Google bans Ethereum’s dApp MetaMask

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Updated on Mar 11, 2020

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Google has taken action against Ethereum-based dApp, MetaMask, banning the dApp from its Play Store.
The company notified MetaMask that their app is violating Google's anti-mining app rule, which is a false accusation.
Meanwhile, a Reddit user known as lazaridiscom3 published a post stating that MetaMask's team is overwhelmed due to the lack of support from its parent firm, ConsenSys.

Google has been known for its caution regarding blockchain and cryptocurrencies for a while, now. The company banned crypto advertising some time ago, and many suspected that a similar fate might await other blockchain products.

Now, those fears seem to be coming true, as Google recently banned Android’s version of Ethereum-based wallet and dApp known as MetaMask from its Play Store. MetaMask was quick to announce the news on its Twitter, stating that Google allegedly banned their app for violations of financial services policy.

In the last week, the MetaMask Android client was suspended by the Google Play App Store @googleplaydev. They cited their policy that bans mining on mobile, which we don't. Appeal rejected. #ProtectWeb3.https://t.co/rfP4EbOAqv!?zippy_activeEl=cryptocurrencies%23cryptocurrencies
— MetaMask ???????? (@MetaMask) December 26, 2019

The rules that the app has supposedly violated, according to Google, include the prohibition of apps that allow crypto mining. However, the fact of the matter is that MetaMask doesn’t have crypto mining capabilities. The company even tried appealing to the decision, and Google rejected it quite swiftly.

MetaMask overwhelmed after losing support from ConsenSys

It is currently believed that the move came after one of MetaMask’s contributors made a reveal on Reddit, stating that the project is sidetracked by ConsenSys, which is its parent firm. The user posted the revelation under the name of lazaridiscom3, and he added that ConsenSys has stopped providing MetaMask with the necessary support. As a result, MetaMask’s team of 24 employees found itself rather overwhelmed.

Lazaridiscom3 continues to claim that it is impossible to keep following the development through the public issue-tracker due to the fact that MetaMask’s team is using an internal tracker and meetings. In other words, he accused MetaMask of compromising its decentralization and transparency.

He further added that it has a low-quality code and that it is full of ‘technical debt’ when it comes to architecture and code alike.

Google’s move against crypto and crypto-related content, services, apps, and alike, was also witnessed recently on YouTube — the world’s largest video platform, which Google owns. YouTube recently started taking down all crypto-related videos, including even well-established and trusted content creators, some of which were even banned.

However, when the move saw a massive backlash, YouTube stated that the entire action was an error and that they will return the content soon.