Removed from Google Play - Update
We wanted to update you on the status of Call Control on Google Play.
Call Control was removed from Google Play Thursday, September 4th 2014 around 4:00 PM PST for what Google claims was a violation of section 4.3 of the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement (DDA).
We submitted an appeal request later that evening to Google using their online form, and as of today we've heard nothing back from Google.
Here is the case we made to Google in our appeal:
Call Control was removed from Google Play by mistake, we do not access or transmit any contact or personal information.
We specifically state in our terms of use and privacy policy what data we access or is created and what we do with that data. We feel that Call Control is in compliance with the DDA.
While Google provides zero information about what part of our app is potentially in non-compliance, our best guess is that it has to do with our support request system. We explained to Google what information we gather and how we provide a preview to each user, in addition to a warning, before the information is sent by the user as an email. This is done with complete understanding and authorization by each user.
It should be noted that developers are allowed merely 1,000 characters to appeal, which is absurd in our opinion. 1,000 characters to make a case about why an app that millions of people use and trust on a daily basis was suddenly removed without warning.
Because of this limit we decided to submit multiple appeals as we investigated this issue on our own and continued to provide information to Google.
We are holding out hope that Google will thoroughly review our appeal request(s) and will find that we are absolutely in compliance with Google's Developer Agreement.
As of now user's who have Call Control on their device continue to be able to use Call Control, however we can't support or make updates and any in app purchases are non-functional.
If Google is genuinely concerned about user's privacy and personal information, why are they allowing our app to remain on millions of devices? Removing Call Control from Google Play does little to sincerely protect users if Google believes Call Control is harmfully accessing and distributing user data.