The application world is a huge place. There are millions of apps and games between the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It is no surprise that some of them have problems from time to time. This year was a very big year for controversies. Some covered almost the entire year 2020, while others are still in progress at the time of writing. The pandemic certainly didn’t help things, and even the FTC got a little bit into the mix. Let’s take a look at the most controversial apps and games of 2020.
1. ToTok is reportedly spying on people
ToTok, a popular chat app (not to be confused with TikTok), was banned from the Google Play Store in January after The New York Times wrote an article presenting strong evidence that it was a spy app for the UAE government. Much of the app’s success came from the UAB government, blocking similar features in other apps. Huawei also promoted the app. He ended up returning to the Play Store in early January, but was removed again in February. It hasn’t appeared in Google and Apple’s app stores yet.
2. Google Photos eliminates unlimited backups
Credit: Joe Hindy / Android Authority
For years, Google Photos has represented the best offer in mobile history. It allows you to upload and store photos and videos from your phone in slightly inferior quality for free. Pixel devices could also upload photos and videos at full resolution for free, as one of the advantages of owning Google devices.
Related: The best Google Photos alternatives
However, Google ended up with free uploads in 2020. It’s still available for now, but support for June 1, 2021. Yes, that includes Pixel phones as well. After that, uploading photos will take up space on Google Drive. You can always buy more Google Drive storage and keep it, but the free and unlimited benefit was incredible. People were understandably upset. There are alternatives, but none of them are as easy or accessible as Google Photos.
3. Google bans 600 apps, goodbye Cheetah Mobile
Apps and games are banned all the time. Google Play Protect alone avoids well over a billion malware installations a year. However, there was something special about that lot. These 600 apps were banned because they offer virtually no benefit to end users and exist only to serve as many ads as possible. Among those 600 were basically all Cheetah Mobile apps on the Play Store. It’s kind of an open secret that Cheetah Mobile apps are mostly snake oil. Google’s steel hammer finally proved it to everyone. Have a good trip, Cheetah Mobile.
4. India prohibits several Chinese apps, including TikTok and PUBG Mobile
India and China are experiencing some political differences at the moment. Part of the consequences was the massive ban on many Chinese apps from the Google Play Store in India. The list included some major launchers like most UC apps, WeChat, TikTok, ES File Explorer, most DU apps and, ironically, Cheetah Mobile’s Clean Master before being removed from everywhere. There was even an application (no longer available now) that said which applications were Chinese so that you could get rid of them. India would eventually add another 117 applications, including PUBG Mobile, to the list. A new version of PUBG aimed specifically at the Indian market is under development, but with no final release date. This is in progress, so you might as well see more about it in our controversial list of 2021 apps.
5. The FTC wants to know how applications use your data
The FTC has previously requested several online services to reveal how they use user data. The services in question include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Reddit and several others. It is a true who’s who of the technology giants. In addition, the FTC wants to know how each company uses this data to serve ads, how they study user engagement and how their algorithms work. The survey can be big business, as all of these companies compete with each other. However, privacy is a major concern for people today, so we’ll see how it goes. This happened in December 2020 and is still in progress at the time of writing.
6. Google withdraws Google Play Music in favor of YouTube Music
Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
We knew that Google was replacing Google Play Music with YouTube Music last year. The saga did not officially unfold until this year, however. It happened on two fronts. On the one hand, YouTube Music gained several features from Google Play Music while the latter was ending. The transfer of power became official on December 4, when Google Play Music started to close for everyone.
See too: Google is making a big mistake by deleting Play Music for YouTube Music
Many Play Music customers hated the move. The whole process took so long that tempers had plenty of time to simmer during the transition. YouTube Music is improving, but it is still far behind its predecessor in terms of features. In addition, the list of viable alternatives is quite short and requires several applications for those looking to replace all resources. Many people will miss Google Play Music, including me.
7. The COVID-19 exposure notification API
COVID-19 hit the world like a ton of bricks, and everyone is ready for the end of 2020 because of that. The CDC recommended that we all wash our hands, stand two meters away and wear masks. Meanwhile, Google and Apple tried to create a system to track who has COVID-19 and who was exposed. The contact tracking API was met with cynicism and skepticism, as it was able to track people and tell others with whom you came in contact.
Google and Apple more or less eliminated those concerns by introducing a kind of rule book. However, the worst part is how long it takes governments to launch applications that use the API to track the spread of COVID-19. Many U.S. states do not have it, and many regions of the world have never received an application, either. Even in places where apps exist, many people don’t use them. For example, the Virginia version of the app has only 100,000 installations, compared to its population of 8.5 million.
Most versions of the app have bad ratings, citing the inability to record positive results, slow exposure updates and not receiving notifications when people know they have been exposed by a loved one and this one has reported. It is December 2020 and the number of cases is increasing worldwide. It is clear that this effort took a while, as a vaccine will be launched soon. However, it is integrated with iOS and Android, so it may work better in the next pandemic.
8. The whole Zoom thing
When the world went into blockade, video conferencing became big business. The zoom probably won. Tons of businesses, schools and other organizations used it instead of personal contact. Unfortunately, Zoom was not ready for so much publicity. Zoombombing has become one thing. People attend Zoom meetings without invitations and do horrible things. The videoconferences were not encrypted and there were a number of other security issues.
Zoom ended up encrypting everything, but it took a long time to get to that point. It ended up fixing many of the security problems and even blocking people from access if they didn’t update. Efforts have also been made to prevent Zoombombing, but not before a serious danger to children. The company also had 500,000 compromised accounts and there was a lawsuit at one point. Still, Zoom managed to reach 300 million daily active users just a few months ago. He easily had one of the most ridiculous years we’ve ever seen a company go through.
9. The United States government versus TikTok
The United States is involved in a trade war with China. Last year, the big problem was the US embargo on Huawei, and it was talked about ad nauseum. This year, the focus shifted to the world’s fastest growing social media network, TikTok. It all started with some privacy concerns. The US government feared that the parent company of TikTok would hand over confidential user data to the Chinese government. In the meantime, the app has been banned in several countries due to “immoral content” and other concerns. Eventually, the U.S. government decided to ban the app (along with WeChat), but it was stopped at the last second at the request of a federal judge.
To avoid the ban, TikTok had to sell to another company. Microsoft had been in negotiations for a long time, but ended up entering into a partnership with Oracle so that it could continue operating in the United States. However, the US government wanted to examine the code to make sure it was safe before approving the deal. Most of the controversy is over now, but many people still don’t trust TikTok.
10. Epic Games (and Co.) Versus Google and Apple
Welcome to a controversy that can drag on for a few years. Fortnite was originally released on iOS in the App Store and as a standalone app on Android. He ended up switching to Google Play in early 2020. A little later, Epic Games tried to use a payment method that bypassed the 30% cut that Apple and Google charge developers. As a result, Apple expelled Fortnite from the App Store, quickly followed by Google Play. Then all hell broke down.
Epic Games immediately filed a lawsuit against Google citing anti-competitive practices. He also accused Google of crushing deals with LG and OnePlus to preload devices with Fortnite. Oh, and the company also sued Apple for basically the same thing. Apple earned about $ 360 million from Fortnite before the ban. He also compared Epic Games to thieves in one of the most bizarre lawsuit responses we’ve ever seen. Meanwhile, Google has enforced its policies on in-app purchases to use only the Google system, beginning in 2021.
Epic Games is not alone here. A group of Indian startups agrees that the 30% cut is too high for developers in India. In addition, Microsoft joined Epic Games in the fight because Epic Games also develops the Unreal Engine. Epic Games and Spotify teamed up with Tile, Match Group (Tinder, PlentyOfFish, OkCupid, Match.com), Deezer, Qobuz and a ton of others to create Coalition for App Fairness. Epic Games has been battling the 30% tax for two years, and although Apple has made some changes to its policies to reduce the cut to 15% for smaller developers, the war is far from over. Do not be surprised if you are also on this list in 2021.
Check out controversial apps and games from previous years:
If we missed any major controversy, let us know in the comments! You can also click here to check out our Android app and latest game lists.