Google is set to institute a new policy in the Play Store, and it has some developers up in arms. A message in the developer console (seen below) has appeared asking developers to add a physical address to their account profile. For those offering paid apps and in-app purchases, this is mandatory as of September 30th. Failing to do so could result in Mountain View pulling the apps.
The notice points out that this address will be visible on the app details page for all users of the Play Store.
Publishing the addresses of every Android developer with paid applications or in-application purchases, online, for all to see? Is there anyone who thinks this is anything other than a terrible, terrible idea?
I’m not currently an app developer, but I do develop web apps for a living and have considered moving into android/ios apps, this has just made my choice for me, i’ll stick to what i’m doing now!
Legit developers will have legit business addresses that are public record anyway. They will use their legit addresses.
Spam developers will be renting some mailbox somewhere and using that as their business address, which they will now publish in the Play Store.
Maybe there are some one person developers out there who want to publish to Play Store but can’t afford a mailbox and don’t want to give out their home address. I wonder how common these are, though.
I’m one of those one man developers doing work in my spare time. I do not want to rent a mailbox because I’m not making anything from my apps, even the non-free ones. I have not had an app hit big yet, but I’m hoping one will some day. While I dislike the idea of requiring an address, I have to agree with you, it probably won’t make that much difference. I’ll keep developing, and my address will be out there.
Probably extremely common. The app market is flooded with half-baked crap. It’s obviously played like a lottery by many.
Edited 2014-09-18 21:02 UTC
I’m a big Android fan, but, seriously, I suspect there must be a new manager at Google somewhere who just seems determined to make bad decisions. First the Google Plus ordeal in Youtube, and now this?
The only other thing I can think of for all these silly policies they are making, is that the US government is paying them. I think I’ll be switching to Mozilla Phone as soon as decent hardware comes to it.
I can’t imagine how this could result in anything good, except for freaks stalking you
Doubtful, as it is likely that Google already has your (and everyone else’s) physical address and phone number(s) anyway. If you didn’t give it to them voluntarily, somebody else who has you as a contact in their Android phone did.
Edited 2014-09-18 21:18 UTC
It would be nice to know what Google’s intent is. The presumption is that it is an effort to cut down on spammy apps, but is that even true?
And since when does an address tell you anything about the quality or legitimacy of the app? Are they implying that users should profile apps based on the address? So users should exercise their preexisting prejudices by maybe preferring US addresses to Chinese ones? Sounds like a bad idea all around.
Actually my guess would be that it has more to do with legal filings and subpoenas. This essentially removes Google from the equation in those cases as people can use the listed address and go directly without having to subpoena Google to get it. Only if the filed address proves fraudulent do they need to try to subpoena Google for more information.
And personally, I am encouraged by this. All too often is it too hard to get support information for software or contact information for a company online.
And while I have had intentions of getting into the app development market, I also started a company specifically to manage the associated risk, even if the address matches my own. Any one-man shop selling apps would be legally wise to do the same.
This is one thing that crippled Google+ – and it has not recovered. “you must provide your real name and if we don’t think it is real we will lock your GMail, GDocs, Youtube and everything else until you send us a pic of government ID”.
Amazon Appstore should be among the beneficiaries of this stupidity.
Also consider that there is an ongoing war over censorship, corruption, and such which started with a female developer named “Zoe Quinn” who developed a game. If she did it for Android, would she have to give her personal home address (she has claimed to have received death threats)?
There may be compliance reasons for Google to have a mailing address. There is NO reason to expose those to the web.
This is precisely why this whole thing bothers me. I’m well aware of the threats of violence, rape, death, that many women get simply for expressing opinions/creating media/existing. As a female developer (with all my work being indie one-woman stuff, not part of a company or anything) I cannot publish on Google Play for my own safety with this absurd new policy, unless I spend money on getting a PO box. You’re right, there’s absolutely no sane reason for these addresses to be exposed to the web.
The million dollar question is: What will prevent a developer of a spam app from entering my home address or the address of -say- Electronic Arts?
Will they run a facts check on every single developer?
You can almost see the disaster incoming.
So here it is:
100 Waverley Oaks Court
Palo Alto CA
I’m based in one country and I had to register a company in another country, at a friend’s home address. I really dislike the idea to abuse his home address with useless spam and unwanted communication. So, very bad idea by Google. I can of course put another address (even the real one in my case), but this probably will violate the T&C of my dev account.
This has probably more to do with getting emails/phone calls for support on apps. See also the recent German directive that Google should take support calls.
This way the onus is on the dev and not Google (which sounds right somehow?)
I think it will be impossible to check or verified that all addresses are the real (or legal) address of the developer. But I don’t see what the problem.
If you are a developer you already have some kind of way to get paid, let say bank account or something. So they already know how to get to you, or at least on most cases. Why do you want to hide that information to the costumer?.
KrustyVader,
Sometimes I feel it is better to let the free market decide rather than impose policy by mandate. So I think google should make the fields available, but make them optional. This way customers can choose whether or not to trust only those developers who provide a physical address. If it is important to customers, then developers will have an incentive to show addresses. If it’s not important to customers, then google has no business telling developers they have to list their home addresses potentially.
It can be a bit disconcerting to put a home address on public display. Personally I’d love to have an office, but I don’t. With address in hand, customers will be able to see the developer’s house on streetview, and I feel that’s an awkward way to make a first impression.
My business is registered at home (as a renter), we’ve received a few solicitors coming to the house looking for the business. I really don’t want them there but that’s what happens when information is public. Not to mention the mailbox at our house gets filled with endless business spam, it’s a travesty that so many trees have to die needlessly on behalf of my business registration. I’m virtually positive this will become the new reality for app developer’s once their addresses are published for all to see.
I used to work on my own, and I used to have a business address. Like in your case, my home. It’s a legal requirement, because I sell a service/software. And if morons want’s to fill my mailbox with crap it only take me 10 seconds to through away all that crap (actually I keep them around to start the fire for the Sunday BBQ).
I don’t know the real motivation for Google to do this, but I bet that in a lot of countries is something that necessary to run a business. Even if you are a lonely programer.
Yes in the Netherlands this is necessary as well, but people who would like the have your address have to pay €2,64; this is to prevent people from bbq’ing too often.
I generally agree with the above, however, Google certainly has the right to require a physical address for people wanting to peddle their apps in the Google Play Store. I don’t even think it’s asking much of sellers because let’s be honest here, a physical mailing address is neither hard nor expensive to obtain whether a PO box or otherwise. I don’t see any real disadvantage to this requirement other than irritating people who want to stay in the shadows like back alley drug dealers.
Yes, that’s creepy. But it’s also a bit paranoid as well. Most people don’t seem to realize just how much of their personal information is readily available. People leave their `fingerprints` all over the place. This requirement doesn’t provide people with information they can’t already get elsewhere. That being the case, how many of us has it actually caused problems for? Hardly any I’m sure.
I’m actually a big advocate for individual privacy but individuals doubling as businesses shouldn’t expect the same rights because businesses are not people.
My sympathy runs low for people who choose to have a home business, and choose not to use an alternate mailing address. You need to list a primary place of business on a business license application, why shouldn’t you list the same for the privilege of selling your stuff in someones store? In my opinion that seems pretty reasonable. Further, I feel like people are trying to sensationalize this topic by making a mountain out of a mole hill.
My wife and I have been harassed by a stalker through facebook, email and other internet related means (he lives far away). We have become paranoid about this, so there is no way I am going to put my home address on google play.
Which leaves me as an alternative, to put my work address. I’m a math teacher and I wonder how they are going to like it at my school to receive bucketload of spams by mobile phone users who have issues with my Apps, mostly because of the failings of Android, Google, Htc, samsung or some carrier out there.
Also, I find it highly ironic that Google wants this from us when they :
don’t fix their bugs (for exemple : the only x86 emulator for google Api (kitkat) crash when you do a license check, you have to use an arm emulator which is way slower…and let’s not get started with issues with TextView inside a Listview…)
don’t listen to the many reports of developers who want them fixed
don’t even recognize that there is a problem with their Api
don’t provide developers with an easy way to report feedback/ask for improvements/participate in the development process
I have been developping a few Japanese related apps (Tenjin Dictionary, read Japanese) https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Spartan+Entertainmen…
and I hate to spend most of my time working around Android issues.
The best and most usefull things developers got for Android recently don’t come from Google but actually originate from other companies :
Android studio & Kotlin (JetBrains)
Gradle (the Gradle people)
RxJava (NetFlix)
In your case it would seem the paranoia is justified. The good news is your home address isn’t required — only a physical address.
Your `other` work address is not your only alternative, and I would recommend you not use that one as it would be inappropriate and unprofessional of you to do so. I recommend you research other available options in your area. There’s likely several.
None of that has anything to do with you wanting the privilege of peddling your apps in their store.
At the moment, the cheapest solution I found in France was to rent a PO box for 10€/month : they forward mail once every 2 months. Maybee the ideal solution would be just a box you rent where you fetch or let rot the mail yourself.
This is frustrating : I have only made 1200€ by slaving the last 3 years to bring my users value and useful apps.
This is one more blow that makes it difficult to the little guy who codes in his basement.
This also brings up the cost of coding for google from 25$ to 25$ + 120€/year if you are an honest coder and you care about your privacy.
Seriously, they already have our lots of data about our life, why do they need to make our dev adress public ? can’t they put a “lives in a real place somewhere” icon for the public and just give our address to the authorities who really need it (for taxes/law/anti-spam/anti-scam purposes) ?
Also, I already pay 30% of all my revenues for the privilege of peddling my apps in their store.
Given that for the next version of my apps, google hosts only 10% of my data (the 4Mo apk) and I’ll soon need to rent a server (5€/month) to host the remaining 90% of the data (zips for different languages configurations…can’t host that on google servers, they offer too basic a service) I think that I’m paying a very high price to appear in some biased search results :
the ranking algorithm that Google uses ranks at the top apps that have been doing great the first week (for guys that pay for 1000 fake good reviews and fake downloads in the first week)
Don’t you think that for 30% of our revenue, they could give us :
some limited web space + some limited server cpu time ?
some credits for UI translation ?
some credits for testing on different physical android devices ?
Wouldn’t that improve the quality of apps on android and in the end be interesting for them, for the users and for the devs ?
What if I release the next Flappy Bird app*, can’t handle the pressure and withdraw it? Imagine all those crazies turning up at my door, demanding that I re-release it and continue to support it, or trying to cause me harm because they think I did something wrong. That’s a bad way to have things. Very bad.
*Not very likely given my current track record :p
Edited 2014-09-19 09:58 UTC
There’s clearly good and bad sides to this and it’s quite analogous to the state of WHOIS entries for domains. In the UK, Nominet are clamping down on “unverifiable” snail mail addresses for .uk domains and now indicate whether they are verified (presumably against various business directories etc.) or not. They don’t enforce verifiable addresses only, at least not yet.
On the plus side, showing addresses to the public does give a degree of reassurance to an app purchaser (on the assumption that Google will actually try to verify such addresses!). A P.O. Box number might be treated with suspicion (i.e. the dev is trying to hide their location), as might “dubious” locations/countries in the address.
On the minus side, 1-man-band devs might not want to either purchase a P.O. Box or reveal their home address, so we could see apps by such devs reduce in number.
Overall, you suspect it benefits app developers who have a company set up (which you’d expect any popular paid app to have if just for tax reasons) and somewhat penalises small devs who don’t. I think the best thing for small devs of paid apps to do is to set up a company (it’s not that expensive to do that, though there’s a fair bit of admin work to do each year), register the “head office” at your lawyers and put the lawyers’ address on the Play Store instead of your home address. IANAL of course…
I’ve read many people suggesting using PO Boxes. Well PO Boxes don’t exist in all countries.
Physical addresses don’t exist in all countries either. What’s your point? Is this is a problem for you, finding a solution or creating one is much better than whining about it.
This just sounds like a bad idea to me…
Are suddenly going to become a bit less popular.
Is this Google or is this something else? I am not a developer, but do you think that a state, federal, or international government tax group is looking at this and saying, “Where’s our piece of the App money?”
If selling software is taxable income in your country then maybe they are — and rightfully so. Hopefully none of these app developers think they should be exempt from tax law. Most of them probably don’t make enough to be required to pay taxes on anyways but they still need to play by the rules.
Perhaps, but if that was the case then there’s no need to show the address for all and sundry to see. They could be kept hidden from the general public and only given to Revenue or whoever needs to know. Pretty much like any normal company does with their employees.
Google Play Store sellers are not Google employees, they’re independent entities/businesses. Further, identifying (or trying to identify) people who are selling things is not a bad idea. People who prefer their business be operated from the shadows are those we should be suspicious of. People who are too cheap or lazy to obtain a not-their-own-home-mailing address for their business have no room to complain and don’t deserve special exception.
This might end the free (really free) apps market. As developers are forced to rent a mailbox, they would probably start charging money for apps or convert to freemium or simply drop their apps from Google Play.
People critizise the Apple market model, but Google’s model is starting to crack as the infestation progresses. Far too many shit-apps makes it really difficult to find those worth something. I used to install and use more apps a couple years ago. Now I just go by the really useful ones, I don’t care for apps anymore. I suspect most people feel the same, and I don’t see a brilliant future for mobile anymore.
Games are probably where the money is at currently. It must really suck to be a mobile developer.
I can’t say I see it as the death of free apps. The inconvenience of the physical address requirement is minimal. The cost varies but even just a quick search revealed you can get a mailing address in an office building for about $6.50/month. I don’t believe that would be much of a burden for most people.
I never saw mobile apps as being a (new) long-term investment to jump into. It always seemed to be the land of one-hit-wonders and a small lucky few who might see any real longevity with a mobile app business. The new-car-smell has worn off at this point, and that’s before you consider all those shit-apps you mentioned. I can tell you that most of the apps I had installed (and since uninstalled) were novelty at best. Like you, I mostly just stick to apps which are truly useful.
I agree. It’s common to hear about some big game company bringing their big game X to mobile, or `independent` app devs complaining about this, this, or the other — basically their daily bitch-fest about the mobile software market and its overlords.
I mean, anyone doing business in the real-world does have a legal address. When I sell stuff on ebay, my customer get to know my address. When I sell stuff over a web-page, I have to put a legal address in the imprint.
Why should it be different with software sold via any kind of app-store?
But, then. It again show also that those App-store owner can do what they want. Google should at least explain the reason for this.
It’s not so much about Google having your address (they probably already do) but about them publishing it for all to see before a transaction has even existed. Given that most people don’t just want their home address shown to anyone who happens to find their app, I can understand the security risks involved. There are a lot of independent devs out there who make free apps, so have no ensintive to have an alternate address that they’d probably have to pay to have.
A home address isn’t required, only a physical mailing address. That’s more than reasonable for the privilege of offering your goods in their store, making it accessible to millions of users. Whether or not you charge anything or are making any money at all for your app isn’t relevant.
Also, let’s not pretend that obtaining an alternate mailing address is difficult or costly for most people. I’ve had a number of them over the years and in all cases they’ve always been cheap & easy to get.
Edited 2014-09-19 22:02 UTC
Because some people like myself write apps as a hobby. I make exactly zero money from my apps – I don’t seek payment for them and I don’t advertise with them. I don’t like the idea of my address being associated with anything like that. What if some guy goes mental because of my software and decides to call over to sort things out?
If you register a company, that’s different. You can use your home address or some substitute, like your lawyer’s office or a PO box. But that doesn’t suit people who just code apps for a hobby.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I did understand that you do not have to give a physical address if you offer free apps.