After a huge court battle with Epic, Google announced it would support third-party app stores back in March 2026. This was one of the results in the settlement the company reached with Epic late last year. But now a federal judge thinks Google is playing dirty again.
Google makes installing alternative app stores too hard
Google now distributes third-party app stores in the US, but the process of installing one is rather hard. | Image by Google
US District Court judge James Donato, the same judge who oversaw the whole Epic debacle, thinks Google is making it too hard for people to install alternative app stores. Judge Donato has given Google one week to alter the process.
That is not acceptable; that has to be fixed. I want every possible variation that's even only 70 percent properly phrased
- US District Court judge James Donato
The issue is the way Google is presenting third-party app stores when you search for them and the actual process for installing one. The Verge reports that Epic's lawyers demonstrated the process by trying to search the term "store for apps," which only turned up results for physical stores, such as Walmart.
Furthermore, the lawyers found that even if people somehow found an alternative app store, it's not displayed in the normal list of search results but placed under a special banner for third-party stores.
Would you install a third-party app store on your Android device?
Google replaced the "Install" with the "View" button
Aptoide is one of Google's biggest competitors when it comes to app stores. | Image by Aptoide
Another sneaky tactic the lawyers found was that apparently, Google has replaced the normal "Install" button with another one, reading "View." Judge Donato thinks that placing the alternative app stores behind layers and layers of actions and menus is discouraging people.
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The example shown to the judge concerns the only third-party app store on the Play Store, called Aptoide, a major competitor for people's app searches and digital attention.
Google is admitting guilt and promises to make changes
In response to all this, Google has agreed to make the necessary changes and implement them within a week.
It's not clear what these changes will be, but we assume a normal "Install" button for alternative app stores and not burying them too deep inside the search results.
Would you install a third-party app store if the process were easier?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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