Zomato, Swiggy get notice from Google for violating Play Store guidelines

Google recently removed Paytm from the Play Store as it violated the guidelines. Now, it looks like both popular food delivery apps, Zomato and Swiggy are under the radar. The apps have been reportedly given a noticed by the search giant for violating the Play Store guidelines. This is regarding the gamification techniques that are used by both platforms.

It has been mentioned that while Zomato has confirmed this and says that the notice is unfair, Swiggy has not yet issued any comment on this. However, the latter seems to have paused its gamification product inside the app. 

“We are a small company and have already realigned our business strategy to comply with Google’s guidelines. We will be replacing Zomato Premier League with a more exciting program by this weekend,” said Zomato spokesperson to ET Tech.

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“Earlier the notice was to comply with the said guidelines by Thursday, but Google has given a one-week extension as Swiggy has asked for more clarity,” said a person aware of the matter, to the website.

This comes a few days after Paytm was pulled up from Play Store for a similar violation for a few hours. It was taken down by Google due to the allegations that it was offering fantasy gaming features, something that is banned on the Play Store. This step was taken by Google after FIFS or Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports raised the issue. 

However, Paytm wasn’t happy with this move. “You’ve got a player which regulates India’s digital ecosystem, while competing with many companies in the same ecosystem,” said Madhur Deora, president, One97 Communications, which owns Paytm. “They have all the levers and can decide which app can be brought down and when -- how is that not a problem?”