Chris BanesAfter what feels like a lifetime of development, I've decided to deprecate and archive Tivi 🫡
hidden@cb I still don't understand how this doxxing of small developers is legal!
Completely insane practice which will force all small developer and their apps to vanish, just like tivi
Nik@hidden @cb @cb https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/running-business/digitalising/setting-up-business-website/indexamp_en.htm is a cite that EU businesses must display their legal address.
https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/running-business/start-ups/starting-business/index_en.htm demonstrates that sole traders (where the business and the owner are the same legal entity) are covered by this.
If you don't want your address displayed then don't charge for the app. If you don't want your private address displayed, start a business that provides legal cover. These are the same as the rules for sellers of physical goods.
Nik, you are wrong. See this app for example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dentotino.fibonacciballs
It's free, and yet PII is there. If anyone wants, they can visit the location and yell at the developer.
People with old Google Play Dev accounts cannot disable showing of the address even for free apps.
I don't want to know Chris's living place to use tivi. I don't want others to find my place to use my free apps. Yet Google is forcing this now.
@hidden @cb The address is there because it's a business account.
Compare with https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.pachli, which is from my personal developer account, and only shows the country.
(It's also possible that Google's definition of "monetization" includes showing ads, as well as the definite paid apps, subscriptions, or in-app purchases. The documentation is unclear on that, but if it does then the app you linked to also shows ads).
Showing ads is not selling an application, it's still free app! I shouldn't be able to see his house number!
My account was made more then a decade ago. I don't have an option to opt out of billing. In my Account details I don't even have an option of "Whether you plan to earn money on Google Play"
Neither does Chris. The only option, he is forced into, is to shut down the account.
Nobody should create a company for free apps to hide their PII!
(1) have a "Developer account for personal use" (per https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13634885?hl=en&sjid=11900995263768945090-EU#zippy=%2Cdeveloper-account-for-personal-use%2Cdeveloper-account-for-organization-or-business-use)
(2) have no apps that are monetized, and
(3) Google is still showing your full legal address in contravention of their policies, then
(4) you've got an easy case (especially in the EU) for whatever your jurisdiction's Data Protection Comissioner is. You could also start by escalating directly to Google's privacy legal team to have the information removed.
https://support.google.com/policies/contact/general_privacy_form?sjid=11900995263768945090-EU
@hidden @cb and re the app you mentioned, even though it's free, it still appears to be operated by a business account.
The account name is "Mimo Mago Productions" which smells like a business / sole trader.
It's also sketchy that they have a .uk domain for a Philippines address. And their website uses what seems to be a shady ad/monetisation provider (hydro.online).
Thank you for the information. I'll leave the account for now and see if it starts showing my information.
Congrats on Pachli!