Court orders Google to drop scary warnings when users install rival Android app stores

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Credit: Megan Ellis / Android Authority

TL;DR

US District Judge James Donato has ordered Google to eliminate extra steps and warning prompts when users install rival Android app stores through the Play Store.

The process for installing rival Android app stores involves multiple steps, such as tapping a “view” button before an “install” button appears.

The court called these steps deliberate “anticompetitive friction” designed to scare off everyday users.

US District Judge James Donato has ordered Google to streamline the installation process for competing Android app stores, rebuking the company for inserting unnecessary roadblocks into the user experience. The order lands just as Google is being forced to open its ecosystem under antitrust pressure , a shift highlighted by third-party storefronts like Aptoide Games launching directly on the Play Store .

During a recent compliance hearing in the long-running Epic vs Google antitrust battle, Judge Donato took direct aim at the multi-step hurdles Google created for alternative app stores, declaring, “That is not acceptable,” as reported by The Verge .