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[APP] My apps banned from Play Store back online

Hi all,
I had a few apps on the Play Store some months ago, which got removed after Google decided to ban me from the Play Store for who knows what reason. Apparently the cause was the "sexy" nature of the apps, which still doesn't explain why my app got kicked out and so many apps that are much worse than mine still live there.
Well, anyway, I've decided to put them all back online on a website for users to download, so if you're interested in them feel free to download them and give me some feedback! All the apps have a brief descriptions and screenshots:
drfeelgoodsw . appspot . com (sorry, being a newbie no link allowed...)​
They're all apps to quickly access galleries of well known sexy and gossip websites (Front Magazine, The Sun Page 3, Egotastic and so on), and they all allow you to mark those galleries as favourites, save them on your SD card, etc. Nothing fancy but I hope you'll enjoy them nevertheless! If you have any suggestion on how to improve them, or just know some other website you'd like a similar app to be made for, I'd love to hear it from you

They must have been deleted again because nothing comes up in a search for them
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

sixfearstheseven said:
They must have been deleted again because nothing comes up in a search for them
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Sorry, I should have been clearer... by "back online" I actually meant they were available again on the web page I created for the purpose, not on the Play Store. I tried publishing them on Android PIT after they were removed from the Play Store, but that only lasted a few weeks, as apparently Android PIT only hosts apps that are also on the Play Store (quite silly of them, considering they're supposed to be an alternative market, but anyway...). I'm looking for other markets to publish the apps on, but until then the apps are available for download on the page I linked in my previous post. Those apps automatically look for updates using a JSON string on the same page, so updates should be easy to keep track of even without a Market in place.

No feedback? Either the apps are perfect the way they are, or they really suck!!

DrFeelgoodSW said:
No feedback? Either the apps are perfect the way they are, or they really suck!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, I suspect that people are getting a bit wary of sideloading apks when they could be malware. That's unfortunately a level of trust you lost when you were banned from the play store.

cyansmoker said:
Also, I suspect that people are getting a bit wary of sideloading apks when they could be malware. That's unfortunately a level of trust you lost when you were banned from the play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I hadn't thought about that...
Well, if that can help, I can post a screenshot of the mail from Google describing their exact reason why I got banned, which had nothing to do with malicious behaviour in my app. That said, anyone can just monitor the traffic my app generates, and see that, apart from an update check at the beginning (a GET to retrieve a JSON file), the only connections are towards the website each app is wrapping. I would be quite dumb to post malicious apps on an expert den of Androiders like XDA Developers anyway ehehe
Anyway, if that can help I ca post the complete source code of one of the apps to let people check that everything's fine. The core of the apps is mostly the same (activities, sqlite database, image cache, httpclient+jsoup), apart from differences related to their structure (e.g., Page3 has much more activities and choices than GQ), so that should help understand I'm not hijacking anything. Of course, you could object there is no guarantee the code I'm posting is exactly the one used to generate the APKs, as we'd be back to the trust issue at the beginning...
Well, if there's any way I convince those in doubt that I'm in good faith just let me know. About the Play Store, unfortunately there's no way I can get back there. In the mail I received, I was told I was banned and that I could not open a new account to publish the apps again, so that's out of the question. Android PIT only accepts apps that already are on the store, so no go either. I tried other markets like Androlib and SlideMe, but both failed to send me the confirmation mails I needed to confirm the account, so I'm wondering if they're even a viable solution for developers right now. I've already discarded the Amazon App Store option, as there's an annual fee the likes of which only Apple could conceive. Anyone knows more alternatives to publish apps?

[Tip]Using Play Store Without Play Services

I came across an interesting workaround today regarding the annoying refusal of Google Play Store to run when Google Play Services is not enabled. Running the following in a terminal will disable a component of Google Play Services that prevents the check when you start the Play Store:
Code:
pm disable com.google.android.gms/com.google.android.gms.recovery.RecoveryService
Note: I have not tested this enough to know if there are any significant drawbacks yet.
I can say that this will finally allow Google Play Services to be greenified (although other components such as Google Backup Transport seems to occasionally prevent greenification). In addition, it seems to stop all those logs from being written to /data/system/dropbox/, which I personally found to be very irritating, and found the alternative solution of setting the folder to read-only to be problematic.

Unfortunately it looks like google play services is necessary to allow you to download apps from the play store. I didn't realize it at first because the checkin service had already done its thing and I was free to use everything until it was time for the next checkin. I'll post here if I find out any way to overcome this, but it looks like Google Play Services is probably necessary for the Play Store to function.

bsimpson1 said:
Unfortunately it looks like google play services is necessary to allow you to download apps from the play store. I didn't realize it at first because the checkin service had already done its thing and I was free to use everything until it was time for the next checkin. I'll post here if I find out any way to overcome this, but it looks like Google Play Services is probably necessary for the Play Store to function.
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I tried and failed. There's no workaround. >.< Play Store needs Google Play Services in order to work properly.

sonyu said:
I tried and failed. There's no workaround. >.< Play Store needs Google Play Services in order to work properly.
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Yeah, there is absolutely no workaround.Play Services forms the core for the Google Playstore App.hence it can't function without it.

didito said:
Will try this when I get the root.
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Yea, go ahead.
...Just wanna let you guys know, there's a google thread, in which people talk/ed bout the purpose of .services. Turns out you really need that sh*t!XD
It's like a framework you simply need to have installed- just like @donniemceduns said. ^ ^
Off-topic ― now, I'm on CM11, with no Google Play installed, therefore no .services running. I simply installed an alternative market. ^ ^

didito said:
Wow.. Can you tell me what alternative market you installed?
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I tried them all — Mobogenie used to be ****ty, works fine now.
.apk link- DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK
Has all the apps from Google Play. No sign-in required.
I didn't like it; it's okay now. Use it as my primary market
If you find a better market, make sure to share a link!

didito said:
Thanks for the link. One question though. Lets say I install a kitkat rom. Can I remove all the Play Store services and their dependencies to improve my phone's performance? I plan to do this and let Mobilegenie be my only market. If this is possible how can I remove these services for good?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Didi,
Yea, sure.
You already know this, but for all the people who didn't bother to read the thread, removing .services will result in errors, whenever you try to open a google application(Play store for instance), which requires .services.
I used a kitkat ROM before- deleted all G-apps and installed my alternative market. No errors! ^ ^
As for Mobogenie, it's my primary market on CM11. It features autoupdates, even auto-install if your device is rooted. Sweet! :good:
UPDATE:
Oh, sorry @didito! Didn't notice the "how can I remove these services for good" part.
Install an Uninstaller app for rooted devices( Your device must be rooted).
In-app: Navigate to SYSTEM APPS & remove google play services and google play store.
If you're not sure which app to use, try "Root App Delete".

Question... Or, an observation anyway... Sorry to bring back an old thread but I've been wondering a similar thing
On my newer device, Samsung Galaxy s5 neo, play services are needed to run the play store. *however*, on my older device, Samsung captivate glide, play services are not required to open the store.
Both using stock but rooted software from Samsung.
Why would this be that it's possible on 1 but not the other?
Unless maybe because I have already debloated my older device, maybe removing other gapps is what it would take?
I don't have a data plan and therefore wouldn't use much if any of them (maps, etc)
It just has me wondering what has changed between the 2, and maybe even if I'd be able to use and run my other devices play store app, and then use disable service to stop it from fully updating?
Hmm... I know everyone else has likely given up long ago.... But I've been curious today.

[Q] Reliable alternative to Google Play: is there any?

Hi to all,
I just landed at the Android world. The phone I got is a really really Chinese "Huaexl" (at least the name reminding the better known Huawei XL) not including Google Play as defaut app store. Since I did not find a reliable way to get the Google Play app (Google website does not allow to download it) I tried to install Google Play Service which does nothing else but crash.
Google Play has a certain credibility in my opinion. My problem now is that I want to find a "reliable" way to download apps in case there is no reliable way to install it.
At the moment I'm using 1Mobile Market and Aptoide just to download some utility (such as some hardware monitor or QR code scanner and other basic app) but I would never use such stores for example when it comes to install some banking app
So, to make it short:
would you suggest any "reliable" way to install Google Play or any "reliable" alteriative?
would you suggest me to replace the current Android version and istall another one including Google Play by default?
Thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions.
PD: what about replacing Android with Ubuntu Touch?
PD2: according to the hardware monitor apps that I installed, such phone should be an optacore, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of ROM
PD3: dispite the camera options get till 13Mpx mode, the quality of the pictures is quite bad

You can download Google Play Store from Android Police
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23578570567716666
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

redndian said:
You can download Google Play Store from Android Police
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot. However, since I'm new in the Android world, I have never heard of Android Police. Could you please tell me more about them? I've been googling but found nothing about Android Police except what they themselves publish (blog, website, podcasts and so on).
Could you clean my doubts about their "realiability" ?
Sorry for insisting about this topic.
Thanks.
Regards.

Link already given for download. Android police is reliable source
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

maccabbeo said:
Thanks a lot. However, since I'm new in the Android world, I have never heard of Android Police. Could you please tell me more about them? I've been googling but found nothing about Android Police except what they themselves publish (blog, website, podcasts and so on).
Could you clean my doubts about their "realiability" ?
Sorry for insisting about this topic.
Thanks.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android Police is a well known blog and info site, loads of new info that's initially start off there and get spread. I can assure you that the website is very reliable. Nothing to worry about.

TheArc said:
Android Police is a well known blog and info site, loads of new info that's initially start off there and get spread. I can assure you that the website is very reliable. Nothing to worry about.
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Click to collapse
Ok, now I got your own opinion about it. Thanks a lot, that's a great start!
Is there any other reliable source talking about Android Police. For example any well known online newspaper or something?
Please try to understand my feelings. I want to be straight. Your feedback about your own personal feelings is important for me since I just don't know this world. My dubts will be completely cleaned (well, never be sure 100%) when I could see for example (just a stupid and unreal example) the New York Times telling about Android Police.
I mean, I wish a reliable source may have talked about it. Please tell me if any, I would really really appreciate it.
Thank you so much for your understanding and your patience.

redndian said:
You can download Google Play Store from Android Police
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately Google Play just crashes less than 1 second after launching it. Is there anything I could do?
Or shoud I just give up since it is impossible to install on phones not coming with it already installed by default, as I've been reading somewhere?
Thanks,
regards.

Xmodgames-Harmful app / copyright?(removed from google play)

Noob here , everyone!:silly:
i noticed that google play provided a notification to uninstall XmodGames lite
it is although available here www.xmodgames.com
i use it to hack mcpe
(explains why i am inquiring )
does this app is really dangerous?
or minecraft filed a notice against it?
please help
thanks !

kushfighter2 said:
Noob here , everyone!:silly:
i noticed that google play provided a notification to uninstall XmodGames lite
it is although available here www.xmodgames.com
i use it to hack mcpe
(explains why i am inquiring )
does this app is really dangerous?
or minecraft filed a notice against it?
please help
thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of apps has been removed from PlayStore or they will be never available on PlayStore, simply because google dont want them.
Look at NewPipe that is a simple Youtube client that allow you to download music, videos or streaming directly from youtube... It's not available on PlayStore but only on FDroid or Github. It does not contain malware it is opensource too .
This is just an example, Adaway is another example, ecc. There are a lot of apps that you cant find but this dont mean that all these apps are malware.
Simply there are rules, google is the owner of its store so it makes its decisions

Gold nugget found! Petal search - find apps

Morning Huawei users!!
I've been using a Huawei P40 Pro for just over two weeks, Been loving the device & I have found a little golden nugget of an app! Its called Petal Search : Find Apps So I had been using App Gallery, APK pure & Aptoid however I have managed to find a new app which basically hubs all of the apps into this one platform and allows downloads via this app without any real redirection for it, its also ad free. So from a set up/new user point of view this is definitely a key app , I would say its a must have! Especially as you don't need to go trawling the whole of the internet for links for up-to-date apps. :good:
Having used it now for the last couple of days and I've made the decision to remove both APK Pure and Aptoid, The Petal Search app is downloadable from Huawei App Gallery and that's it! You can even add it as a search bar widget on a home screen!
Setting it up is as straight forward as can be, Huawei App Gallery , Search for Petal Search, Install. Then once you're installed you are ready start searching.
Have you had any experience with Petal Search?
EAT.SLEEP.TECH.REPEAT

Really god Application
Hi,
I have actually been using this app and have to say it has one major benefit over More Apps. Its reach is very extensive. More Apps focused on most used apps and was a little limited. But Petal search allows for a bigger array of apps due to it pulling from major app platforms. 100% Recommend it
How have you found its overall functionality?

Petal Search is not available in some countries .. had to switch to United Kingdom
Edit ... just installed .. why is this actually any good? most apps just link to apkpure anyway .. might as well just use apkpure
now uninstalled.

linux2525 said:
Petal Search is not available in some countries .. had to switch to United Kingdom
Edit ... just installed .. why is this actually any good? most apps just link to apkpure anyway .. might as well just use apkpure
now uninstalled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thoughts here, Probably an employee made the opening post to promote something.
So far Aurora + ApkPure is the best combination for me.

linux2525 said:
Petal Search is not available in some countries .. had to switch to United Kingdom
Edit ... just installed .. why is this actually any good? most apps just link to apkpure anyway .. might as well just use apkpure
now uninstalled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in Wales so I have only been able to check my UK device, I found apk pure and other apps messy in the sense of chopping and changing between apps

EatSleepTechRepeat said:
messy in the sense of chopping and changing between apps
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I dont understand .. surely aurora or apkpure is easier than a third party directing (like petal) linking you back to apkpure .. apkpure is not much different to the google play store ... install app, wait for updates, install updates.

linux2525 said:
I dont understand .. surely aurora or apkpure is easier than a third party directing (like petal) linking you back to apkpure .. apkpure is not much different to the google play store ... install app, wait for updates, install updates.
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Click to collapse
I get where you are coming from. Personally i like Petal as it draws from multiple app stores giving larger reach. I think it comes down to personal preference, but still a cool app.

JazonX said:
Same thoughts here, Probably an employee made the opening post to promote something.
So far Aurora + ApkPure is the best combination for me.
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Click to collapse
I wish! would deffo have saved me money on buying the device! Like everyone else here im just a tech fan mate

JazonX said:
Same thoughts here, Probably an employee made the opening post to promote something.
So far Aurora + ApkPure is the best combination for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate - do u use a P40 phone at the moment?
Has Aurora and APK Pure got everything you need? Need to look at Petal to see if itll make life easier or harder!

Aside from the obvious such as Gmail, certain apps from my Mate 20 Pro won't clone over (slightly weird as they did the first time I copied over but after resetting and cloning again, they won't).
I can't find them using any of the appstores either. Would my best bet be to Google the app names and apk and download them? I guess the limitation of this would be that they may not be that recent and I'd have to do periodic manual searches for new updates?

Tmel14 said:
1. Would my best bet be to Google the app names and apk and download them?
2. I guess the limitation of this would be that they may not be that recent and I'd have to do periodic manual searches for new updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. you mean google for the apk of the following appstores ... aurora, apkpure, aptoide, amazon appstore, f-droid ... install of these apk and enjoy your new google play store .. they are all pretty much the same.
2. install updates as per your new replacement 'google play store' .. just use apkpure, aurora, aptoide, amazon appstore, f-droid ... I have them all installed and update my apps using a different appstore everyday just for fun.
go to update, select apps, hit update, install .. same as the google play store.

linux2525 said:
1. you mean google for the apk of the following appstores ... aurora, apkpure, aptoide, amazon appstore, f-droid ... install of these apk and enjoy your new google play store .. they are all pretty much the same.
2. install updates as per your new replacement 'google play store' .. just use apkpure, aurora, aptoide, amazon appstore, f-droid ... I have them all installed and update my apps using a different appstore everyday just for fun.
go to update, select apps, hit update, install .. same as the google play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I was typing that on my phone whilst trying to walk the dog and think it got a bit muddled! I meant for apps that don't clone over and then cannot be found in those appstores? Would I then search for that app's apk in my browser and try and install it that way? Is that safe?
Weirdly, there were some apps that cloned over absolutely fine from my Mate Pro 20 first time and then I reset my P40 Pro and did it again and suddenly a bunch of apps wouldn't clone over... could this be to do with the fact that first time I just cloned over everything whereas second time, I only cloned over some specific settings as opposed to all?

Tmel14 said:
I meant for apps that don't clone over and then cannot be found in those appstores? Would I then search for that app's apk in my browser and try and install it that way? Is that safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting .. maybe because they are paid apps perhaps, then they are not available on the appstores?
what apps?
you wont be likely to find an apk if it is a paid app ... but if you can find an apk for a paid app, then i guess it will be a hacked high risk option from a dodgy website.
seems like phone-clone trouble shooting & testing is your best option .. or a GMS install.

linux2525 said:
interesting .. maybe because they are paid apps perhaps, then they are not available on the appstores?
what apps?
you wont be likely to find an apk if it is a paid app ... but if you can find an apk for a paid app, then i guess it will be a hacked high risk option from a dodgy website.
seems like phone-clone trouble shooting & testing is your best option .. or a GMS install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just tried again but there are still a range of apps that won't copy over but it's weird as they did the first time I tried - they are not paid apps either. Some of them are betting apps and others are just general apps such as Tripadvisor, Uber, Citymapper...
Message is 'new phone cannot import this data'

Tmel14 said:
I've just tried again but there are still a range of apps that won't copy over but it's weird as they did the first time I tried - they are not paid apps either. Some of them are betting apps and others are just general apps such as Tripadvisor, Uber, Citymapper...
Message is 'new phone cannot import this data'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tripadvisor is on apkpure appstore, aurora appstore, etc .. why do you need to phone-clone?

linux2525 said:
Tripadvisor is on apkpure appstore, aurora appstore, etc .. why do you need to phone-clone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was more just an example as not all of those apps are available on those stores. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with location services as that appears to be a common denominator for a lot of those apps.

Tmel14 said:
That was more just an example as not all of those apps are available on those stores. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with location services as that appears to be a common denominator for a lot of those apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know the answer but all your x3 examples are on the apkpure appstore .. so who cares about the phone-clone? is it better on an appstore, so you can update easily.

Tmel14 said:
Aside from the obvious such as Gmail, certain apps from my Mate 20 Pro won't clone over (slightly weird as they did the first time I copied over but after resetting and cloning again, they won't).
I can't find them using any of the appstores either. Would my best bet be to Google the app names and apk and download them? I guess the limitation of this would be that they may not be that recent and I'd have to do periodic manual searches for new updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go on app gallery and download the petal app, ive just searched 'google' and theres a fair few on there that'll do it, diolch.

Thanks, it appears to be the betting apps (e.g. SkyBet that are a bit harder to find, or when found, don't work). I'm still confused as to why lots of the apps transferred over fine last time but won't now.
Going to reset the phone, install Micro-G, clone over my apps and see how I get on with the phone and notifications over the next couple of days and then decide whether I feel I need GMS in order to be able to enjoy the phone.
One thing I will say out of the box is that the battery does not seem as immense as my Mate Pro 20's was when I first bought that... although I suppose cloning everything over is probably quite heavy duty work.

ChrisHtube said:
I get where you are coming from. Personally i like Petal as it draws from multiple app stores giving larger reach. I think it comes down to personal preference, but still a cool app.
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Click to collapse
That's the point I was trying to get to, why have loads of different apps when you can have 1 hubbed app.