Google reinstates Shaadi and Info Edge's apps Naukri, 99acres and Shiksha on Play Store

Google said that developers of delisted apps can resubmit them by integrating any of the three billing options to reinstate on Play Store

Google on March 2 began reinstating some of the apps from Indian digital companies on Play Store, a day after they were taken down for not complying with its app billing policy for an "extended period of time".

At the time of writing this article, Moneycontrol observed that matrimony app Shaadi.com along with five of Info Edge's mobile applications, including Naukri, Naukri Recruiter, Naukrigulf Job Search App, 99acres, and Shiksha were available again on Google's app marketplace.

Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikchandani and CEO Hitesh Oberoi confirmed the availability of Info Edge apps on X, the social network previously known as Twitter.

"Many of the Info Edge apps are back on the play store. An effort very well led by Hitesh and the entire Info Edge team. People were up all night for this. Great crisis management" Bikchandani said in a post on X platform.

Government sources revealed that Union Minister of Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has scheduled a meeting with Google on March 4.

Earlier today, Info Edge had stated in an exchange filing that it is currently reviewing and evaluating the next course of action and working with Google in this regard, to ensure that the firm's mobile applications are reinstated on the Google Play Store, on time.

Sources told Moneycontrol that Info Edge had not received a communication of Naukri and 99acres being non-compliant until a few hours before the apps were delisted and the company complied soon after, a move that resulted in apps coming back to the Play Store, they said.

Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal said on X platform that the app has been brought back as a consumption app without any in-app billing option.

Apps that operate only as a consumption app can enable users to access content or a digital service that they have paid for outside the app and hence don't need to pay any service fee to Google.

Mittal however noted the inability of offering in-app billing within apps will "destroy the consumer side of the business in the longer-term".

Read: App delisting cannot be permitted: Minister Vaishnaw on Google-Indian startups row

On March 1, Google had delisted over a dozen apps by prominent Indian digital companies including Matrimony, and Shaadi.com from Play Store.

The move came hours after the Android maker said it will take action against 10 developers who had chosen not to comply with its payment policy despite adhering to the payment policies of other app stores.

Among other apps that were taken down include apps from matrimony firm Matrimony, along with streaming platforms Altt, Stage, and Aha, dating apps Truly Madly and Quack Quack, audio content platform Kuku FM, and social networking app FRND from Play Store.

For apps that are delisted, Google said that developers can resubmit their apps by integrating any of the three billing options — Google Play's own billing system, an alternate billing system alongside Google Play's, or operating on a consumption-only basis (without any service fee) where users have paid for the content or service outside the app.

Alternatively, developers can distribute their apps through alternative Android app stores or directly through their websites.

Google's app takedown was after the Supreme Court refused to pass an interim order protecting internet firms such as Matrimony.com, Shaadi.com from being delisted from Google's Play Store on February 9. The apex court is expected to hear pleas from startups challenging Google's app billing policy on March 19.

In a March 1 blogpost, Google said that granting a select group of developers preferential treatment over others who are already in compliance would result in an "uneven playing field" across the ecosystem, placing all other apps at a "competitive disadvantage".

"We've always respected local laws. For years, no court or regulator has denied Google Play's right to charge for the value and services we provide...While some of the developers that were refused interim protection have started fairly participating in our business model and ecosystem, others choose to find ways to not do so" the company said in the blogpost.

Google claims that over 200,000 Indian developers using Google Play adhere to its policies.

The company said it is taking this action after giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Court’s order.

Note: The story has been updated to include information about Shaadi's return to the Play Store.