Google must stop making it difficult for Android users to install third-party app stores, a federal judge in California ruled this week, describing the barriers the company had erected as “anticompetitive friction”.
The decision marks the latest development in the long-running legal dispute between Google and Epic Games, which first accused the company in 2020 of restricting access to rival app stores and non-Google payment methods, and of behaving as a monopoly.
Why the installation process drew scrutiny
Installing a third-party Android app store such as Aptoide Games has not been a smooth experience. Searching for “Aptoide” within the Play Store produces a pop-up asking, “Looking for Aptoide Games?”, followed by a “Go to page” link. The subsequent page displays the app with a View button rather than an Install button, and selecting View is required before the Install link appears.
A similar pattern applies to broader searches. Typing “app stores” into the Play Store triggers a pop-up asking, “Looking for app stores?”, with a link that directs users to a separate app stores menu.
What the judge ordered
Northern District Judge James Donato called the additional steps “anticompetitive friction” and “not acceptable”, and ordered Google to remove them from the installation process by next week. He ruled that if a user searches for “app stores”, “store for apps” or any similar combination of terms, the Play Store must display a list of such stores.
Donato also directed Google to replace the “View” button with “Install” on the screen showing a third-party app, and to remove the “Looking for an app store?” screen in favour of a direct list of available app stores.
Jason Howell, co-host of the Android Faithful podcast, said replacing the View button with an Install button was puzzling, noting that most apps in the Play Store search results do not display an Install button either, not until the app itself is selected. “It seems Google was likely replicating how it presents its normal apps in listings for third-party app stores, not immediately doing anything punitive,” Howell said. He added that it was “concerning” that users were being directed to a separate page of third-party app stores, saying he was “happy to know they will address that”.
How Android installation has changed
Users have been able to install third-party app stores on Android phones throughout the operating system’s 18-year history. However, until July, those apps could not be installed from the Play Store. Instead, users had to rely on sideloading, installing an app from an unofficial source or a computer, which often required changing the phone’s security settings.
That changed in July, when Donato ruled that Google must allow people to download third-party apps within the Play Store. Epic Games told the court last month that Google had added further obstacles to that process, prompting the current ruling.
