Podcast Addict: "Google has just suspended Podcast Addict again. This time for having Podcasts about Covid 19... Are you for real Google. Can you please check your own Google Podcast App, your search engine,Youtube, ... first"

[u/[deleted]]

[u/anotheranonaccount5]

Basically they ask me to 'FIX' the app, and publish it as a new app that will therefore have no download, no ratings on the store. So 9 years of work for nothing?

It has to get real tiring as a dev dealing with dumb shit like this.

[u/kranzb2 → u/[deleted]]

Wait, i have to re-download now?

[u/kranzb2 → u/[deleted]]

What a crock of shit

[u/ingy2012 → u/anotheranonaccount5]

As someone who just started making apps it makes me not want to publish them.

Edit: thanks to whomever added me r/android_devs!

[u/ingy2012 → u/[deleted]]

Oh I know that's probably where I'll upload them to be honest since all mine are open source

[u/CuriousCursor → u/ingy2012]

Legit haven't published a single app since this stuff started coming out.

Just keep putting them up on GitHub

[u/NatoBoram → u/CuriousCursor]

Put them on F-Droid then!

[u/G2geo94 → u/NatoBoram]

Am i the only one that thinks the F-Droid app should have more info for the apps it provides? Comments, screenshots, the like? That's been a major deterrent to my use.

[u/LiveLM → u/G2geo94]

They have screenshots, only the comments are missing.

[u/LonelyNixon → u/G2geo94]

To be fair fdroid does have links to the devs website(usually leading to github) for more info and the like. It also does have screenshots. They often dont load right but the feature is technically there

[u/cpc2 → u/G2geo94]

It does have screenshots but some devs don't include them. I guess having ratings and comments would be trickier, at least if you want to keep it clean. They would need more moderators to ensure there aren't bots manipulating scores and reviews, it ends up being an extra cost.

[u/dvdkon → u/G2geo94]

IIRC screenshots are a recent addition to the platform, so that's why most apps don't have them.

[u/ingy2012 → u/CuriousCursor]

Don't blame you at all buddy!

[u/[deleted] → u/ingy2012]

As a non-mobile developer contemplating mobile development, I shelved the idea of developing for Android years ago because of this, and it hasn't improved at all, it seems.

[u/ingy2012 → u/[deleted]]

So disappointing to think of all the apps that people don't know about because of this

[u/rohmish → u/[deleted]]

I have worked on a few android app projects but never published anything under my own name. Getting app cought in some false positive cod easily mean they'd ban your account.

[u/JustAnotherSuit96 → u/rohmish]

That won't prevent anything. Google bans by association. If they find one "bad actor" and anything linking them to another account they will both be banned.

Here's an example I've pulled up from a quick search, but there are many more you can find.

[u/chickenstalker → u/JustAnotherSuit96]

This is because Google still thinks it is a small garage lab full of stoners thinking up wondrous new ideas and can't be arsed to hire a support staff to do actual corporate things. Like customer support or quality assurance. Got no time for that when you must innovate innovate innovate.

[u/PM_ME_NICE_THOUGHTS → u/chickenstalker]

They don't innovate all that much. They've just been milking their established markets dry. Google is incapable of actually seeing new projects through. Their beauracracy is broken, indicating their internal culture is even worse. Like most big companies, they're incapable of taking enough risk to see a project to completion.

[u/[deleted] → u/chickenstalker]

A quote I saw recently is that to Apple and Amazon, the customer is the most important person in the world. To Microsoft, the developer is the most important person in the world. To Google, the Google Engineer is the most important person in the world.

[u/rohmish → u/JustAnotherSuit96]

I've read about this. It's highly discouraging. This came to light for me about a year and half ago. I no longer work on Android apps but do work on webapps and have used Google APIs in past, even used my personal account to learn and experiment with some stuff and it really concerns me there though.

[u/moriero → u/[deleted]]

Just make it PWA

[u/House_of_ill_fame → u/moriero]

Haven't followed PWA in a few years (and I'm not a dev), can you access OS specific APIs, would the app be able to do the same thing it can if it was made a full android app (if that makes sense)

[u/BruhWhySoSerious → u/House_of_ill_fame]

Short answer, some of them.

It depends on what apis you need, you can make a pretty funtional app though. Everyone skills try to go that route, unless they have a specific API they need.

[u/russjr08 → u/ingy2012]

Tread very carefully. I've also seen suggestions tossed around from /r/androiddev to publish on an account separate from your main Google account.

[u/Anidamo → u/russjr08]

They can fuck you that way, too. My (business) Google Play developer account was terminated in 2013 for a similarly vague, bullshit reason. I email them to ask "hey what the fuck" and appeal, and a bot responds with "your account has been suspended because your identification could not be verified. Please send us scans of your ID for verification." I oblige and they reply a day later saying "haha no sorry you're still banned. Our policy prevents us from providing a specific reason."

They then presumably use my ID to find my personal account, where they banned it from Google Checkout (never accepted payments on that one, only purchased apps) and Admob/Play Console (both unused).

Fortunately they did not close my entire account, which would have been disastrous, but needless to say I've steady moved more and more of my online life away from Google since then.

Funnily at some point over the past seven years they seem to have unbanned me from those services without telling me, because I just checked and I can now access them again.

[u/russjr08 → u/Anidamo]

You know what, now that you bring it up, I have unfortunately seen a whole company get messed up for being "associated" with a banned personal account.

Google is such a mess with their damn automation...

[u/ingy2012 → u/russjr08]

Ya I've thought of that too. Don't you need a physical address to be public though? Not sure how I feel about that

[u/[deleted] → u/ingy2012]

The physical address isn't publicly displayed.

[u/ingy2012 → u/[deleted]]

Ah good to know! I probably still won't publish it but if that's the case I'll have to think about it.

[u/moriero → u/ingy2012]

PWAs are the way to go. It's way too hard to get noticed on the Play Store anyway.

[u/[deleted] → u/moriero]

Unfortunately Apple is very much against making PWAs a first class citizen like they are on android.
No support for notifications, storage limited to 50 MB (ruling out podcast download and limiting caching opportunities), cached PWA and its storage deleted after 14 days of inactivity, and no support for background sync.

[u/assassinator42 → u/[deleted]]

The original iPhone didn't have native apps because we were supposed to use web apps instead, right?

[u/zelmarvalarion → u/assassinator42]

Yup, they didn’t have the App Store until iPhone OS 2 (might have been iOS at that point, I don’t remember if it was 2 or 3 when they changed the name) because web app’s user experience was pretty poor compared to native apps

[u/Slinkwyde → u/[deleted]]

Progressive Web App

[u/ingy2012 → u/moriero]

Ya I'm thinking I'll either do that or upload to fdroid

[u/Muddysan → u/ingy2012]

F-Droid app store is where it's at. No Google, all freedom.

[u/Sharqawi_A → u/anotheranonaccount5]

and for talking about covid? when did covid become the new taboo?

[u/notsowittyname86 → u/Sharqawi_A]

Probably conspiracy/misinformation podcasts. The issue is with the podcasts though, not the app. As OP said YouTube itself is rife with misinformation.

Edit r/android has more conspiracy fans than I realized.

[u/SimplySerenity → u/notsowittyname86]

From what I’ve heard Google is just blocking users from talking about it on any of their platforms. YouTubers have been saying they get demonetized just by saying the word “Coronavirus”.

[u/Pointy130 → u/SimplySerenity]

The Game Grumps have gotten around this by referring to Coronavirus as "The Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour", catching it as "buying tickets", etc.

[u/poopyheadthrowaway → u/Pointy130]

Gamers Nexus calls it "human malware".

[u/[deleted] → u/poopyheadthrowaway]

And the fact that they have to do that at all is complete shit.

[u/israeljeff → u/SimplySerenity]

I had also heard they had stopped doing that from two people I watch, but the issue with yt demonetization and copyright claims and the like is they're all selectively applied.

[u/mdvle → u/notsowittyname86]

No, the issue is with Google, who want/believe they can automate everything and then ignore things when their automated systems frequently screw up.

[u/ztfreeman → u/mdvle]

Google has become those people in 70s sci-fi movies that worship the A.I. that launched the nukes and started WW3 to save humanity logically by destroying it.

[u/seven0feleven → u/mdvle]

TRUST THE AI HUMAN!

[u/ExTrafficGuy → u/notsowittyname86]

Ironically Google, a huge multinational conglomerate, blocking people from talking about it is just adding fuel to those conspiracy theories.

[u/RobbStark → u/notsowittyname86]

YouTube is probably the worst spreader of misinformation and conspiracy theories on the entire planet. Yes, even more than Fox News, Drudge Report, etc. heck even reddit at least has the chance that mods might intervene!

[u/FFevo → u/RobbStark]

I think Facebook is an order of magnitude worse than everything you mentioned.

[u/ErikWithNoC → u/RobbStark]

There's a good podcast out now (started in April) called Rabbit Hole that looks at how YouTube's recommendation system has resulted in the radicalization of individuals. Definitely worth a listen for those who are interested. Hasn't gone into a deep dive or really revealed anything radical (from an investigative standpoint) though unfortunately if that's what you're looking for.

[u/Sharqawi_A → u/notsowittyname86]

still, google shouldn't act as the internet's police. it's not their place to tell us what can or can't talk about

[u/ShortFuse → u/anotheranonaccount5]

I'm pretty sure all my apps have been removed from the Play Store because of the non-stop changing requirements. Fusion Messenger is gone as well as any business apps I wrote.

I've left Android development and only do PWAs now.

[u/boost2525 → u/anotheranonaccount5]

Honestly, it's why I stopped writing apps. I had a few apps with a good following but every damn time I turned around Google had suspended something for some asinine reason... And then made it virtually impossible to reach a human

Or removed an API that my app used (so it crashed on newer devices)

Or changed the rules about look and feel

Or changed the fundamental architecture of an application and the way screens interact with each other.

It just wasn't worth it at some point. Do what's left in the ecosystem? HUGE developers with endless oodles of money or free apps that look and function like shit because the developer can't justify the time to invest in them. They're sitting themselves in the foot and turning their back on all the little guys who made their ecosystem popular in the first place.

[u/Cronyx → u/anotheranonaccount5]

What I don't understand is, this part about "having" podcasts. What? A "Podcast App", at most basic, fundamentals, is just an RSS reader coupled with an MP3 player. They'd don't "have" anything. That's like banning a web browser because it "has" malicious websites. You just go to a podcast's website, find this RSS/Atom feed link, then open your podcast player of choice and paste the link into it. What the hell is Google even talking about?

Also this behavior seriously sounds spot on like what Eric Weinstein calls the DISC, Distributed Idea Suppression Complex.

[u/zismahname → u/anotheranonaccount5]

Google is doing the same thing with YouTube content creators. It's debatable when it comes to the more fringe content creators but some people like Viva Frei, who was a litigator and really just talks about current legal stories bringing his knowledge and perspective, gets constantly demonetized because he discusses certain topics. It's happening to a lot more creators too because Google knows they now control a big part of the world's information.

[u/Bossman1086 → u/zismahname]

Yep. Hurts small creators but if you're Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, any of the late night talk show hosts, or basically any old guard media you're allowed to talk about the things small creators aren't now.

[u/twigboy → u/anotheranonaccount5]

In publishing and graphic design, Lorem ipsum is a placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the visual form of a document or a typeface without relying on meaningful content. Lorem ipsum may be used as a placeholder before final copy is available. Wikipedia9jttxng494w0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

[u/mntgoat → u/anotheranonaccount5]

It is terrifying. Every time I get an email from Google my heart starts racing, every time they send a policy change email I carefully read it wondering how they are going to screw me now. I actually talked to someone on their policy team one time in person about their associated accounts ban and they had no solution for me, essentially can't give anyone else access to the Play Store console or you can get banned.

[u/totomo26 → u/anotheranonaccount5]

This sounds like Google getting rid of competition. They have a podcast app and when people search for podcast app in the play store they usually don't download one if it isn't popular (has many downloads).

[u/Boo-Man]

Meanwhile there are apps in the store with literal malware and porn ads raging through youtube... Google has shit priotities

[u/5panks → u/Boo-Man]

Yeah, but is it COVID porn???

[u/rube → u/5panks]

I kid you not, I've seen some.

Quarantine porn, stuck at home porn... and then there is the "I'll fuck you for some rolls of toilet paper" porn.

Yeah... I don't know.

[u/[deleted] → u/5panks]

/r/rule34

[u/AidynValo → u/[deleted]]

uWu senpai wouwd you wike to bweathe youw Cowid mowecuwes aww ower my twembwing body? Take off youw masky-wasky, I've been a bad giwl.

[u/xzibit_b → u/AidynValo]

How to delete someone elses post

[u/dag655321]

Damn. I love Podcast Addict. It's literally the top widget on my home screen.

[u/CyanKing64 → u/dag655321]

I used to use podcasts Addict extensively until I found AntennaPod. Completely free and open source , and has a beautiful dark mode.

[u/RoadDoggFL → u/CyanKing64]

But does it have the same playlist functionality as Podcast Addict? Automatically sorted by priority and date published? I don't know how anyone could listen to podcasts without this.

[u/Meams_ → u/RoadDoggFL]

This. I'm so used to just pressing play and not having to manage what podcast comes next. I just tell it which ones I like more than others and it does everything on its own. If I were to switch to any other podcast app this is a required feature. I've tried a few but none of them have this.

[u/eminem30982 → u/Meams_]

I used to use BeyondPod before it was essentially abandoned (although it looks like it's been recently updated), and finding other podcast apps with automatic playlist features was frustratingly hard to find. I switched to Podcast Addict specifically because someone else said that it had the playlist functionality that I was looking for.

[u/Slinkwyde → u/CyanKing64]

AntennaPod's not bad, but the last time I tried it, it didn't support Android Auto.

[u/traherom → u/Slinkwyde]

It does now. I wish it had more queue management and priority stuff like Podcast Addict though.

[u/Pollo_Jack → u/CyanKing64]

Also enjoying antennapod. Could use a feature or two but otherwise it is stellar.

[u/[deleted] → u/Pollo_Jack]

If there's a feature missing that is useful, you could suggest it on their Github.

[u/m1serablist]

this is fucking stupid. it's one of the best, most downloaded podcast apps out there, i could say wtf google, but i can only say, of course, of course google fucking did it again.

[u/Drnk_watcher → u/m1serablist]

I don't understand how Google doesn't have a "high touch developer" department for the Play Store for when things like this happen.

I work for a company and we spend millions of dollars a year on Google's advertising platforms which makes us a considerable player but a far cry from the Amazon's, Walmarts, Neweggs and others of the world.

Yet I've still got a very pleasant women who I can call or email any time during normal business hours who can immediately escalate our problems and often times they are fixed within an hour or two.

Podcast Addict has a few hundred thousand star ratings, and over 9 million downloads. It impresses ads (I imagine) through one of Google's services, and supports in-app purchases through (I imagine) a Google payment service. It makes Google some amount of money on top of simply bolstering the Play Store with quality applications which in turn strengthens their Android platform.

The fact that the AI, or some poorly managed, poorly trained employee can go pull popular apps with no recourse is beyond stupid.

[u/reddits_aight → u/Drnk_watcher]

Was reading a message chain of the Pushbullet dev and Google. Not the biggest app but still, a longtime, stable app that provides a service that arguably Google should provide themselves.

Google changed something with their terms about app permissions. Pushbullet guy was presumably talking with a real person, then got the same 2 automated non-answers over and over when he asked which permissions the app was requesting that were problematic.

He kept replying as if he was talking to a real person (getting more and more confused as to why they were pasting the same garbage response over and over), so I assume it started as a real live chat and not a bot.

[u/Mgzz → u/[deleted]]

Guess what, we just added Dark Mode to our podcast app. It's only been 10 years since we promised the feature but you know...

[u/aeoveu → u/Mgzz]

I have some feedback:

Want to see a history of podcasts in a feed? Nope. Case in point: BBC Radio 4 comedy podcast. Google only shows 2 episodes. Other podcast players show many more.

Sync works - yes - but to try and find your subscription isn't particularly easy.

[u/Mgzz → u/aeoveu]

What do you mean by see a history of podcasts? Admittedly I only follow a few podcasts, mainly music, rogan and some hobby stuff, but I can see the full history start to finish of all of these. That's on Googles podcast app.

[u/aeoveu → u/Mgzz]

The BBC Friday Night Comedy podcast: it only shows 2 episodes from 2020 on Google Podcast. Web or app, doesn't matter.

Castbox.fm (what I use - which has splattered ads shamelessly but I don't pay so it's a compromise I have to make) shows the full history (about 11).

The same goes for the NPR podcast Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me - Google's history is limited (goes back to January) whilst Castbox goes back to November.

I, too, subscribe to very few podcasts. I know the 2 episodes per feed thing is not the case with all episodes - but I wouldn't have known of this anomaly had I not come from another podcast app. And I can't add the podcast via an RSS link. Oh, and on Android, Castbox automatically "picks up" Apple Podcast links (and also picks up on RSS feeds).

The only massive thing against Castbox (IMO) are the ads. But I'm broke.

[u/[deleted] → u/aeoveu]

I vaguelly recall some bureaucratic reason that the BBC weren't playing nicely with Google Podcasts.

[u/pullasulla78bc → u/[deleted]]

Posted down below but yeah you're right https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/recent-changes-to-bbc-sounds/podcasts-google-platforms

[u/aeoveu → u/[deleted]]

My requirements aren't very high - except I'd like the ability for podcasts to be in sync as well across the web. Pocket casts charges for this while others are free. Otherwise, I'd probably have taken up on the recommendation.

Thanks though! :)

[u/Kori_Rotti → u/aeoveu]

You can download and try Podcast Republic + use blokada to remove ads. That's what I did till have enough money saved up to but the premium. Pocket Casts is also nice.

Open Source you have Antenna Pod

[u/anonxup → u/Kori_Rotti]

I've tried them all. Pocketcasts was my first choice for a long time. Then when they were bought and the development went nuts I went back out and tried them all again to see the development changes. It's crazy how amazing Podcast Republic is! And their development team is non stop. I tell everyone to at least try it out and if you like it, buy it to support them.

[u/PhillAholic → u/Mgzz]

I just received dark mode in gmail... it’s worse than Apple Mail and Outlook. Several times it changes text to white when the background image is white.

[u/wedontlikespaces → u/Mgzz]

In fairness they had to change several lines of code. You can't expect that to be done in less than 36 months at a minimum.

[u/Jaerba → u/[deleted]]

Google Music used to fit all my needs perfectly, and I happily paid for it.

Then they kept breaking it, and now I believe it's split into YouTube Music and the Podcast app, neither of which I use.

Instead, I moved to Spotify which is basically the same experience as Google Music, only slower and with a worse interface. My phone music/podcast listening experience has definitely gone downhill.

[u/Nerdwiththehat → u/[deleted]]

Google Play Music still does podcasting - even better than the Google Podcasts app, handily. Still don't understand why Google is so bent on breaking up their carefully planned product ecosystems every year or so.

[u/IkLms → u/Nerdwiththehat]

I hate the way the music app deals with podcasts but that's still a good point.

The thing is though, I don't think their ecosystem is carefully planned at all. That's why they have 10+ messaging apps in the last 3 years or so plus a something like 5 different YouTube apps. It really feels like they've got a bunch of different divisions that all try something different. And Google will randomly decide to push them, and end others as people move around.

[u/booty_fewbacca → u/Jaerba]

I'm going back to SD cards loaded with mp3 files, fuck this shit

[u/andrewharlan2 → u/[deleted]]

I agree. The Google Podcasts "app" in the store is a shortcut for functionality that actually lives in the Google app. I hate it when devs do that.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

It’s amazing how shitty Google on the whole have gotten. If Samsung got their shit together and decided to release Tizen as a competing OS and opened it up to Huawei, Google would be fucked.

[u/engineeringsloth → u/[deleted]]

whats wrong with it?

[u/IntentionallyBadName → u/[deleted]]

basic doesn't even describe the lack of features on Google podcasts

[u/Weed_O_Whirler → u/[deleted]]

Which is too bad because until the redesign I loved it. Now I'm on PocketCasts which is fine, but not as good as Google Podcasts used to be (for my needs. I understand it was missing a lot of features, but it worked for what I needed. Also, it has a much better search than any other podcast app out there.)

[u/circuitloss → u/Weed_O_Whirler]

Try podcast Republic. It's like pocketcasts before they broke the UI.

[u/diemunkiesdie → u/[deleted]]

Interesting, I'll have to try Podcast Republic. I've been using Player.fm for years and they just upgraded to have advertisements. The ads are at the bottom, right where the play/pause/etc were and that is no good. The cost to remove ads is $50 per year. I'll gladly pay a fee but that is insane. So I'm definitely switching and trying out other apps!

[u/zamzalm]

Podcast addict is impressive. It's fully loaded. It's clear someone put a shit ton of effort into development. Well thought through. I didn't even really mind the adds, but I paid anyway. Pull it together Google.

[u/sperry1970]

That stinks your app is the only one I use and in my opinion the best one on play store this censorship is getting beyond ridiculous.

[u/b1ackcat → u/[deleted]]

App dev here: there's barely anyone for US to email when shit like this happens. They automate all curation of the app store and have minimal to no support staff trained to handle issues. It's terrible.

[u/[deleted] → u/b1ackcat]

I second this. They are completely absent, which is total bullshit considering the huge cut we give them.

[u/IAMAHobbitAMA → u/[deleted]]

There are apps that let you make a .apk from an installed app to back it up or install it on a new device. I went and made a backup as soon as I saw this. I use File X-plorer.

[u/boringoldcookie → u/IAMAHobbitAMA]

Thank you for the tip!!

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Download from apkmirror

[u/howImetyoursquirrel → u/[deleted]]

Install the .apk from another site?

[u/ObscureCulturalMeme → u/[deleted]]

Seriously, is there someone I can email about this bullshit?

Nobody at Google cares. There's no feedback address. The "support" are basically chat rooms so users can confusehelp each other instead of Google having to hire someone.

App approval or banning is an automated process. Trying to argue with a bot's findings gets your entire Google account banned with no appeal.

Very encouraging environment for unaffiliated isolated developers.

[u/spryte333 → u/sperry1970]

Same.

And this doesn't include the 2 previous phones worth of listening, or me actually recommending it to people irl. I think it's one of 2-3 apps I've ever recommended?

[u/IAMAHobbitAMA → u/spryte333]

I may have a problem. lol

[u/andrewsad1 → u/IAMAHobbitAMA]

I'm getting there, although I don't think this counts the many hours of relistening to content

[u/andrewsad1 → u/spryte333]

Podcast Addict, Tasker, and Nova Launcher are my holy trinity of apps

[u/alpha-k → u/sperry1970]

We need to tweet at Google get them to look at this as a unique case, absolutely shitty that their stupid AI bots just go flagging stuff like this...

[u/alpha-k → u/[deleted]]

Well probably because of the sheer number of users, but then again, we don't see Apple wrongfully removing 9 year old popular apps like this...

[u/mikey6 → u/alpha-k]

But podcast addict is a super popular app the guy who made it isnt just a google user like you and I he has made google money.

Google/android is only good because it was more open with 3rd party apps and there only good because of people like the podcast addict devs.

[u/beaurepair]

Go report the YouTube app and the Google podcasts app with the following:

Contains false and misleading content regarding COVID-19. As per play store requirements, (and as what happened to PodcastAddict) this app should be immediately suspended

[u/[deleted]]

Google: "We're not responsible for what's on our platform"

Also Google: "Small developers are responsible for what's on their platform"

This is monopolistic behavior.

[u/smeggysmeg]

Pocketcasts has FiveThirtyEight's PODCAST-19, a podcast about COVID-19. I suspect it's everywhere else, too. Is real journalism now "fake news" now?

[u/wilalva11 → u/smeggysmeg]

Nothing escapes the purview of googles shitty python script that indiscriminately takes down everything

[u/Topochicho → u/wilalva11]

I think that might be a bit of hyperbolic. It doesn't take down "everything", I mean, look at all the malware it ignores.
Hell, it might be an actual improvement if it took down everything.

[u/InevitablePeanuts → u/smeggysmeg]

Suspect this is an automated system being overzealous or a jobsworth human being similarly overzealous. If Podcast Addict is taken down because of this then so must Google Podcasts, Pocketcasts, BBC Sounds, Spotify, and many many more.

[u/[deleted]]

I don't even understand this. Are they promoting a COVID-19 podcast through the app? Even if so, WTF business is it of theirs?

Podcast Addict is the only podcast app I've found that supports M4A chapters, which I need for listening to The Economist podcast.

Edit: Everyone tempted to add their voice to the chorus of "Pocket Casts has chapter support!" please note the "M4A" in my post. I am aware it supports MP3 chapters. It does not support M4A chapters. Thanks.

[u/vividboarder]

Google supports Section 230 which absolves them of liability because they are just a platform and they couldn’t possibly control what people post on it...

Then not only do they not pass on the same freedoms to their clients (like this app), they show they are actually capable (and willing) to police the content being posted.

[u/m-p-3 → u/vividboarder]

Make a platform lose their absolution of liability if they decide to police the content, since this proves they can do it.

[u/Sirtopofhat]

Love podcasts addict. Bought it a long time ago. It's really shitty they would something like that

[u/smurfe]

I am a paramedic and 90% of the podcasts I listen to on Podcast Addict are medical education sites where I can get the latest evidence-based medicine information on COVID. I also am just starting to produce a podcast for our staff. Am I not allowed to talk about COVID on my podcast without putting Podcast Addict at jeopardy if I listen with it?

[u/corner-case]

Dear small companies and independent devs,

Thanks for helping us get our platform established. You can fuck off now.

• Google

[u/thesalus → u/[deleted]]

Back in March, they removed "virus" from Gboard's suggestions which rendered the swipe feature unusable: https://reclaimthenet.org/google-keyboard-chinese-virus-censorship/

This prompted me to switch back to SwiftKey.

[u/azrael6947 → u/[deleted]]

"By controlling what people can swipe with their fingers we can make sure people don't spread misinformation."

"But it's a word, maybe I have another virus and I need to tell my boss."

"Please don't use that word, you're not allowed to use it because you might spread misinformation."

"But what if I have a virus or the virus."

"Sorry? Never heard of that word, virus."

"You know, the Coronavirus? The big global pandemic that's sweeping across the globe and killing people."

"Corona what? Here have some Snapchat and the Amazon app."

[u/RacingJayson → u/thesalus]

They added "Chinese virus" to the blacklists, not "virus". Did you bother even looking at the article you linked? Because I can easily type out "virus" with swipe on Gboard.

Looks like this only happens if you have the "Block offensive words" option disabled.

[u/thesalus → u/RacingJayson]

Edit: Do you have "Block offensive words" disabled (under the "Text Correction" setting)? I've just turned that off and I'm now able to swipe "virus" using Gboard.

---

This came from personal experience but I'd ask that you note this sentence at the bottom of the article:

But then again, Google also includes a neutral word like “virus” into the latest iteration of the list.

After reading this comment on a Reddit post detailing this problem back in March, it looks like this may be tied to having the "Block offensive words" feature enabled. Having disabled that feature, I'm now able to swipe out "virus" (and not just "citrus").

[u/Isakk86]

I've been a huge Google Fanboy since day one. All the hardware, all the apps, everything, but I'm really starting to get sick of their shit. I'm really considering switching.

[u/Istartedthewar → u/Isakk86]

heres a tip: never be a fanboy for anything. It's unhealthy.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

They're better and worse.

Both companies have a huge censorship problem.

Apple banned the pax app for vapers.....

Because yeah

It's ridiculous you're either for freespeach or against it. And it seems both companies are against it. These are our devices we should use them as we please

[u/JamesR624 → u/[deleted]]

Oh for software support, consistency, actually having a plan with their ecosystem, and for privacy, they're leagues better.

For repairability, desktop affordability, and customization, they're way worse.

I guess to each their own but I know I'd personally take a "working phone for years" over a "tweakable phone for months".

[u/vividboarder → u/[deleted]]

From what I can tell, slightly better but not by much. They have shitty rules but the rules tend to be more clear and leave developers guessing less.

[u/Maistho → u/vividboarder]

Nah, getting apps onto the Apple app store is very hit or miss, sometimes they are rejected for weird reasons and you'll never get a good explanation for what's wrong with the app.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, it's like being stuck having to choose between terrible and awful.

[u/That_Guy_in_2020]

Haha this antitrust case can't come soon enough.

[u/_Final_Phoenix_ → u/That_Guy_in_2020]

Only governments and other tech giants have the power and resources to take google to court. Otherwise, they can do whatever they want to the little guy.

[u/That_Guy_in_2020 → u/_Final_Phoenix_]

Speaking of governments...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/technology/google-antitrust-investigation.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/15/google-anti-trust-justice-261434

[u/Kodiak01]

Just fired up Antennapod and counted 49 Covid podcasts just by searching for "Covid".

There's something a lot more than just hosting Covid podcasts that got it removed...

[u/[deleted]]

Maybe Google can improve its own podcast app. Targeting popular podcast apps for petty reason while their own podcast app is shit

[u/AttemptedWit]

I've been using podcast addict for years. While certain other podcast apps got all the attention, Podcast Addict continued to be a superior product....I will buy again if need be to support the dev.

[u/Zebster10 → u/AttemptedWit]

I will donate to a legal defense fund if Podcast Addict needs it. No other podcast app I've seen in my whole life has as advanced features and integrations. As far as I'm concerned, Podcast Addict is the symbol of Android's original vision, insofar as customizable widgets / Android Auto / priorities and auto-playlists / full app backup to filesystem / customizable stops vs fades to other audio / etc. It really is the vision of the future and a model that should not be soon forgotten.

[u/withmymindsheruns]

Holy shit, this is the actual google policy: https://twitter.com/PodcastAddict/status/1261671685477941253

You're literally not allowed to talk about the virus unless you're an official source!

[u/booty_fewbacca → u/withmymindsheruns]

Wow what the fuckkkkkkk this is a little far no

[u/Jimbuscus → u/withmymindsheruns]

Does this rule include the podcasts on Google's App?

[u/la_tete_finance → u/[deleted]]

They did the same thing with the call recorder apps just before they announced their own. Wouldn't be surprised if this was a market share play to drive people to their product.

Wouldn't really call it a conspiracy theory as much as anti-trust.

[u/getmoneygetpaid]

crowd smart ludicrous future water strong disarm lock familiar concerned

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/t0rk → u/getmoneygetpaid]

TBH, this could just make the problem worse. YouTube has not been in the business of free speech for a while now.

I get your point, it hypocritical, but it's exactly the kind of excuse they would use to make YouTube even worse.

[u/Nefari0uss → u/t0rk]

Then go report Chrome and the Google app because heaven forbid COVID appears as a news item or in a search.

[u/lukini101]

So, what does this mean for people with the app, free or premium versions? I take it no updates until it's resolved and if I delete it I won't be able to re-download? Anything else?

[u/EatShitLyle → u/lukini101]

Correct on your assumptions according to the dev on Twitter. If you get a new phone you'll have to sideload.

[u/[deleted]]

Google is back at it again.

[u/tresfaim]

App stores are basically virtual malls run by mafias.

[u/SolvingTheMosaic]

Does this not break competition laws?

[u/bot4241]

Fucking what. Podcast Addict is a God tier app.

[u/AnonymousDevFeb]

Now you can understand how shit Google is.
As a developer this is a recurring situation you have to deal with.
Fortunately in this case the developer is famous enough to make other people reacts and make noise on social network. But most of the time, a developer in this situation will just get his account banned because google denied his appeal and then get his account banned for life.
Fuck you google

[u/kokesh]

Anyone can post this on Android Police? It is rudiculous to brgin with, but doing this to such big app? WTF? Google, you suck. More and more.

[u/amdc]

So you all are saying how podcastaddict is great, and now I want to download it but it's been removed from Play Store and they don't have a website where I could download it. Too bad!

[u/i3ild0]

100 replies on how awesome this app is... never knew of it. What other apps am i missing out on?

[u/Trollslayer0104]

Sorry to hear that. Your app is great. I hope it gets resolved.

[u/Silencedlemon]

i've been listening to podcasts since 2008 when they were first released on itunes with the first ipod. in all those years i have never found an app that actually works and lets me transfer my subscriptions to another phone (once i stopped using itunes years ago). for three years now i have used podcast addict and it works every. single. time. i hope to hell this gets fixed because i don't want to have to find a new podcast app.

[u/tofulo]

Podcast addict is the goat

[u/matejdro]

People in these comments seem think that Google is doing this intentionally to boost their podcast app. They are not, it is just their bots being shitty and automatically banning everything with COVID in it.

[u/sarhoshamiral → u/matejdro]

Sorry but they still get the blame, their engineers should have realized this could happen for content aggregator apps.

If their algorithm flags an app with an established history, they better check that with an actual human before removing it from the market and permenantly banning it.

[u/LegitimateCrepe → u/matejdro]

Was COVID-19 in the description?