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Google won’t be required to house third-party Android app stores in the Play Store after all

A ruling in India earlier this year was supposed to lead to the unthinkable reality where Google would distribute other Android app stores through the Google Play Store, but in a partial relief of that case, that will no longer be necessary.

Google’s control over the Android ecosystem has been under fire for quite some time now, and India especially had major demands of the company to change how the country’s most popular operating system would be treated. This included changes such as reducing the prevalence and requirements around pre-installed apps, as well as loosening restrictions on Android “forks.”

The biggest demand, though, was for Google to distribute third-party app stores through the Google Play Store.

As reported by TechCrunch, a partial relief in India’s ruling against Google will remove this demand. Third-party app stores are still permitted on Android, they just need to be side-loaded rather than installed through the Play Store.

This partial relief from the NCLAT also eases the CCI’s request for Google to not restrict developers in distributing apps via sideloading, as well as Google’s ability to deny access to the Play Services API to OEMs, developers, and competitors based on certain criteria. The NCLAT called these demands “unsustainable.”

In response, Google said:

We are grateful for the opportunity given by the NCLAT to make our case. We are reviewing the order and evaluating our legal options.

Google has already agreed to several changes to Android in India following the CCI’s rulings. In January, Google detailed changes including a wide expansion of “User Choice Billing” in the Play Store, lessening requirements for pre-installing Google apps, and loosening restrictions on Android forks.

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