Mysterious Suspension of All Small Screen Software Apps From Android Market By Google
Hello, all: On August 10, 2011, Google's Android Market team issued the following e-mail to Small Screen Software:
Hello, Your Android Market developer account has been suspended due to prior violations of our developer agreement and policies. You may view these terms here: As a result, your developer account has been closed and your apps have been unpublished from Android Market. Please note that developer suspensions may span multiple Android Market account registrations. Please do not register a new developer account. We will contact you should your account become reinstated. Regards,
I didn't hear about this until I noticed that attempts by customers to buy Checkbook Genius - Small Screen Software's best-selling personal checkbook software - were all being canceled. Note that in the note above, Google says absolutely nothing about the nature of the alleged violations - just a couple of links in a sort of "you know what you did" kind of stance. I am making an effort to determine the nature of the violation. On Sunday night I posted a note on the Android Market's Support board, hoping someone can clue me in on what's happening. I am hoping this is little other than some kind of internal error, whether clerical, mistaken identity, or some kind of database issue over in Mountain View. It is chilling that an enterprise like this can suddenly pull the plug on a developer with no explanation - there were no warnings beforehand, no cautions, nothing. Such an organization then nods to a long series of paragraphs written by attorneys for attorneys, that independent developers like myself have attempted, in good faith, to abide by. Efforts to bring innovative mobile software to the general marketplace will continue. My titles belong to me - not to Google, nor any other entity. For updates on this situation, watch this web page, or Twitter (@smallscreensw). See the Timeline below (scroll down) for the big picture of what's happened. On Aug. 26 - over two weeks later - Google lifted the suspension on the Small Screen Software developer account, but the apps are still not visible in the Android Market app store. Google tells me I need to re-register the apps or something to that effect, even though their "mistake" fouled up the apps in the first place. So those of you who bought Checkbook Genius or any of my other apps, you should be able to re-download them if you change phones or need to re-install. If you still can't, let me know and I'll make arrangements to get you your software. If you're a new buyer mulling over Checkbook Genius or another Small Screen Software title, I'm glad you found me! Google made me invisible for over two weeks. I'm hoping to get the apps properly re-listed in the next week or so, so I encourage you to stop back by again soon. Charles Tatum II
The following note was sent to Google on Monday, Aug. 15: This is Charles Tatum II, an Android developer you met back at SXSW 2011 back in March of this year. Something strange is happening with my Android developer account, and I'm hoping you or someone else on your end can determine what's happened. I just found out that my Android developer account was suspended and that ALL my titles in the Android Market were suddenly removed. An e-mail from the Android Market team was sent to an alternate e-mail address on August 10. I just found it last night when I was reviewing sales for the previous day. There were a series of cancellations for Android download orders. Here is the text of the note I received: date Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 2:24 PM Your Android Market developer account has been suspended due to prior violations of our developer agreement and policies. You may view these terms here: http://www.android.com/us/developer-distribution-agreement.html http://www.android.com/market/terms/developer-content-policy.html As a result, your developer account has been closed and your apps have been unpublished from Android Market. Please note that developer suspensions may span multiple Android Market account registrations. Please do not register a new developer account. We will contact you should your account become reinstated. Regards, The note gives no details about the nature of the infraction, as perceived by Google. Even stranger, it glibly mentions "prior violations" without listing what such violations are. I have never seen ANY warnings from Google about the content of any of my apps, most of which are utilities. The stance I see here is a kind of, "You know what you did" attitude, with a nod to two pages of language written by lawyers for other lawyers. I really would like to know what Google has a problem with, that it would pull each and every title of mine out of the Android Market. I'm hoping this is just a big administrative mistake or a computer glitch! Further, I found that at least one user - just this morning - found one of my newer titles ("Time, Distance & Money") and ordered/downloaded it. As of this hour (12:33pm CT) that order had not been canceled. This is very strange. I have been an Android developer since I joined up with your program in December of 2008, and my titles collectively have helped build your Market, as well as contribute financially to your success as well as my own as an independent developer. To wit, Checkbook Genius 1.5.2a crossed a major milestone just last month, becoming one of only four electronic checkbook apps to pass the 5,000-sales mark. New users/customers seeking my titles, of course, won't know a thing that's happened, but existing users - of which their are thousands - wanting to tell their friends about this app can't point them to the Android Market anymore. I sincerely would like for your organization to spell out exactly what it sees the problem to be with my account - referencing specific paragraphs in the Agreement so I can understand. I would like to be reinstated, but not without a clear understanding of how to proceed going forward. I have no problems making corrections, but I expect your organization (or any other with whom I'm functioning as a supplier) to be transparent and to play fair - and by that, I mean no ambushes, and no blindsiding. Your well-known motto, after all, is "Don't Be Evil." I can be contacted at smallscreensw@gmail.com, or (alternately) ***********@hotmail.com. A phone call at (mobile) ***-***-**** would be even nicer. In a court of law, a defendant gets to hear a list of charges against him. Can Google at least give me that much? Thanks,
Timeline Wed., Aug. 10, 2011 - Google sends a notice to Small Screen Software saying the developer account has been deleted and all Android apps have been removed from the Android Market. There were no prior warnings or alerts since DECEMBER OF 2008. Mon. Aug. 15, 2011 - I find out that new orders for Checkbook Genius and other titles have been canceled. I contact a Google insider I met at SXSW in Austin, Texas. He unhelpfully punts to the Android Market support team. The Android Market support pages have no convenient links for developers to approach Google about issues like this. Tue., Aug. 16, 2011 - Users begin to write in, saying they can't find Checkbook Genius to re-download to their phones. I draft a printed letter to Eric Chu, head of the Android Market program. I send it Express Mail to ensure he gets it. Wed., Aug. 17, 2011 - USPS's web site confirms Google has received my printed letter to Eric Chu. A question I posted on one of the Android message boards has gone unanswered for three days now. Research I've conducted turns up that I'm not the only Android developer who's been suspended from the program, and that they've received the same mysterious note as me. Fri., Aug. 26, 2011 - Android Market sends an e-mail saying that (a) I didn't need to send a printed letter to them to complain, and (b) the developer account has been un-suspended but that I'd need to do some clean-up to ensure they show up in the Android Market app and on the web site. They do not explain what happened, nor did they apologize. Even stranger - the original note where they suspended the developer account has mysteriously been deleted without my permission. Not trusting them any longer, I open a new e-mail account with Yahoo (smallscreensw @ yahoo.com); and arrange to have messages forwarded over there. The Android Market console strangely doesn't allow me to change the contact information for the account.
Want Your Apps? Make Some Noise! If this kind of activity on Google's part doesn't sit will with you, tell 'em how you feel! If they hear enough complaints, maybe they'll resolve this situation quickly. If you have a Gmail or Google account, you can contact the Android Market Support web page at: https://www.google.com/support/androidmarket/bin/request.py?contact_type=contact_policy&policy=apps If you think you can actually get to a live person, call Google headquarters at (650) 253-0000. Be polite, but be direct - ask Google why they pulled a popular Android app without any warning and without communicating directly with the developer beforehand. And, of course, as for the restoration of Checkbook Genius and other titles from Small Screen Software to the Android Market. Thanks for your support! Cheers,
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