Amazon app pulled from Google Play over policy violation, Amazon Shopping takes its place
It was back in October Amazon got the bright idea to duplicate the functionality of their dedicated Appstore app by allowing the regular Amazon app to also download digital goods (like non-Play Store sanctioned Android apps). You know, the app you’re supposed to use when you want to find a new USB cable or buy some shampoo. Yeah, that one.
Well, turns out that may-or-may-not have been in direct violation Google’s stringent Play Store policies. As discovered by the folks over at Caschys Blog, this — in conjunction with Amazon requiring users to have the Amazon app installed if they looked to stream video content from a separately downloaded Amazon Prime Video app — resulted in the app being taken down from the Play Store. Okay, so it’s not completely removed. Performing a search wont actually pull up the original Amazon app and it’s not even listed under the rest of Amazon’s apps, but you can still find it via a direct link.
So what’s Amazon to do? Launch yet another Amazon app into the Play Store, that’s what. Because Amazon wants to make sure people have an easy way to continue making purchases from their smartphones, they’ve introduced the new and improved “Amazon Shopping” app for Android devices. The “new” app improves upon the original by stripping away the controversial Appstore that got it pulled in the first place. Now, you’ll only find physical real-world goods, with the description on Google Play no longer referencing “digital” goods of any kind.
As many of you know, Amazon is one of the many “bloatware” applications to come pre-installed on Android devices out of the box (carrier ones anyway). With Amazon’s original app no longer finding itself in Google’s good graces, we’re wondering what’s to become of it as it is a system application so deletion could be tricky. You can find the new Amazon Shopping app (sans Appstore) via the link below.