Google confirms when and why it will remove 'sugar daddies' dating apps from its Play Store

August 16, 2021 4 min read

Although they have always existed under different names, in recent years the older man with high purchasing power who financially supports one or more young women in exchange for his company has been known as 'sugar daddy'. Technology made it easier to connect 'sugar babies' with mature looking for them, but the Google Play Store decided to stop and remove 'sugar daddies' dating apps from its catalog.

The technology giant chose to leave the chain that facilitates meetings of this nature, removing the so-called 'sugar dating' applications from the Google Play Store .

The veto of dating apps for 'sugar daddies' does not respond to a whim, but rather to the fact that they violate the new policies of the platform, which will take effect on September 1.

"We are updating the policy of inappropriate content to institute new restrictions on sexual content, which specifically prohibit compensated sexual relations (ie 'sugar dating')," they explain from Google .

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- Seeking (@seeking) July 25, 2021

This change is intended to ensure that the Google Play Store remains a respectful and safe platform. Therefore, apps that promote or host “sexual content and profanity” or that offer escort services or others that can be interpreted as intimate encounters in exchange for a reward will not be allowed either.

According to the Google statement , "Representations of sexual nudity or suggestive poses in which the person is naked, with minimal clothing or blurred" will also violate its new policies. However, the company owned by Alphabet Inc. clarifies that "content that contains nudity can be allowed if the main purpose is documentary, educational, artistic, scientific and is not free."

The new Google policies also prohibit apps related to hate speech , violence , sensitive events (natural disasters, atrocities, health crisis, conflict, death or other tragic event), bullying and harassment , dangerous products , tobacco , alcohol and marijuana . In addition, it contemplates the suspension of developer accounts that are abandoned or inactive after a year of inactivity and the implementation of new requirements in family policies on identifiers used in applications aimed at minors.

For this reason, as of September 1, all 'sugar daddy' apps and many more will be removed from the Google Play Store.

Although the 'sugar dating' apps will continue to be available in other application stores or on the official website of each one, Google's decision could cause platforms such as Apple's App Store to consider vetoing them as well, in order to avoid promoting practices as questionable as it is controversial.