I am receiving many inquiries from developers, users, and colleagues about the impending European Digital Markets Act.
With two weeks left until the deadline for Gatekeepers to comply with the DMA obligations, here is where we stand.
GOOGLE
We have no information on the requirements to be listed as an alternative service to the store that is pre-installed by Google and manufacturers.
We are unaware of the procedures for users to choose their application store and give consent, such as the selection screen, the way alternatives are presented, descriptions, ordering, and criteria for selecting candidates.
There is no public information, nor have we received any communication from Google about the technical changes necessary to adapt to any other requirement, forcing us to improvise when the time comes.
Uptodown remains excluded from the Google ecosystem and blocked in Google Play despite being a completely legal store operating worldwide for over 20 years.
In short, no matter how much we have tried, nothing has changed regarding our situation, with just a few days left until the end of this period.
APPLE
In this case, there is somewhat more transparency regarding information about alternative stores.
Apple has published the requirements for developing stores on iOS and established some communication channels.
As is well known, these requirements do not make sense within the spirit of the law.
Uptodown’s developer profile has not yet been authorized for no apparent reason.
In any case, Uptodown could not meet the arbitrary credit and payments requested to operate its free application store on iOS.
Uptodown does not have editorial freedom; therefore, the law is ineffective for users, as the proposed solution allows them to control content.
So we can say that the situation is similar to that of Google, in practical terms, and with days left to meet the deadline, it is impossible to compete on iOS or operate any alternative to Apple’s services.
@luishg 