10 Indian Matrimony Apps Removed from Playstore by Google Over Fee Dispute

New Delhi: Google on Friday started removing the apps of 10 matrimonial companies in India in a dispute over service fee payments. The apps removed from the Playstore included Bharat Matrimony.

Matrimony.com dating apps Bharat Matrimony, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony and Jodii were deleted on Friday, company founder Murugavel Janakiraman said.

The dispute is related to some Indian startups’ objection to Google’s decision to impose a fee of 11% to 26% on in-app payments after the country’s antitrust authorities ordered it to dismantle an earlier system of charging 15% to 30%.

But Google effectively received a go-ahead to charge the fee or remove apps after two court decisions in January and February, one by the Supreme Court, not to give any relief to startups.

The unit of Alphabet Inc has sent notices of Play Store violations to Indian companies Matrimony.com, which runs the app BharatMatrimony, and Info Edge, which runs a similar app, Jeevansathi.

Both companies are reviewing the notice and will consider next steps.

In a blog post, Google said 10 Indian companies had chosen for an extended period of time not to pay for the “immense value they receive on Google Play”.