#app-stores — Public Fediverse posts

ABC4: Utah-led coalition finalizes $700 million settlement with Google; consumers to receive settlement funds. “A Utah-led coalition involving attorneys general for all U.S. states announced today that they have reached the final steps in a $700 million settlement with Google, with the majority of funds going to impacted consumers.”

Engadget: Apple and Google are reportedly pointing users to ‘nudify’ apps. “Earlier this year it was revealed that Apple and Google were offering ‘nudify’ apps on their stores despite having clear policies barring such content. Nearly three months later, such apps are not only still available, but being actively promoted on the iOS App Store and Google Play, according to a new report from the […]

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/04/17/apple-google-steered-users-to-nudify-apps-report-xcxwbn/

Report: Apple and Google Steered Users to Nudify Apps

#AI #AppStores #Apple #Google #NudifyApps #AppleAppStore #GooglePlay #BigTech #AIImageGeneration #AIgeneratedContent #Deepfakes #AIEthics #OnlineSafety

Ctrl-Alt-Speech: The Silence Of The LLMs

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/16/ctrl-alt-speech-the-silence-of-the-llms/

TechSpot: Google adds search to Play Store reviews to improve app discovery. “Most Android users rely on Play Store reviews to decide which apps to install. But sifting through hundreds – or even thousands – of reviews has rarely been convenient. Google is addressing that with a new search function that lets users find specific information within app reviews, a small but meaningful […]

Engadget: Fortnite will return to Google’s Play Store globally on March 19. “The game will return to the Play Store globally on March 19, the same day that the next Fortnite season goes live. It previously dropped back onto the Play Store in the US in December.”

Ars Technica: Apple can delist apps “with or without cause,” judge says in loss for Musi app . “Musi, a free music-streaming app that had tens of millions of iPhone downloads and garnered plenty of controversy over its method of acquiring music, has lost an attempt to get back on Apple’s App Store. A federal judge dismissed Musi’s lawsuit against Apple with prejudice and sanctioned […]

#FDroid says #Google’s #Android #developer verification plan is an ‘existential’ threat to alternative #appstores
F-Droid fights Google's Android #developerverification plan that could kill alternative app stores used by millions. Here's what developers need to know.
Even developers distributing Android #apps on the web for #sideloading will be required to register, pay Google a $25 fee, and provide a government ID.
https://thenewstack.io/f-droid-says-googles-android-developer-verification-plan-is-an-existential-threat-to-alternative-app-stores/

Good day all! Upcoming episode of Fireside Fedi!

The #livestream will be on: stream.firesidefedi.live

Special Guest: @[email protected] from @[email protected]

Building emulators and app stores for iPhone with shanegill.io

So don't miss it!

It will happen on 19 March 2026 at 15:00 US Eastern Time ( UTC-4 )

If by any ungodly chance you miss the show:

#PeerTube ( #VOD ): tubefree.org/@firesidefedi #firesidefedi #fediverse #fedi #interview #freesoftware #opensource #userfreedom #freedom #resistance #altStore #iOS #iPhone #appStores #phone #smartPhone

Well that round-up was HUGE! App stores, AI acquisitions and antitrust cases, oh my!

Google is making big worldwide changes to Google Play, Live Nation has settled with the US Department of Justice and AI companies are buying up other AI companies at gusto.

https://elliottbledsoe.wtf/wtf-now-25/
#AppStores #AI #GooglePlay #music

This week's WTF now?! round-up is the biggest yet. It covers the significant acqusitions of AI companies recently, the settlement offer in the US Live Nation antitrust case and the Australian Defence contract with Palantir.

Plus changes to Google Play store, music royalties, trade mark, video game pricing and more.

And it includes references to Katy Perry and Ben Affleck. Something for everyone!

#AI #antitrust #music #TradeMark #AppStores #KatyPerry #BenAffleck

https://elliottbledsoe.wtf/signup/

Mashable: Google drops 30 percent app store fee. What that means for you.. “…the tech giant has announced it’s cutting service fees to 20 percent and, in some cases, 15 percent. It also cut its subscription fee to 10 percent. Note that these savings are for developers and companies that make apps and not, necessarily, for the end user.”

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/03/06/epic-tim-sweeney-barred-criticizing-google-2032-antitrust-settlement-xcxwbn/

Google Muzzles Epic’s Tim Sweeney Until 2032 in Play Store Antitrust Deal

#Google #EpicGames #Android #BigTech #TimSweeney #Antitrust #AppStores #GooglePlayStore #Gaming #GamingIndustry #Fortnite

Lilbits: Epic Loves Google now, ZTE launches a 7.5 inch phone, and Chuwi’s shady laptop processor changeup

More than five years after launching an epic legal battle to challenge Google’s Play Store policies, Epic Games has reached a settlement with Google that will result in Google reducing fees and making it easier for developers to offer third-party app stores and third-party billing services for Android devices.

Shortly after I saw a Google blog post describing the changes, I also noticed that […]

Apple Blocks US Users From Downloading ByteDance’s Chinese Apps

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/story/bytedance-apps-are-no-longer-available-in-us-app-stores/

MakeUseOf: Claude overtakes ChatGPT as top free app amid AI ethics backlash. “The AI chatbot Claude has leapfrogged OpenAI’s ChatGPT to become the most downloaded free app on Apple’s U.S. App Store. The climb comes amid growing public scrutiny of ChatGPT following OpenAI’s announcement that it would collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense to deploy AI technology on classified networks.”

CNBC: Anthropic’s Claude hits No. 1 on Apple’s top free apps list after Pentagon rejection. “Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence assistant app jumped to the No. 1 slot on Apple’s chart of top U.S. free apps late on Saturday, a day after the Trump administration sought to block government agencies’ adoption of the startup’s technology.”

TechCrunch: Apple rolls out age-verification tools worldwide to comply with growing web of child safety laws. “Apple is launching new tools to comply with the growing number of age-verification laws both in the U.S. and abroad. As part of the changes, Apple will block the downloads of apps rated 18+ in Brazil, Australia, and Singapore, while also rolling out other features to comply with laws […]

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/02/25/eff-f-droid-open-letter-google-mandatory-android-developer-registration-xcxwbn/

Google's Android Dev Registration Faces Civil Society Revolt

#Google #Android #GooglePlay #BigTech #CyberSecurity #FreeSpeech #DigitalSovereignty #Developers #KeepAndroidOpen #Sideloading #AppStores

Mashable: Apple, Google agree to ‘improve fairness’ on app stores. “According to the CMA [Competition and Markets Authority], Apple and Google have agreed to make sure their app review processes for Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store do not discriminate against mobile applications that compete with their own apps.”

RedDot und ICEblock verschwunden
Apple und Google zensieren Apps
Protestbrief schreiben!
Mehr dazu bei https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-big-tech-end-ice-contracts/
a-fsa.de/d/3MV
Link zu dieser Seite: https://www.a-fsa.de/de/articles/9433-20260208-reddot-und-iceblock-verschwunden.html
Link im Tor-Netzwerk: http://a6pdp5vmmw4zm5tifrc3qo2pyz7mvnk4zzimpesnckvzinubzmioddad.onion/de/articles/9433-20260208-reddot-und-iceblock-verschwunden.html
Tags: #USA #Zensur #Transparenz #Informationsfreiheit #Anonymisierung #Apple #Google #WarnApps #ICE #Polizeigewalt #Trump #WinWithoutWar #PAC #DrohnenApp #Diskriminierung #Ungleichbehandlung #AppStores #OpenSource #Alternativen

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/01/23/apple-blames-eu-setapp-store-shutdown-closure-xcxwbn/

Apple Blames EU for Setapp Store Shutdown After Closure

#Apple #EU #BigTech #Regulation #DMA #AppStores #Competition #Antitrust #EURegulations #Business #Technology #DSA #Gaming #OperatingSystems

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/01/23/google-epic-strike-secret-800m-deal-amid-antitrust-case-xcxwbn/

Google and Epic Strike Secret $800M Deal Amid Antitrust Case

#Google #Android #EpicGames #Fortnite #Antitrust #Legal #AppStores #BigTech #Gaming #Alphabet

Android Headlines: New ICE Tracking Apps Find Place on Google Play Store Again. “New ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) tracking apps, like ICEbreaker and Eyes Up, have emerged on the Google Play Store. These replace the previous enforcement-tracking tools, which were blocked. The apps provide crowdsourced alerts about nearby reported ICE activity.”

"#Apple & #Google's mobile #duopoly is held together with chewing gum, twine, and moral vacuity.
The whole facade of the duopolist's power hinges on the false claim that stores create #security.
Instead of protecting us, #appstores reward platform vendors for failure and foster centralising, anti-OpenSource ecosystems. #Opensocieties cannot abide #closedplatforms that assert ownership of this much of our lives, not when claims of security are based on misrepresentations."
https://infrequently.org/2026/01/naked-power/

🎉 Wow, congrats to OpenAI's #Sora for achieving the mind-boggling status of 71st and 108th place in the app stores—truly the pinnacle of mediocrity! 📉 The app that once soared like an eagle now plummets with all the grace of a headless chicken! 🐔💥
https://spencerdailey.com/2026/01/14/openais-sora-sits-at-71-in-the-us-app-store-and-100-on-play-store-what-just-happened/ #OpenAI #appstores #mediocrity #technews #achievement #HackerNews #ngated

Ars Technica: Apps like Grok are explicitly banned under Google’s rules—why is it still in the Play Store? . “It really could not be more clear from Google’s publicly available policies that Grok should have been banned yesterday. And yet, it remains in the Play Store. Not only that—it enjoys a T for Teen rating, one notch below the M-rated X app. Apple also still offers the Grok app on […]

The Verge: Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are cowards. “Since X’s users started using Grok to undress women and children using deepfake images, I have been waiting for what I assumed would be inevitable: X getting booted from Apple’s and Google’s app stores. The fact that it hasn’t happened yet tells me something serious about Silicon Valley’s leadership: Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are […]

More US States Are Preparing Age-Verification #Laws for #AppStores
#privacy #ageverification #security

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/01/10/054252/more-us-states-are-preparing-age-verification-laws-for-app-stores?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

I hadn't seen screenshots of the web install flow from Apple's new EU DMA mandated install procedure before, just came across a thread by Yuri on X that has a lot of interesting information about the current situation and the app submission process that you need to go thru to get an app listed on @altstore

https://xcancel.com/vashchylau/status/1952851593239642204
#iOS #AltStore #AppStores #apple