Judge orders Google to ease third-party app store installs

A US judge has given Google one week to reduce friction in finding and installing third-party app stores on the Play Store after ruling the current process anticompetitive. The order stems from the company's 2025 settlement with Epic following the 2023 monopoly finding on app distribution.

Source:Engadget

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Judge orders Google to ease third-party app store installs

TL;DRAI · 60 sec read

A US District Court judge has ordered Google to make it easier for users to find and install alternative app stores within a week.

Judge James Donato finds anticompetitive friction in Google's approach. The company began distributing third-party app stores through its Play Store earlier this week. Donato, who oversaw Google's antitrust case with Epic, believes the current process introduces unnecessary anticompetitive friction.

The judge took issue with how Google presents third-party app stores in search results and the installation process from the Play Store.

Epic's lawyers reportedly demonstrated that entering the search term "store for apps" returned no results for app stores.

Epic's demo highlights flawed search results. Epic's lawyers reportedly demonstrated that entering the search term "store for apps" returned no results for app stores. Instead, it only showed results for physical stores like Walmart.

Even when users locate third-party app stores, they are not displayed in the normal list of search results. They appear buried under a banner for third-party app stores. "That is not acceptable, that has to be fixed. I want every possible variation that's even only 70 percent properly phrased," Donato said.

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Google's "View" button replaces standard "Install" option. The company replaced the normal "Install" button with a "View" button on the only third-party app store listed on the Play Store, Aptoide. Donato suggested this extra layer of menus discourages users from downloading it.

The company replaced the normal "Install" button with a "View" button on the only third-party app store listed on the Play Store, Aptoide.

In response to the judge's complaints, Google agreed to make changes. The company will implement them within the next week.

Changes stem from 2025 Epic settlement. Google first announced support for third-party app stores in March 2026. This forms one of several results from a settlement reached with Epic near the end of 2025.

The settlement modified a remedy Donato issued in 2024. That remedy focused on loosening Google's control of the Play Store after the court found the company held a monopoly on app distribution in 2023. The judge's latest order indicates Google's initial implementation fell short.

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