Google pulls the popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store

A popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet has been removed by Google from the Play Store. According to the information, the company acknowledged the decision, stating that the app violates its user-generated content (UGC) policy.

A statement was not provided by the company, it however pointed to its policy which states, “Apps whose primary purpose is featuring objectionable UGC will be removed from Google Play.” The app was removed from the Google Play Store last month.

Chamet’s service was centered on live video streaming, and customers may pay to discreetly call the host of a stream. According to the Economic Times, Chamet and other applications featured numerous female streamers who were dancing to tunes or simply talking about their life, which helped them become popular. In addition to video conversations, viewers may send presents to these streamers via in-app payments.

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Chamet attempted to steer clear of provocative content by warning users not to broadcast “pornography, violence, vulgarity, juveniles, and other related situations.” However, the app was overflowing with suggestive information and advertisements.

Last month, YouTuber Caleb Friesen tweeted a lengthy thread regarding Chamet’s shady business tactics, beginning with the company’s barebones website with little information.

The #1 grossing app in the Indian app store disappeared this week. The secretive Chinese company behind it operated an 18+ UGC camgirl empire with impunity between 2020 and 2023. India was their most lucrative market. Here’s what I found at the bottom of the Chamet rabbit hole 🧵 pic.twitter.com/fZt5lMHszI

— Caleb Friesen (@caleb_friesen2) August 27, 2023

Chamet was a top-grossing app in multiple Google Play Store categories. And there’s evidence to back that up. According to data given by analytics firm Data.ai, users in India spent more than $13.4 million on Chamet between January and July. People in India spent $15.4 million on Chamet last year, with lifetime spending topping $38 million, according to the report. In the country, the app has received over 26 million lifetime downloads.

According to the firm’s research, while Chamet was the top-grossing app, other live video chat apps such as Azar, LiveU, and Honeycam Chat all made millions. Overall, users in India spent more than $46 million on this category of applications last year, which was more than the $42.2 million spent on another high-spending category of dating.

Google has not said whether it intends to take similar measures against other live video chat apps.