Google to developers: We take down your extension - because we can

summerheat · Jul 4, 2018

It has happened quite often before that Google removed add-ons from the Chrome Web Store without offering a plausible explanation why.

Now Wladimir Palant, the well-known ceator of AdBlock Plus, has been hit by such a sanction.

Today, I found this email from Google in my inbox:

We routinely review items in the Chrome Web Store for compliance with our Program policies to ensure a safe and trusted experience for our users. We recently found that your item, “Google search link fix,” with ID: cekfddagaicikmgoheekchngpadahmlf, did not comply with our Developer Program Policies. Your item did not comply with the following section of our policy:

We may remove your item if it has a blank description field, or missing icons or screenshots, and appears to be suspicious. Your item is still published, but is at risk of being removed from the Web Store.

Please make the above changes within 7 days in order to avoid removal.

Not sure why Google chose the wrong email address to contact me about this (the account is associated with another email address) but luckily this email found me. I opened the extension listing and the description is there, as is the icon. What’s missing is a screenshot, simply because creating one for an extension without a user interface isn’t trivial. No problem, spent a bit of time making something that will do to illustrate the principle.

And then I got another mail from Google, exactly 2 hours 30 minutes after the first one:

We have not received an update from you on your Google Chrome item, “Google search link fix,” with ID: cekfddagaicikmgoheekchngpadahmlf, item before the expiry of the warning period specified in our earlier email. Because your item continues to not comply with our policies stated in the previous email, it has now been removed from the Google Chrome Web Store.

I guess, Mountain View must be moving at extreme speeds, which is why time goes by way faster over there — relativity theory in action. Unfortunately, communication at near-light speeds is also problematic, which is likely why there is no way to ask questions about their reasoning. The only option is resubmitting, but:

Important Note: Repeated or egregious policy violations in the Chrome Web Store may result in your developer account being suspended or could lead to a ban from using the Chrome Web Store platform.

In other words: if I don’t understand what’s wrong with my extension, then I better stay away from the resubmission button. Or maybe my update with the new screenshot simply didn’t reach them yet and all I have to do is wait?
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And his conclusion:

Anyway, dear users of my Google search link fix extension. If you happen to use Google Chrome, I sincerely recommend switching to Mozilla Firefox. No, not only because of this simple extension of course. But Addons.Mozilla.Org policies happen to be enforced in a transparent way, and appealing is always possible. Mozilla also has a good track record of keeping out malicious extensions, something that cannot be said about Chrome Web Store (a recent example).
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vasa1 · Jul 4, 2018

Ouch! I use just a couple. I hope they don't fall foul of Google.

Brummelchen · Jul 4, 2018

i had it installed until 2017 i made changes. i am running "Remove Google Redirect in Google Results" (0.0.1) since then beside a redirect bypasser and "Undirect 1.3.0"

Brummelchen · Jul 27, 2022

Google did it again, they removed "Remove Google Redirect in Google Results" permanently last days.
i got message in Edge no re-enabling possible, chromium v106dev it was deactivated, but i can re-enable it. no message or action in Chromium 103. for edge i use the developer mode to insert it. i think as a script in violentmoney it will perform too.

nicolaasjan · Jul 27, 2022

Brummelchen said: ↑

Google did it again, they removed "Remove Google Redirect in Google Results" permanently last days.
i got message in Edge no re-enabling possible, chromium v106dev it was deactivated, but i can re-enable it. no message or action in Chromium 103. for edge i use the developer mode to insert it. i think as a script in violentmoney it will perform too.
Click to expand...

Maybe alternative from the Store:
Remove Google Redirection.

FWIW, I don't have such an extension or script and I still don't get these redirect links... uBO?

[Edit]
No, it's not uBO.
When I turn it of on google.com there are still no redirect links visible.

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