Google has now targeted Techless by adding it to a list of parental control developers seemingly targeted by the Google Play Store.
Modeling the tactics of Apple, Google has been booting competitors out of the parental control space.
To our current customers, we sincerely apologize for this disruption in service that was beyond our control. We have done an exhaustive exploration of options and have decided to leave the Google Play Store at this time. We simply cannot depend on Google’s impersonal, haphazard, and political approval process.
And yes, this is political…
Screenshot of our rejection email for our sample SMS app which was a clone of Google’s SMS app.
Don’t believe us? We ran a test.
Techless submitted a new messaging app in the Play Store that used the exact same code as the default Android messaging app created by Google. It was rejected with a vague “policy violation.”
Double standard? 🤔
Healthy Disruption
The CEO’s of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook for US Federal Anti-trust Congressional Hearings.
This is a hot topic. If you watched the recent congressional antitrust hearings with the CEO’s of the “Gang of Four,” then you know that a large portion of the conversation was about parental controls. The hearing committee cried foul for many of the nefarious practices of big tech, including pulling rival apps off their digital shelves.
We’re not surprised by this move. We can assure you that we are in compliance with every published Google Play Store policy and best practice. Yet, we still face rejection.
THIS is why Techless exists:
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We want to empower parents, not private companies. We know you hold your kids’ wellbeing and safety close.
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We want to offer a safe alternative. People-first companies like Techless don’t profit from the Google search bar that is on your kids’ phones. But Google and the rest of the Big Four do. It’s in their interest to funnel traffic and advertising in one direction.
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We want to disrupt this pattern of abusing user data and safety—in this case, our children’s. We want to create a healthy disruption of big tech’s profit-first mindset for the sake of our families.
Another Brick in the Wall
Due to Google’s actions, Techless is unable to make new sales and has essentially “bricked” the phones of our existing customers.
Google knows that this type of “dead-in-the water” restriction can be a death sentence for an early-stage competitive startup (Apple followed this strategy and killed many of its competitors).
“This disruption has also ‘bricked’ the phones of our existing customers.”
Thankfully, Techless has strong investor support to weather the storm. Since we have been backed into a corner, we have no choice but to launch our own independent distribution platform.
🙌 To a Healthier Future…
To ensure rock-solid service in the future, we are excited to re-launch through Wisephone™.
Wisephone is the beloved KidsOS you know and love, preinstalled on a quality smartphone.
Despite these setbacks, the Techless team is excited about this new direction!
Our new platform has many improvements over our Google-hosted service:
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Software updates and bug fixes can be pushed immediately instead of waiting for Google’s two-week review period for minor changes.
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Drastic improvements in reliability—no Play Store “Screen of Death.” ☠️
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Setup time: Two minutes versus 30 minutes for KidsOS.
We appreciate your overwhelming support of Techless as we pave the way for healthy, addiction-free technology.
Live fully,
Chris Kaspar, Founder of Techless
