Match Group, owner of several dating applications such as Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, has just reached an agreement with Google allowing it to use its own means of payment within its applications present in the Play Store.
An agreement reached, for the moment
For the past few weeks, the Mountain View firm has been the target of developers who criticize its new policy within the Google Play Store. Indeed, the company takes 30% on all in-app purchases but until then, it implemented a non-interventionist policy without necessarily punishing developers who did not comply with this rule.
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It is not the case anymore ; From June 1, applications that do not comply with this commission will simply be removed from the Play Store. In total disagreement with Google, Match Group decided, at the beginning of May, to file a complaint against the company which it accuses of abuse of a dominant position. the wall street journal reports however that the two firms have, for the moment, reached an agreement.
Thus, Google ensures that Match Group applications will be able to remain within the Play Store even if they use an alternative means of payment. Mountain View must further strive in good faith ” to put in place ” additional billing system features that are important to Match Group “.
For its part, Match Group will offer the Google billing system as an option in its applications. Instead of paying a commission for payments made outside of its billing system, Match Group has set up a $40 million escrow fund until a formal agreement is reached, and is required to account for all the fees he should have paid to Google from July 1.
The two companies are expected to face each other in a lawsuit in April 2023. Until then, Google plans to file a lawsuit against Match Match Group for breaching its developer distribution agreement.
For the moment, Tinder can still offer an alternative payment method on Android. Photography: Mika Baumeister / Unsplash
Match Group is not the only company to attack Google
Match Group isn’t the only company to go after Google directly. Epic Games also filed a lawsuit against the company for the same reasons, and also won. Additionally, some participants in Play’s Media Experience Program are getting a lower commission rate of 10%, and Google has announced a pilot program so some developers can use their own billing systems, including Spotify’s participation.
The Play Store’s billing policy is already starting to have major repercussions: Amazon has decided to stop selling its digital goods, ebooks and music, from its Android application.
A monopoly that is beginning to be challenged
More broadly, many developers denounce Google and Apple, which also takes a 30% commission on all in-app purchases, which they accuse of monopoly. A coalition, including Match Group, Spotify and Epic Games, has also formed to protest against this tax. The publisher of Fortnite, for example, faced the apple brand in a lawsuit for these reasons.
Regulators also have the two giants of Silicon Valley in their sights because of their practices within their respective application store, both across the Atlantic and in Europe.