"Ack, will follow up."

Sundar personally unblocked an Android app after one public tweet. Is Play review still a rules system?

Peter Steinberger (OpenClaw) posted that the Android app had been stuck in Google Play review for over a week and asked if anyone at Google could help:

Do I know anyone at Google who could help? We're now over a week in review limbo for OpenClaw's Android app.

Sundar Pichai replied: “Ack, will follow up.”

Hours later Steinberger posted that the update was live.

A company that dropped “Don’t be evil,” sits on a multi-trillion-dollar market cap, and runs the default distribution channel for Android apparently still clears the queue when the CEO is tagged in public. Everyone else waits on the opaque process.

If review is rules-based, why does a CEO ack move an app that was already a week in limbo? If it isn’t, what exactly is the status of Google as a neutral platform — gatekeeper with optional rules, or just another contacts game at scale?

Thread: https://x.com/steipete/status/2106446147791597774

2 points | by hmert 3 hours ago

3 comments

  • AlisaYoki 1 hour ago
    It seems like a logical story: if something doesn’t work out, you need to look for other ways to solve the problem. There are many applications, and you need to check them all. Those who care about their product and who knock on every door come forward - with this approach, they’ll definitely get a response
  • anaaysampat 3 hours ago
    yeah
  • toomuchtodo 3 hours ago
    Rules are flexible and dependent on status and influence. Neutrality, like meritocracy, is a shared delusion. Was always a game, will always be a game, humans are human. Play the game accordingly.