Tasker, one of the most popular Android apps, has been removed from Google's Play Store. The developer has no idea why his app is no longer available. Tasker performs tasks and/or sets of actions based on e.g. time, date, location, event or a gesture in user-defined profiles or by clicking a button. It could e.g. turn on your internet connected thermostat when you pass a certain GPS coordinate. Or it could turn on internet connected light bulbs if your phone connects to your home's Wifi.
The app was especially popular amongst power users which is not strange as the app requires root users. Tasker exists since 2011 when also Android still was very basic. The developer has no idea why his app has been removed, he writes, "Google have removed it, as far as I can see mistakenly since they are complaining about something being in the manifest which is simply not there. In a couple of days, after I've got a few thousand complaint emails, they may have gotten round to reading the appeal."
A possible reason for the deletion of the app is that it violates the rule that apps should not interrupt battery optimisation processes. However the developer argues that the feature is not in the app on the Google Play Store. He did create such a feature in a beta version, but that's only in a beta which is not available on Google Play for that reason.
