Aptoide sues Google

Aptoide sued Google in San Francisco on April 14, accusing it of illegally controlling how Android apps are distributed and paid for in the United States. (reuters.com) The plaintiff is a Lisbon-based company that calls itself the world’s third-largest Android app store and focuses on mobile games. Aptoide said Google’s Play Store rules and billing requirements shut out smaller app stores and keep developers from using lower-cost alternatives. (reuters.com) The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop the challenged practices and asks for treble damages, the triple damages available under United States antitrust law. Google, a unit of Alphabet, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on April 14. (reuters.com) At the center of the case is a simple fight over gatekeeping: whether Android phone users and app developers can realistically use stores other than Google Play. Aptoide said it charges lower commissions and could put more pressure on Google’s prices and policies if Google’s restrictions were lifted. (reuters.com) The filing lands after courts and regulators spent years testing Google’s argument that Android is already open because users can install apps outside Google Play. In December 2023, a federal jury found Google had unlawfully maintained monopoly power in Android app distribution and Android in-app billing in Epic Games’ case against the company. (ca9.uscourts.gov) That Epic case kept moving after the verdict. In October 2024, the trial court entered a three-year injunction, and on July 31, 2025, the Ninth Circuit upheld both the jury’s verdict and the injunction’s core terms. (ca9.uscourts.gov) Google and Epic then said on November 5, 2025, that they had reached a comprehensive settlement over Android app store rules. Reports on the filing said Google agreed to proposed changes aimed at expanding developer choice, lowering fees and allowing more competition, though the companies did not publicly disclose full terms. (cnbc.com) Aptoide has been fighting this battle in Europe for more than a decade. Reuters reported that it filed a separate complaint with European Union antitrust authorities in 2014, arguing that Google’s Android setup disadvantaged independent app stores. (reuters.com) Europe has already penalized Google over Android tying practices. In 2018, the European Commission fined Google 4.34 billion euros over restrictions tied to Android devices and app preinstallation, and the European Union’s General Court largely upheld that decision in 2022 while reducing the fine to 4.125 billion euros. (eur-lex.europa.eu) Aptoide told Reuters it had about 436,000 apps in its catalog and more than 200 million annual users by 2024. Its new case asks a United States court to treat Android app distribution and app billing rules as antitrust conduct, not just product design. (reuters.com)