Delhi HC Asks Google To Consider Putting Milder Disclaimer While Downloading WinZO App

In WinZO’s recent petition, challenging Google’s search engine disclaimer policy, the Delhi High Court (HC) on Friday (24 March) asked tech behemoth Google to apprise the court by April 26 of its willingness to put a milder warning in its disclaimer for users, who download WinZO’s mobile app from the former’s search engine. 

An HC bench of justices Manmohan and Saurabh Banerjee told Google’s counsel to consider giving a milder warning to users while downloading WinZO from its search engine, according to an ET report.  

On this, Google said it only shows a disclaimer to users while installing third-party APK format files or apps (comprising WinZO) to prevent them from downloading any type of malware. 

“This type of file may harm your device. Do you want to keep WinZO app anyway?” Google’s disclaimer reads. 

Calling it an industry practice, Google said that various other internet browsers display similar warnings when users download third-party APK apps or files. 

“Are you (Google) sure it is a case of malware? You can say it is unverified. Harm may be a harsh word….You can say it is unverified and download it at your own risk,” the court said. 

Replying to this, Google’s Counsel said that WinZO could not dictate the tech giant on its policies. He also informed the court that Google displays such warnings or disclaimers not only in India but also across the globe. 

WinZO, in its defence, said that Google has not verified whether the former’s gaming app contains malware or not. It further added that nearly 42% of users refrain from downloading its app owing to Google’s warning.

 “If Google says it is not available in the Play Store, then it is okay to put out a disclaimer. But to say that it will harm your device, there is a negative connotation with the application that this is malware,” WinZO’s counsel said.

The development has come at a time when the Kalaari Capital-backed gaming platform has reported a net loss of  INR 120.59 Cr in FY22, up over 2X YoY, owing to its rising advertising expenses.

It is pertinent to note that WinZO had earlier approached Delhi HC, requesting to revoke Google’s disclaimer or warning against its app. However, in February this year, a Delhi HC judge dismissed its plea.

Earlier this month, the startup also rolled out the fourth edition of its ‘Game Developer Fund’, which will back gaming startups across the globe. The fourth fund has a corpus of $50 Mn. 

So far, WinZO has backed various seed and growth-stage startups, including Upskillz, IndiGG and Bombay Play.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.