Google has today informed the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of how it will be complying to the latter’s recent guidelines for Android & Play.
Alphabet, the company holding Google, said in a blog post that the move would mean “making major adjustments for India.”
Implementation of these changes across the ecosystem will be a complex process & will require significant work at our end &, in many cases, significant efforts from partners, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) & developers.
– Google
Here are some key changes Google proposed to make in India:
- OEMs will be able to license individual Google apps for pre-installation on their devices.
- Android users have always been able to customize their devices to suit their preferences. Indian users will now have the option to choose their default search engine via a choice screen that will soon start to appear when a user sets up a new Android smartphone or Tablet in India.
- Updating the Android compatibility requirements to introduce changes for partners to build non-compatible or forked variants.
- User choice billing will be available to all apps & games starting next month. Through user choice billing, developers can offer users the option to choose an alternative billing system alongside Google Play’s billing system when purchasing in-app digital content.
- Android has always supported the installation of apps from a variety of sources, including via sideloading, which involves app downloads directly from a developer’s website. We recently made changes to the Android installation flow and auto-updating capability for sideloaded apps and app stores while ensuring users understand the potential security risks.
- Expansion of Online resources such as Help Center articles & FAQs to provide more detail on services provided by Google Play & how & when Google Play’s service fee applies.
