Impact of Google In-App Purchase Enforcement Policy
KaTalk Update Suspension Measures
Third-Party App Market One Store Crowds In
KaTalk Daily Average Downloads
3-4 Times Higher Than Usual Over Past Three Days
Also Rises in App Search Rankings
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "I came here to avoid Google's unfair practices."
The 'national chat application (app)' KakaoTalk has been in conflict with Google over the in-app payment (using the app market's own payment system) issue, and it has been revealed that the third-party app market, One Store, is benefiting from this.
According to the industry on the 8th, the average daily downloads of the KakaoTalk app on One Store increased 3 to 4 times compared to the overall average between the 5th and 7th. The cumulative number of downloads also increased by about 5,000 from 14,107,000 on the 6th to 14,112,000 as of that day. In the app search rankings, 'KakaoTalk,' 'KakaoTalk Theme,' and 'Kakao' were included in the top 1 to 5 positions.
This occurred after KakaoTalk stopped updating due to Google's forced in-app payment policy. Google rejected the latest version review on the 30th of last month, preventing updates because KakaoTalk maintained web payments via outlinks within the app. Furthermore, criticism against Google spread as it became known that content usage prices increased due to the forced in-app payment. KakaoTalk explained that the price of 'Emoticon Plus' was raised by 16.3% from the previous 4,900 KRW per month to 5,700 KRW per month, as the forced in-app payment by Google imposed a commission rate of up to 30%, making the increase inevitable. Online communities responded, saying, "This is exactly the harm of monopoly."
Other media and content apps on One Store, such as Wave and AfreecaTV (online video services (OTT)), Naver Series (webtoons and web novels), and Melon (music streaming), have also recently shown similar trends with increased download numbers.
On the other hand, One Store emphasized 'coexistence' and introduced a policy in May to lower the commission rate for the media and content industry to 10%. However, the limited number of apps registered remains a challenge. When searching for Netflix, Watcha, TVING, KakaoPage, or Kakao Webtoon, a message appears directing users to the Google Play Store. An industry insider said, "It is observed that content developers avoid registering due to management issues and trying to stay in Google's good graces."
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