The undersigned are users of Accountable2You or CovenantEyes who oppose Google's decision to remove them from the Play Store and would like to see this decision reversed.

We installed and configured these software products with sufficient understanding of what is tracked and who it will be visible to. We choose to use these products specifically for their ability to monitor our device and content usage. Both CovenantEyes and Accountable2You provide more than enough configurability, control, and transparency over who sees user data. Users have to manually add and opt in the people who would have access to see our data. In principle, it’s no different from choosing to share your location with another Google Maps user.

We were in no way coerced into giving false consent, but freely made this decision in accordance with our own sincerely held convictions.

We reject Galperin's statement, “You could argue that any app installed in a church setting is done in a coercive manner.”¹ No rationale is given (much less argued) for what makes a church inherently coercive, but not a rotary club, mosque, gym, girl scouts troop, temple, school, or any other social institution. Or perhaps the argument is that consent is only valid when the individual is isolated from any form of external community. Either way, it doesn't hold water. Respectfully, this is at best a careless remark, and at worst an unreasoned, prejudiced stance. This outlook ought not inform whether Google honors user consent.

It's entirely possible, if not probable, that a small percentage of Accountable2You and CovenantEyes users have seen the apps used in harmful ways that go against these companies' guidelines. But cherry picking those anecdotes omits the overwhelming majority of normal users whose digital well-being is greatly helped by these apps (such as the undersigned). It's also probable, indeed statistically certain, that a small percentage of Google Maps users are being stalked with the aid of location sharing, but that doesn't outweigh the vast majority of people who use location sharing consensually and constructively. In general, Google demonstrates the wisdom to tolerate a little bit of inherent risk and even harmful misuse, because of the overwhelming good that comes from a tool when used as intended.

But it is not apparent that any such analysis was done before Google made this decision. We believe that analysis is in order, and the signatures below should be taken into consideration.

We believe healthy community, friendship, and vulnerability exist, and they can and should help people aim for integrity and health in their digital lives.

While privacy on Google products is important, the ability to introduce very specific transparency to carefully chosen individuals is a perfectly legitimate part of a healthy tech ecosystem.

Many people who use these apps switched to the Android ecosystem from iOS because of how much sooner Android/Google Play provided a robust framework for apps like these. The Android platform still provides a significantly better experience for both developers and users for apps of these kinds when compared to iOS (which is still limited to unreliable and poorly performing VPN solutions).

Removing apps that fill this void from the Play Store damages their reputation and erects obstacles to their use. We believe this is unwarranted and opposed to Google's stated goal of supporting digital well-being.

Our hope is that this decision was based on a genuine unawareness of how these apps are normally used to great benefit, and that this petition can provide a fuller picture. We entreat the decision-makers at Google to reconsider. Thank you for your time and consideration.

1 https://www.wired.com/story/covenant-eyes-anti-porn-accountability-monitoring-apps/