As part of a dispute over service fee payments, Google removes Matrimony apps of 10 companies in India on Friday, including popular matrimony apps such as Bharat Matrimony.
After the country’s antitrust authorities ordered it to dismantle an earlier charging system of 15% to 30%, some Indian startups are trying to stop Google from charging 11% to 26% on in-app payments.
After two court decisions in January and February, one by the Supreme Court, Google gained the right to charge the fee or remove apps.
On Friday, Google Removes Matrimony Apps like dating apps Bharat Matrimony, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony, and Jodii were deleted from Matrimony.com, according to company founder Murugavel Janakiraman.
One by one, apps are being deleted-Google Removes Matrimony Apps
Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), opens new tab has sent notices of Play Store violations to Matrimony.com (MATI.NS), opens new tab, which runs BharatMatrimony, and Info Edge (INED.NS), opens new tab, which runs Jeevansathi.
The notice is being reviewed by both companies and the next steps will be considered.
Matrimony.com shares fell as much as 2.7% before paring losses, while Info Edge shares fell as much as 1.5%.
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, said the company cleared all pending Google invoices in a timely manner.
Google said in a blog post that 10 Indian companies have chosen not to pay for the “incredible value they receive on Google Play” for an extended period of time.
Neither courts nor regulators have denied Google Play’s right to charge, the company said on Friday, noting that the Supreme Court “refused to interfere” on Feb. 9.
The Google app removal could anger the Indian startup community, which has been protesting the U.S. giant’s practices for years.
In India, 94% of phones are based on Android, according to the company, which denies any wrongdoing.
According to Google, its fee supports investments in the app store and Android mobile operating system, as well as developer tools and analytics.
A mere 3% of the more than 200,000 Indian developers using the Google Play platform are required to pay a service fee, it added.
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