Naukri, 99acres, BharatMatrimony among apps delisted from Google Play Store

Info Edge's Naukri.com and 99acres, Matrimony.com's BharatMatrimony, People Interactive's Shaadi.com, online podcast platform Kuku FM, and online dating app Truly Madly were among some of the apps to be taken down by tech giant Google on Friday from its app marketplace Play Store in its clampdown on companies not complying with its billing policies.

Other apps that have been taken down include online dating app QuackQuack, vernacular video-streaming platform Stage, and Balaji Telefilms’ Altt.

While Indian companies will comply with Google's policies for now, “what India needs is an App Store/Play Store that is a part of Digital Public Infrastructure - like UPI and ONDC,” Info Edge India founder and vice-chairman Sanjeev Bikhchandani wrote on X, formerly Twitter, while calling for a "strategic response" from the government to this move by Google.



“The government needs to intervene now and direct CCI (Competition Commission of India) to ensure Google is in compliance with their order and immediately restore all apps that were delisted,” said Anupam Mittal, founder of People Group.

As the apps were removed from Play Store on a Friday, there was little the companies could do to seek any legal remedies, noted BharatMatrimony founder Murugavel Janakiraman.

In an email sent to BharatMatrimony that has been reviewed by ET, Google said after a recent review, it found that the app was not compliant with one or more of its developer programme policies. It said that the app's distribution was going to be limited to some countries or regions. Among the list of regions mentioned, India was not one.