Methodology & FAQ

GoogleCensorship.org is a platform created to track and analyze app censorship in Google’s Play Store. It monitors app availability and provides insights into which apps have been restricted or removed, shedding light on Google’s content management practices globally. For more information, see the About Us section or contact us directly.

GoogleCensorship.org tracks censorship by using a combination of automated tools and user-driven tests to monitor app availability across Google’s Play Stores worldwide. Central to this process is our Play Store Monitor (PSM), a sophisticated web crawler that indexes all apps available in any of the countries and regions with a Play Store. The PSM continuously verifies the availability of these apps across multiple regions, checking for any changes in their status.

Our system conducts tens of thousands of daily tests to identify apps that have been removed or restricted. If an app is available in at least one Play Store but remains unavailable in one or more other Play Stores, the PSM will mark that app as unavailable in those regions. The results of these tests are recorded and displayed on GoogleCensorship.org, providing users with up-to-date information on app availability.

The data collected through this automated monitoring helps us identify instances of censorship, whether they are driven by local laws, corporate policies, or other factors. Additionally, users can contribute by testing specific apps themselves, further enriching our database and ensuring comprehensive coverage.

In summary, GoogleCensorship.org combines automated, large-scale testing with user participation to effectively monitor and document app availability, highlighting cases where censorship may be at play.

The Play Store Monitor (PSM) will report a detected change ("removed" or "restored") if an app has been tested at least 5 times over a period longer than 24 hours and if the results are consistent during this period. Tests include user-generated tests and those conducted automatically by the PSM.

To test an app’s availability, simply enter one of the following in the test bar (available on the homepage or Play Store Monitor Overview page):

•   The name of the app: If an auto-suggest matches what you are typing, click on it.
•   Keywords: If you don’t know the exact name of the app or are looking for certain topics or categories, just type any keyword and hit the "Test" button.
•   The app’s package name: If you enter the app’s package name (a unique identifier for apps on Google Play).
  Note: Package names can be found in an app’s URL on the Google Play Store webpage. For example, in the URL https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example.appname, the package name is com.example.appname.

No. Unfortunately, no algorithm could ever detect censorship that easily, as censorship is a human decision that is invisible in the binary realm of the World Wide Web. What the Play Store Monitor (PSM) does is detect if an app is available in one region but unavailable in others.

There are two main reasons for an app to be unavailable in one or several Play Stores (not in any particular order):

Google decided, for some reason, not to allow an app to be available in certain Play Stores. This includes, but is not limited to, censorship.

The app was only released on certain Play Stores by choice of its developer.

The above motives can also include situations that fall in between, for example:

A specific version of the app encountered issues that led to the removal of the app on one or a few specific Play Stores.

A technical issue in a given Play Store (i.e., on Google’s side and not the developer’s) occurred and is still ongoing after more than 24 hours, preventing access to the app.

In such cases, further research—something only humans can do—must be conducted to determine the cause of this unavailability.

Yes, GoogleCensorship.org allows users to suggest apps for monitoring. You can search for an app by name or keyword, and our system will test its availability in the selected regions. Your contributions help us expand our monitoring and improve the accuracy of our data.

If you spot any errors or discrepancies in our data, please contact us through the feedback form available on the site. We value your input and will investigate and correct any issues as quickly as possible.

Contact us and we’ll do our best to reply promptly.

Yes, you can export data as .CSV or .JSON files from both the Overview page and any country page.