These apps are marketed explicitly to financially uplifted people, who usually pay their younger partners with gifts or money in return for favors from the younger individual, including maintaining a relationship. These platforms also indirectly promote young partners providing sexual favors in return for expensive gifts & money from their wealthy “Sugar Daddy.”
Play Store will now officially be against apps that offer these services or create a platform that hosts these services. As they are entirely against the entire concept of “providing sexual acts in exchange for compensation.” They were already against such apps, but they are condemning these dating apps directly with the new policy.
By 1st September, any app that will promote “Sugar Dating” will be wiped from Play Store’s database and immediately uninstalled from the users’ phones. Additionally, not just sugar dating apps but any dating app that might host sexual content on their applications will face the repercussions of the new and updated policy.
Additionally, Sugar dating and Sugar daddy apps are prevalent in India and have the highest usage of such apps. This can get problematic, as sugar dating has been compared with escort services by many experts. As the entire concept of providing company or sexual arrangements in return for monetary compensation is similar to the likes of escort services. Which also include a wealthy person asking for company or sexual favors from a much younger partner, and the younger partner is rewarded with money or gifts. Some apps that fall under this category and will get banned under this policy update include SDM, Spoil, Sugar Daddy, and Sugar Daddy.
After the latest policy update, Google has officially decided to end compensated sexual relationships on their platform, as they primarily target younger audiences, who are willing to provide those favors in return for money. And, if Google does not condemn it, they are indirectly promoting a practice that promotes sexual objectification. Hence, this blanket ban by Google would help them establish a proper stance against these apps. The policy will also introduce changes in the Device and Network Abuse Policy and Permission Policy.
