Breaking Up with Google Play: Why Conversations Is Now Free

The Conversations app is now free to download and use without Play Store fees.

Daniel Gultsch, the developer of the federated instant messaging client Conversations for Android, has announced that the app will no longer be sold on the Google Play Store. Gultsch, who has maintained the app as a business since 2014, cited numerous frustrations with Google's policies and processes, including arbitrary app rejections, long review times for updates, and difficulty in communicating with human support. He also expressed dissatisfaction with Google's 15% cut of app sales, amounting to over 1000 Euros annually, which he felt did not justify the lack of effective support. Gultsch has increasingly relied on grants and funding from entities like NLnet and the European Commission, securing income until at least 2029. Consequently, Conversations will now be freely available, with F-Droid becoming the primary distribution channel, a shift from his initial strategy of directing users to the paid Play Store version.

The decision by Daniel Gultsch to remove Conversations from the Google Play Store and offer it for free via F-Droid signifies a growing disillusionment among independent developers with the economics and operational friction of major app marketplaces. This move highlights a potential trend where developers with secure alternative funding, such as grants, may opt out of platforms that take significant revenue cuts and impose challenging, opaque review processes. This could lead to a more fragmented app ecosystem, with valuable applications becoming inaccessible or harder to discover for users accustomed to the convenience of centralized stores.

This departure from the Play Store suggests that the sustainability of niche or privacy-focused applications may increasingly depend on direct community support, open-source grants, and alternative distribution methods. For developers, it underscores the need to diversify revenue streams beyond platform sales and to build resilient distribution channels. For users, it may necessitate a greater awareness and adoption of alternative app stores like F-Droid, potentially impacting the ease of app discovery and updates, but also offering a more direct relationship with developers and a commitment to open standards.