Google faces new suit over Android app monopoly

Aptoide, a Lisbon-based Android app store, sued Google in San Francisco federal court.

It alleges the company has illegally monopolized Android app distribution and billing in the US, and blocks rival app stores.

The lawsuit seeks an order stopping the alleged conduct and triple damages, and says Google steers developers to Google Play and related services while limiting rivals’ access to top apps.

Aptoide said it had about 436,000 apps and more than 200 million annual users in 2024.

The case adds to Google’s antitrust pressure after it agreed last November to change Android and app store practices to settle Epic Games’ case, where a jury found in 2023 that Google stifled competition.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

Aptoide’s lawsuit adds to its long-running fight with Google

Aptoide has sparred with Google for years, including a European Union antitrust complaint filed in 2014 1.
In 2014, Aptoide said a “court-punished attack” by Google cut its ad revenue by 85%, which pushed the company to change its business model quickly 2.
Aptoide started in 2009 as a research project. It later became an open-source Android app marketplace meant to offer another option outside Google’s ecosystem 2.
Aptoide lets users create and run their own app stores through a decentralized setup. Google Play uses a single, centralized store 1.

The lawsuit arrives as Aptoide builds a US plan that includes carrier deals

The lawsuit lines up with Aptoide’s push in the US, including GamesHub, a joint app store built with Digital Turbine, a mobile advertising and app distribution company 3.
GamesHub focuses on games and works with carriers such as AT&T and Verizon 3.
Aptoide is also leaning on frustration among mobile game developers. In a report based on a survey of 300 senior professionals at mobile game studios in the US and UK, 84% said the industry cannot survive long-term under the control of two major app stores 4.