From CNET: A federal judge in California ruled this week that Google must stop making it difficult for consumers to install third-party Android app stores, saying the corporate giant was using “anticompetitive friction” to prevent people from doing so.
It was the latest chapter in the years-long legal battle between Google and Epic Games, which originally accused the corporate giant in 2020 of restricting easy access to third-party app stores and non-Google payment methods, and behaving as a monopoly.
Installing a third-party Android app store such as Aptoide Games hasn’t been a smooth process. For example, if you go to the Play Store on an Android phone and search for “Aptoide,” you’ll see a pop-up section at the top that asks, “Looking for Aptoide Games?” You then have to click on a “Go to page” link. On that next page, it shows the Aptoide Games app, but instead of an Install button, there is a View button. Selecting the View button finally takes you to the Install link.
Also, if you search for “app stores” in the Play Store, a pop-up appears with the question, “Looking for app stores?” with a Go to page link that takes you to the app stores menu.
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