GOOGLE IS CRACKING DOWN on rule-breakers in the Play Store and this time it's not malware it's worried about.

Apparently, buried in the terms and conditions for developers, there's a rule that says that anyone canvassing for donations needs to use the Google in-app purchase/billing system.

Popular traffic-sniffer Wireguard is an open source app available for multiple operating systems. It makes money by way of a donation button that lets users pay with Google Pay, PayPal and Stripe amongst others. It also allowed donations via Patreon and most controversially of all, via Bitcoin.

This week, the Android version was taken down for non-compliance with the rules, which for many was the first time they'd heard of this particular rule (after all, who reads T&C documents?).

Why Google is going after open-source developers particularly is a bit of a mystery, but in the wake of Wireguard being taken down, it emerged that another app, andOTP, had recently suffered the same fate for the same reason.

Google is yet to explain what's going on, and indeed why it is treating donation buttons as such a high priority right now. Yes, they shouldn't be there, but Google's proactivity feels a bit of an overreaction in the context of far more pernicious problems such as malware.

The question is now being raised as to whether this policy is hurting open source projects.

Of course, a donation button through Google's systems will solve the problem, but that means Google will take a thirty per cent commission, which doesn't sit well with many.

Given that Google remains locked in battle with Oracle over the open-source status of some Android code, it gives rise to the question of whether this is a bit of a Google pot calling the developer kettle black.

In the meantime, fans of Wireguard can relax. There's a new version of the app in the Play Store, minus the donate button. μ