Google yanks torrent app ‘Transdroid’ from the Android Market

Transdroid, an app which lets those with Android-enabled smartphones search for and manage torrent downloads across several different clients, was pulled from the Android Market by Google for a violation likely stemming directly from that feature.

Eric Kok, Transdroid developer, alerted users about the abrupt removal at the app’s official site last week. The email he received from Google following the axing offered only the vague “[Transdroid] has been removed from Android Market due to a violation of the Developer Content Policy.” Kok sent a request to Google for more information, but has yet to receive one. However, he had a reasonable hunch Transdroid was pulled because of its more controversial features.

In an effort to have the app reinstated into the Android Market, Kok went to work tweaking it despite lacking knowledge of exactly what caused the ban in the first place. The result was an essentially neutered app that removed both RSS support and the torrent search feature. Kok sent the new and “improved” Transdroid on its way to Google HQ for official review with the following note:

Attached you will find an updated version of Transdroid. I kindly ask to consider reinstating Transdroid Torrent Manager on the Android Market by evaluating this new version. Since I have not received any details regarding the exact violations with the Android Market Content Policies, I have made the assumption that the violations applied to searching for media (as provides by internet sites and the now-removed Torrent Search application). This functionality has been removed.

As of press time, Kok has received no reply from the company. However, the developer is surprisingly understanding all things considered.

“Let me be clear that I am happy to build a version for the Android Market that does satisfy their policies and can still help thousands of happy BitTorrent users around the world,” Kok wrote. “Google is fully entitled to set rules for their own application market and I hope to yet again comply with these in the new stripped-down version.”

Transdroid has enjoyed a fair deal of success in the two years its been available explained Kok, citing the app’s 400,000 users and 4.6 review average. And while it’s no longer featured on the Android Market, Kok clarified it is still available for download at his site.

We’ll update this post as necessary. (via TorrentFreak)