{"id":171359,"date":"2025-08-24T09:20:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T09:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/171359\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T09:20:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T09:20:17","slug":"what-it-means-for-android-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/171359\/","title":{"rendered":"What it means for Android users"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In December 2023, a California jury found that Google had created a monopoly in the Google Play Store in a suit brought by Epic Games.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2024, Judge James Donato issued a final ruling that     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidpolice.com\/google-epic-third-party-app-stores\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ordered Google to host rival third-party app stores<\/a> within Google Play, amongst other concessions.    <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidpolice.com\/google-play-store-app-floodgates-in-14-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Google failed to appeal this decision<\/a>, and in August 2025, Google was given three weeks to make the changes.    <\/p>\n<p>However, the legal drama isn&#8217;t over. Google is appealing again to overturn the August ruling, but the future doesn&#8217;t look bright for the tech giant.<\/p>\n<p>But legal jargon aside, what does this mean for us?<\/p>\n<p>                        What changes will Google have to make?<\/p>\n<p>            There are serious implications here for Google&#8217;s bottom line<\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"google-play-store-search-discoverability-bad-5\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/google-play-store-search-discoverability-bad-5.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/google-play-store-search-discoverability-bad-5.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p> The details of the court case can be found in <a href=\"http:\/\/chrome-extension:\/\/efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj\/https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod\/documents\/2024.10.07_Dkt._1017_Permanent_Injunction.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Judge James Donato&#8217;s injunction<\/a> from October 2024. Unless it successfully appeals the decision, Google must not:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n                                        Share revenue generated by the Play Store with other app store distributors for three years.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Deal with an app developer to launch an app first or exclusively on the Play Store.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Deal with an app developer to not launch an app on a third-party app store or create features exclusive to the app when downloaded from the Play Store.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Deal with an OEM or carrier to not preinstall a third-party app store.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Require the use of Google Play Billing in apps and prohibit developers from informing users about alternative payment methods, and require developers to set a price depending on the billing service used.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Prohibit a developer from informing users about the availability or pricing of an app outside the Play Store.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Deny third-party app stores access to the Google Play Store&#8217;s app catalog.\n                        <\/li>\n<li>\n                                        Prohibit the distribution of third-party Android app stores through the Play Store.\n                        <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All these orders are applicable for a period of three years. You can read the October 7 injunction for the full details, but the result is simply that Google will lose its app store monopoly on Android.<\/p>\n<p>So what does this mean for us?<\/p>\n<p>                        You won&#8217;t see much change in how you install, pay for, or use apps<\/p>\n<p>            Don&#8217;t expect to see prices lower for apps and in-app purchases<\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A close up on a prompt to install the Epic Games store via sideload on a Pixel 9 Pro.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sideload-hero-epic-2024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sideload-hero-epic-2024.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p> Epic Games&#8217; stake in the matter is simple. If it doesn&#8217;t have to use Google Play Billing, it won&#8217;t have to give Google a 30% cut of its income from its apps, which it has been     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidpolice.com\/2019\/12\/09\/eyeroll-fortnite-publisher-epic-throws-tantrum-calls-googles-30-cut-on-play-store-iaps-illegal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">trying to circumvent since 2019<\/a>.    <\/p>\n<p>When we&#8217;re discussing a game as phenomenally successful as Fortnite, this is a huge deal.<\/p>\n<p>So if you install Fortnite, or any other app or game from the Play Store, you&#8217;ll still make payments in the same way you&#8217;re used to.<\/p>\n<p>The app developer might take 100% of the revenue, but I wouldn&#8217;t hold your breath for these savings to translate into 30% lower prices.<\/p>\n<p>The only change you will notice in the Play Store is that you will see suggestions for third-party app stores in the Play Store and within apps.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t like the look of any of these other app stores? Then this court ruling means effectively nothing to you.<\/p>\n<p>                        Third-party app stores could thrive<\/p>\n<p>            But I love the Play Store&#8217;s security measures<\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Games section of the Google Play Store.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/apps-2024-play-store-24.JPG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/apps-2024-play-store-24.JPG\"\/><\/p>\n<p> The     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidpolice.com\/android-ads-are-becoming-unbearable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Google Play Store is a deeply flawed service<\/a>. I can&#8217;t remember the last time I browsed for a new app, as the number of ads, &#8216;recommendations,&#8217; and slop apps has turned the experience into a frustrating chore.    <\/p>\n<p>But if it does anything well, it&#8217;s security. Download an app from the Play Store, and you&#8217;re unlikely to unwittingly install malware or worse on your Android device.<\/p>\n<p>Third-party app stores may provide better recommendations, fewer ads, and a friendlier UI, but they don&#8217;t have Google&#8217;s years of experience in protecting our devices.<\/p>\n<p>I would love an app store that I enjoyed browsing, but would I sacrifice my digital security for it? No.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll have to wait and see what measures third-party app stores introduce to match Google&#8217;s level of security.<\/p>\n<p>But just because you can download apps from the entire Play Store catalog on a third-party app store doesn&#8217;t mean you should. <\/p>\n<p>                        There&#8217;s potential for change, but don&#8217;t hold your breath<\/p>\n<p>Theoretically, the court order could prompt Google to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidpolice.com\/google-v-epic-injunction-ways-reshape-play-store\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">make major improvements<\/a> to the Play Store to retain users.<\/p>\n<p>Theoretically, app developers could lower prices by switching away from Google Play Billing.<\/p>\n<p>Theoretically, a new third-party app store could appear that makes browsing for new apps fun again.<\/p>\n<p>But all we know for now is that Epic Games has the chance to make a lot more money.<\/p>\n<p>This court ruling is a win for app developers and corporations, not the users. Developers will gain greater control of revenue, but it&#8217;s up to them to pass these benefits to users.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;ll take years for the full impact to settle down, but don&#8217;t expect much to change.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m excited to see what new app stores appear, but I know this won&#8217;t translate to savings on my end. At least I&#8217;ll be able to play Fortnite on Android again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In December 2023, a California jury found that Google had created a monopoly in the Google Play Store&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":171360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[611,158,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-171359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-technology","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115083007416524258","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}