27 December 2019 | AtoZ Markets – The MetaMask team announced on Twitter on December 26 that Google had banned the Metamask Ethereum Wallet App from the Google Play App Store. It also claimed that MetaMask violated Google’s financial services policies.
Why did Google ban Metamask Ethereum Wallet App?
Google reportedly cited its policy prohibiting cryptocurrency mining on mobile devices. The MetaMask team attempted to appeal Google’s decision to ban MetaMask from its app store to no avail, as Google quickly dismissed the appeal. MetaMask co-lead developer Dan Findlay said:
“I hope it was an honest mistake on the part of Google reviewers. But in combination with all of YouTube’s crypto bans, it makes me sick to see how Google is engaging in technology decentralization. If people accept this behavior from a mobile monopoly like Google, we may not deserve something better. “
The Google App Store has been particularly strict on crypto-based apps, especially those offering financial services. Google Play has hosted many legitimate apps but has also faced fakes and wallets that hijack keys and assets.
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MetaMask has Denied the Reason of Google's Ban
MetaMask has denied that its services relate to mining, although Google’s compliance teams are still reassessing the matter.
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_io) December 26, 2019
Mobile mining is a relatively little-known phenomenon in the field of cryptography. The only project that offers mobile mining is the Electroneum wallet. That is still available without restriction on Google Play. The wallet provides simulated mining, which does not overload the processor but redistributes a pool of already mined ETN coins.
For this reason, the removal of MetaMask seems suspicious. In 2019, the exact meaning of the term “mining” is unclear. Unlike the original use of electronics for hashing operations, there are now various forms of simulated mining.
The MetaMask wallet, which is linked to the Ethereum network, can be used, in theory, for a very widespread form of simulated “mining”. The active smart contract currently allows the creation of the HEX token, in exchange for ETH. This process is more like buying a token than mining, but it also conflicts with Google’s rules about offering crypto-enabled finance.
In theory, MetaMask offers a way to mine HEX, which is considered a scam activity. However, the MetaMask wallet is agnostic to its use cases, and now the team is fighting to get the wallet back into Google Play. The campaign also continued to gain community support.
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