You know that sinking feeling. You find the perfect app. It’s free. It’s built by volunteers. It changes your life. You want to say thanks. You click the donation link. And then the trillion-dollar middleman says: “Not so fast.”
That’s not hypothetical. That’s AnkiDroid right now.
AnkiDroid is one of the greatest education apps on the planet—a flashcard powerhouse that helps millions learn languages, pass medical boards, and study law. It costs nothing. It’s maintained by a crew of volunteers who pour thousands of hours into it. They don’t ask for much—just a little support if you can spare it.
Google just slammed that door shut. Or more precisely, they’re forcing it closed with a crowbar labeled “billing policy.”
Last week, AnkiDroid’s developers announced in a GitHub issue that Google no longer allows them to link to an Open Collective donation page from the Play Store listing. The reason? Google determined that a user’s unsolicited donation to a 501(c)(6) non-profit is “in-app content” that must use Google Play Billing. And if you want to use Play Billing, Google takes a 15% to 30% cut.
Read that again. Google is taxing your relationship with a community project.
Ask yourself: should a company whose platform is built on open-source software be allowed to monetize the free labor of the open-source community? Google isn’t enforcing a rule. It’s asserting ownership over the financial relationship between users and developers.
Let’s demystify the jargon. AnkiDroid is a 501(c)(6) organization—a non-profit, though donations aren’t tax-deductible for the donor. Google’s policy says Play Billing “must not be used in cases where payments include… tax exempt donations.” The developers asked for clarification. They pointed out their status. And Google said: doesn’t matter. A donation button is a payment mechanism. We want our cut of it.
Not even for voluntary donations to a non-profit? Especially for those, apparently.
If you think this is new, think again. This is Google’s oldest move. In 2019, WireGuard—the gold-standard VPN—found itself ejected from the Play Store for the exact same reason: offering a donation link outside of Google’s billing system. They had to apologize to their supporters on Reddit, beg Google for mercy, and eventually re-list. The pattern is well-worn.
Now, here’s the twist no one’s talking about. The system Google is strangling is the same system that built Android in the first place. Android is open-source. Its kernel is Linux. Its graphics stack, its web engine, its security patches—all of it rests on the shoulders of unpaid, volunteer-driven open-source projects. Projects like AnkiDroid. Google is now extracting rent from the very ecosystem that gave it the foundation for its $2 trillion empire.
Think about what happens next. Open-source developers aren’t stupid. They see this. They know the platform is a predator. So what do they do?
They’ll leave. Or they’ll start asking why they should stay.
Android’s advantage was always the community. The apps. The breadth. But if the price of entry is a 30% tax on every expression of goodwill, the community starts to look elsewhere.
There is a better way. There are already alternatives that don’t pass through the toll booth. You can publish updates directly via GitHub. You can distribute apps over the open web as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). You can use alternative stores like F-Droid, where there’s no gatekeeper. The friction is real, but the consequence of staying is worse.
Stop giving your goodwill to a corporation that doesn’t need it. Redirect it to the people who actually build the things you love.
Here’s a harmless challenge: next time you find an open-source app that you use every day, skip the Play Store. Go to its website. Find its Open Collective or its GitHub Sponsors page. Donate directly. Not because Google is evil, but because if you don’t, you’re paying tribute to a king who did nothing to earn it. The king will notice when the tribute stops.
The question isn’t whether Google can do this. It can. The question is why we accept it as normal.
FAQ
Q: Why does Google care about donation links in apps?
A: Because it has decided that any in-app payment, including a voluntary donation, must flow through its billing system. That means Google takes 15-30% of every transaction, including money meant for an open-source project's survival. It's not a technical limitation—it's a strategic one.
Q: What can open-source developers do to avoid this tax?
A: They can migrate to other distribution channels like F-Droid or direct APK downloads, look into Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) which bypass app stores entirely, or encourage users to donate via web platforms like Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors where no middleman takes a cut. It's more work, but it's the only way to keep the money out of Google's hands.
Q: Is the situation really that bad? What about Apple's App Store?
A: Apple has done the exact same thing for years—if not worse. Google's move is notable because it betrays Android's open-source roots. But don't imagine there's a good guy in this fight. The real difference is that Apple never pretended to be open. Google is now showing us it always was the same species.