“This Week in Apps: Coronavirus impacts app stores, Facebook sues mobile SDK maker, Apple kicks out a cloud gaming app - TechCrunch” plus 1 more

This Week in Apps: Coronavirus impacts app stores, Facebook sues mobile SDK maker, Apple kicks out a cloud gaming app - TechCrunch

Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:34 AM PST

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie's recently released "State of Mobile" annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren't just a way to pass idle hours — they're a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week, we'll look at the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the App Store, China's demand for App Store removals — and soon-to-be-removals, it seems. We're also talking about Facebook's lawsuit over a data-grabbing SDK, Tinder's new video series, the TSA ban on TikTok, Instagram's explanation for its lack of an iPad app and how Democratic presidential primary candidates are performing on mobile and social, among other things.

Headlines

Coronavirus concerns send Chinese ride-hailing apps crashing, games surging

One of the many economic fallouts related to COVID-19 coronavirus concerns is a significant decline in the usage of Chinese ride-hailing applications. According to Sensor Tower data, downloads of the three most popular apps — Hello, Didi and Dida — were down 75% year-over-year during the week of February 10 compared with the same time frame in 2019. Meanwhile, people staying home have been ordering food and groceries more often. Overall downloads of the top 10 apps in the food-ordering category increased by 68% from January 13 to the week of February 3.

Also on the rise are mobile games. According to a recent report by the FT, users in China downloaded a record number of games and apps as the virus outbreak confined people to their homes. More than 22 million downloads were registered in Apple's App Store in China during the week of February 2, according to App Annie, and average weekly downloads during the first two weeks of February were up 40% over the same time last year.

Meanwhile, Chinese tech giants, including Alibaba and Tencent, have been deploying health-rating systems to help authorities track the movements of millions of Chinese. Alibaba had been tapped to explore the rollout of a rating app to help the government control who can travel into and around the city. Along with Ant Financial, it worked to develop a smartphone-based rating system in conjunction with the government of Hangzhou. Tencent created a program for Shenzhen, reported The WSJ.

Top mobile game Plague Inc. pulled from China's App Store amid coronavirus outbreak

Plague Inc., a simulation game with more than 130 million players, was pulled from the Chinese App Store this week, a move that appears to be linked to the coronavirus outbreak. The company behind the game, Ndemic, posted a statement announcing that the game's content is now considered "illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China." Ndemic says it's trying to reach out to find out what, specifically, it could change in order to get the game back in China.

Virus game 'Plague' app pulled in China: Developer - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta Post

Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:03 PM PST

A popular game that allows players to create a virus and spread it worldwide has been pulled from Apple's App Store in China, its developer said, as the country battles a real-life epidemic.

Users based in China could not download "Plague Inc" on Friday after the cyberspace watchdog ordered its removal over "illegal" content, UK-based Ndemic Creations said.

Ndemic said it was not clear if the decision was linked to the deadly new coronavirus outbreak, which began in central China in December.

The contagion has killed more than 2,700 people and infected nearly 79,000 in mainland China.

While the number of new cases in China is declining, infections in other countries are gathering pace.

"We have a huge amount of respect for our Chinese players and are devastated that they are no longer able to access and play Plague Inc," Ndemic said.

The company said it was trying to contact the Cyberspace Administration "to understand their concerns and work with them to find a resolution."

AFP calls to the government agency went unanswered. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Plague Inc" was released in 2012 and has more than 130 million players, according to Ndemic.

Ndemic said the simulation game had previously been recognized as an educational tool by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And it was "working with major global health organisations to determine how we can best support their efforts to contain and control COVID-19," the company said.

Players took to China's Twitter-like Weibo platform to criticize the decision to pull the game.

"I've played Plague Inc for so long, I'm so angry! It taught us to wash hands frequently and protect ourselves... Honestly, I learned a lot about infectious diseases from this game," one wrote.

Another said Apple chief executive Tim Cook's "application to join the (Communist) Party has been submitted."

Apple has previously been accused of bowing to China's censors such as when it removed HKmap.live, an app used by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong to track police.

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