Why Google banned these android apps from its play store

The beginning of this year saw Google removing 13 apps from its Play Store. The apps were removed on account of being malicious and include Honeycomb, Just Fire, Cake Blast, Crazy Block, Drag Box, Tiny Puzzle, Jump Planet, Ninja Hook, Piggy Jump, Eat Bubble, Hit Planet, Cake Tower and Crazy Jelly. However, these are not the only apps that have been pulled from the Play Store. We've curated a list of 10 apps that have been banned from Google Play Store in the past:

TubeMate

TubeMate enabled users to directly download YouTube videos on their smartphones. What made TubeMate better was the fact that you didn’t even have to watch the video to download it. However, TubeMate was taken down from the Play Store because apparently Google wasn’t too happy with users downloading videos from YouTube. And with YouTube now allowing users to download videos for offline viewing, TubeMate getting banned isn't that much of a problem anymore.

CM Installer

CM Installer or CyanogenMod Installer was an app that allowed users to install CyanogenMod ROMs on their devices without having to root them. The app was removed from Play Store for unknown reasons.

Flappy Bird

The wildly popular Flappy Bird was pulled not just from Google Play Store, but also from Apple App store from its developer himself. Before taking the game down, its creator Dong Nguyen explained on Twitter that he was pulling Flappy Bird from the app store(s) as it was ruining his simple life. Interestingly, Flappy Bird was almost on the verge of being banned before Nguyen removed it from the Play Store. For this reason, we can consider Flappy Bird as an honorable mention in the list of apps banned on the Play Store.

TV Portal

People who love watching TV series loved TV Portal. The app enabled users to stream TV shows directly on their Android devices. The extensive library of shows offered made the app even better. However, Google banned TV Portal from the Play Store because of copyright issues.

MIUI Music

MIUI Music provided users with a music streaming experience at par with that of Spotify Premium, without requiring them to spend a penny. But somehow, the app never made it to Google’s Play Store.

AdAway

As the name suggests, AdAway helped users get rid of all those annoying ads on their Android devices. It was among the most popular ad-blocker apps, till it was removed by Google from the Play Store.

Grooveshark

This is probably the most controversial app in the list, having been published and pulled from Google Play Store multiple times. Grooveshark was a Pandora alternative to Pandora for those who don’t live in the US. However, Google banned it from the Play Store after receiving a complaint from the Recording Industry Association of America. Legal battles followed, and only ended with Grooveshark closing down their business.

PSX4Droid

A PlayStation emulator, PSX4Droid allowed users to play PlayStation games on their Android devices. Needless to say, it gained immense popularity quickly. Due to legal troubles and copyright issues, Google kicked PSX4Droid out of the Play Store.

Rush Poker

Among the most popular gambling apps on Play Store, Rush Poker was banned from Google’s Play store for precisely that. The app was used to gamble with real money and under-age users made things worse.

Source: techgig.com