

5
bt4u6•

This is why basing your livelihood on a Google platform is just not a smart thing to do. This includes their cloud offerings - go with Amazon or Microsoft

14
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

Idk.. just from research I heard they can find out from linked accounts, credit cards, IP Addresses, etc.. Ya it does seem insane I'm very shocked

7
GmoneyKricket•

Don't worry about it from a career perspective. Actually, this is to your benefit. Handle it in stride professionally, document the steps you've taken, and don't stop until you have your app back up.

For what it's worth, Uber just had some of their apps yanked from the Apple app store, same with Google, and even my company (among tons of others) has been affected. Having someone on hand who already knew how to help resolve these issues would be a huge asset to any of us right about now.

7
_eka_•

You can release the APK on itch.io

6
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

Thanks for this tip btw... looks like I can create an executable JAR version of my game in LIBGDX and use this site. thank yoU!!!

2
MrStahlfelge•

If you use libgdx, do the html:dist and upload the web version.

3
adxgrave•

Companies can get their own account banned via associated account. I'm not sure how this will affect their recruitment policies if any. But what's you answer to an interview question: Have you been banned by Play Store before? Lie or not to lie...

6
frushlife•

Lie and create yourself a new Google identity 😂

3
adxgrave•

Nope, no new identity for you. Google will know. Don't underestimate the big G. Better spend your time and energy improving your pokerface skill.

5
lucky-phil•

https://i.imgflip.com/2u8auf.jpg

6
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

lmao

1
PackSwagger•
  1. You don't have to tell anyone you were banned
  2. You can make videos of demos and have them online, offer to send an apk of a demo, or if in person and you have an android phone you can show them off that way.

Don't give up on showing your apps just because Google won't let you publish. I would even suggest you write about your experience making the apps. Talk about your process. It helped me when I was looking for a job.

5
tauntz•

A word of warning - if your employer asks you during your job application if you've ever been banned from Google Play, you lie and the company's account gets banned because of being an "associated account", you might be liable for all damages and lost revenue in some jurisdictions when the company decides to sue you.

3
PackSwagger•

I’ve never heard anyone ask if your banned. Most companies manage deployment so your account shouldn’t even be an issue no?

1
tauntz•

It really depends. If you're a dev agency then it's quite common that your clients ask you to create them a Google Play dev account and/or give one of your developers access to their Google Play account to upload the app.

If that's being done by the dev you hired and who had their personal account banned then that's a recipe for disaster.

1
PackSwagger•

Ah in that case I understand

1
link-00•

Was there any other previous strikes or just this is one issue and you're out?

You can still showcase your apps in many other ways including just installing them on your phone during the interview. Plus you should start on IOS, if you like grinding on leetcode you should be able to switch platform alot faster. Programming is programming no matter the platform you're using.

3
Enlightened_ChimpOP•

ok thanks. there were no other strikes against me. no warnings or anything, just immediate termination of my account.

I think I'll look into IOS and maybe web development.

8
link-00•

wow, seems kinda harsh for a first offense.

8
bytao7mao•

About showing your work: post your code in github

3
droiddevguy•

Just make a new account, Google doesn't care, even though their automated response says "Do not make another" ... Reality is, they don't give a shit. I've spoken to them about this over the last 5 years, all the google employees say the same "Just make a new account"

3
ssshhhhhhhhhhhhh•

Nobody cares if you have users. You aren’t applying for a marketing job.

But this is in general a bad thing. You could compromise the developer account of a company that you work at by having it gain an association with your banned account

2
c00yt825•

Has this ever happened tho?

2
NoUserLeftException•

Nobody knows exactly, because we never know why one gets banned. Who really knows what is an "associate account". Depending on all data Google collects, this could even mean that an account is associated when different accounts are used on the same location (Google knows exactly where you were the last years and at which time: https://www.google.com/maps/timeline?pb)

1
c00yt825•

Yeah it is scary how much they know and a great rebuttal to "but if you have nothing to hide..."

1
WarAndGeese•

I would create a new account and keep at it. If you have an idea of what caused you to get banned then maybe try to not do it on the new account and hopefully it won't get banned again. If the first account doesn't get appealed you can try to ask what they banned you for, and then maybe don't do that thing, and hopefully it will work out. I don't think employers would ever notice that you were banned, just create a new account and go on. My first account from the apple app store got banned and I still haven't gotten the $100 back, but in the meantime I just created a new account and things have been alright since then with the new account. This is one reason I use aliases when developing, you can just keep trying things and you don't have to get held back by these setbacks. I'm relatively new though, I have apps online but I'm not a professional developer.

2
Mr_Tomasulo•

You can share you app to prospective employers by using any cloud service like Google Drive and Dropbox. They will just have to go through a couple extra steps to install it but if you explain why, I'm sure they will understand.

Employers are more interested in how you code so showing them your Github repo (if you have one) is much better then an app.

1
tgang8•

Have you appealed? rather than just asking around ppl here

1