Paytm Taken Down From Play Store

Paytm through its official Twitter handle confirmed that they are back on Google Play Store
Paytm removed from play store reasonDown

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Paytm Taken Down From Play Store

Homegrown financial services giant Paytm on Sunday put forth its side of the story after it was taken down by Google. Payments firm Paytm in a new blog post on Sunday called its takedown. Earlier: Digital payments app Paytm and the app of its gaming arm Paytm First Games have been taken down from Google Play Store. The Noida-based company’s other apps, including Paytm Mall, Paytm Money and Paytm for Business, are still available on the Android store. The five apps are available for download for iOS customers on the App Store. In the afternoon news broke about Paytm being pulled down from the Google Play Store, by evening the app was restored. Moneycontrol looks into the whats, hows and the whys around this interesting.

  1. New Delhi: Google on Friday restored the Paytm app on its Play store after removing it for a few hours for violating its policy on sports betting activities. The app was back on the Google Play store on Friday evening after the Softbank-backed Paytm removed the ‘cashback’ feature from a recently-launched game on the application.
  2. Breaking: Paytm, India's financial services app has been taken off from Google Play Store after repeated policy violations. Also Read - Delhi: Engineer Among Two Held For Sale, Purchase.

Hours after being taken down by Google from Play Store, the search engine giant has restored Paytm on Play Store. Paytm's founder - Vijay Shekhar Sharma through a tweet announced that the app is live on Google Play Store and was taken down because they launched a UPI cashback campaign.

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Google on Friday took down one of the most used online payment apps Paytm from the Google Play Store. This meant, android smartphone users were not able to download or install the app for the time being. Google has also taken down PaytmFirstGames from the app store. The company has recently roped in Sachin Tendulkar as its ambassador.

Other Paytm apps such as Paytm For Business, Paytm Money and Paytm Mall are still available on the Play Store.

Paytm through its official Twitter handle had earlier said that the app will be back very soon.

Paytm Removed From Play Store Reason

“All your money is completely safe, and you can continue to enjoy your Paytm app as normal,” the company tweeted.

In a blog the company wrote: 'We recently launched the ‘Paytm Cricket League’ on our consumer app for users to engage in their passion of cricket and get cashback. The game allows users to get player stickers after each transaction, collect them and receive Paytm Cashback.

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Today afternoon, we received communication from Google that they are suspending our app because they believe this to be a violation of their Play Store policies on gambling. The Paytm Android app has thus been unlisted from Google’s Play Store and is temporarily unavailable to users for new downloads or updates.'

The company had said that it has temporarily removed the cashback component in an effort to meet the Play Store policy requirements.

Meanwhile, Google’s vice-president of product, Android security and privacy, Suzanne Frey in a blog dated September 18 wrote: “We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies.”

She further wrote that if an app violates their security policies then Google notifies the developer team and then removes the app from Google Play Store until the developer brings the app into compliances.

She said that if an app repeatedly violates Google’s policy, then Google can take serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts.

The blog did not, however, named Paytm.

According to reports, Google has dropped more apps from the Play Store.
Akash Karmakar, partner, Law Offices of Panag & Babu said, 'While PayTM did not directly engage in, or promote sports betting or gambling, it did have links to third-party sites which did. The ease of using PayTM on these third-party apps may have been viewed by Google as the element which makes PayTM as supporting these sites. Google appears to have taken an ethical stand against apps which promote or even advertise unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. Since many other apps are also promoting betting and gambling websites through ads and pop-ups, if Google applies the same standard, I would expect more apps will get taken off the Play Store.'