For those with GP accounts banned....
Hi,
I recently got banned from Google play. I started getting into wallpaper apps and was naive to think I would be ok. I had many apps, all making a nice sum of money, but the highest earners where Minnie mouse wallpapers and Mickey Mouse. I did have a disclaimer and mentioned fair use doctrine but Disney never liked it. Oddly, they only pulled Mickey Mouse, which took them over a month to notice - that was one strike. Then the very next day after uploading Battlefield 4 wallpapers got pulled. And that was me out...
FYI, Minnie mouse wallpapers brought me in $400 a month!. Mainly because there wasn't much competition (due to now realising Disney must of pulled any others!). All other apps where fine, maybe it was just a matter of time, annoying really. So from that Google also stopped me using my Google wallet, crazy really, what that has to do with anything I don't know. I havent tried adding another credit card yet so maybe I'll still be able to buy apps on my main account. From now on, my wallpaper apps will all be generic!.
But for the people who have given up on opening another account, the answer is simple. You can create another account in your partners/family members name. I have a joint account with my girlfriend, and used her card and details to open the new one up. I was accepted weeks back and since then have built up a good number of apps again.
I find Google strange, as many apps similar to mine are still available on app stores. I only use admob for advertising which is enough and also mobpartner for downloads. Maybe this will help someone get their GP account back.
I recently got banned from Google play. I started getting into wallpaper apps and was naive to think I would be ok. I had many apps, all making a nice sum of money, but the highest earners where Minnie mouse wallpapers and Mickey Mouse. I did have a disclaimer and mentioned fair use doctrine but Disney never liked it. Oddly, they only pulled Mickey Mouse, which took them over a month to notice - that was one strike. Then the very next day after uploading Battlefield 4 wallpapers got pulled. And that was me out...
FYI, Minnie mouse wallpapers brought me in $400 a month!. Mainly because there wasn't much competition (due to now realising Disney must of pulled any others!). All other apps where fine, maybe it was just a matter of time, annoying really. So from that Google also stopped me using my Google wallet, crazy really, what that has to do with anything I don't know. I havent tried adding another credit card yet so maybe I'll still be able to buy apps on my main account. From now on, my wallpaper apps will all be generic!.
But for the people who have given up on opening another account, the answer is simple. You can create another account in your partners/family members name. I have a joint account with my girlfriend, and used her card and details to open the new one up. I was accepted weeks back and since then have built up a good number of apps again.
I find Google strange, as many apps similar to mine are still available on app stores. I only use admob for advertising which is enough and also mobpartner for downloads. Maybe this will help someone get their GP account back.
Comments
A LOT of people make these kinds of wallpapers and even if a person understands that it's against TOS and violates copyrights, sometimes you can't understand, how can those apps stay on GP so long and how can they become so popular. So you might get tempted and think "let's give it a try".
Nothing stays on GP with "Mickey Mouse" in the title for long. Disney seems to be one of the most active companies in filing complaints, as far as I can tell.
You can buy wallpapers on DreamsTime.com - they are one of the most affordable stock photo services out there.
About getting a new account - that's good to know! I too would probably try to open a new account on my GF's name (different address), but there is no clear info, if Google tolerates this. They can certainly tell, that your Andromo ID is the same, your IP is the same, and probably many other things, that they can track. However, I heartily hope, that they don't mind it. Please let us know if your account remains active.
thanks @chewz ;did you change your IP? PC? how long have you been with the new account?
Good Luck with GP.
I made a new gmail account and registered my gfs card to open the account. Her account is registered to the same address as mine. Took 48 hours and then it was open.
With the bought account I had the option of choosing the country of origin and obviously chose the UK as I am from UK. Never had an issue, had it about 3 weeks.
Even if it was made in USA, I seriously doubt there would be problems anyway. Gmail may alert you to strange behaviour the first time you log in from a different country, but as long as you keep logging in from same country/ip area then it should be all good.
It's when you keep logging in from different areas multiple times everytime, that can lead to account being banned.
Although you can find plenty of public domain images for free. There's plenty of them too, especially if you're staying with generic non branded wallpaper apps. (underwater wallpapers, nature wallpapers, sunrise wallpapers etc etc)
although I'm sure hendrixs will know more about this than me
@f1_fan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royalty-free
You should be fine, but as chewz said, don't use Mickey Mouse in app title. However, you can use TM terms in app description, but do not overdo it, as people also got it trouble because of that. It's all in GP's TOS.