Google Play threatens to pull AnkiDroid over 501(c)(6) donation-link dispute

AnkiDroid, the free open-source flashcard client for Android with more than 10 million installs, is facing removal from Google Play worldwide (excluding India and Russia) on September 11 unless it strips the donation link from its app. Google began rejecting the app’s updates on August 28, citing its payments policy, which bars apps from steering users to non-Google billing methods except for donations to validated tax-exempt organizations. The volunteer-run project directs its sole funding stream to Open Source Collective, its US-based fiscal host.

The dispute hinges on a narrow definition of “tax-exempt.” Open Source Collective holds an IRS determination letter confirming its status under section 501(c)(6), a genuinely tax-exempt classification, and the developers supplied that letter to Google. Reviewers nonetheless insisted the app “allows users to contribute donations to an organization that is not tax-exempt,” and Google’s own emails point to 501(c)(3) charities as the expected example. The practical difference is that 501(c)(6) donations aren’t tax-deductible for the donor, but Google has not explained why that disqualifies the organization under a policy that says only “tax-exempt,” and support has declined to clarify.

Rather than lose access to the majority of its users, the team is removing donation links from its Play Store build under protest and has asked the community to escalate the case internally at Google instead of flooding support channels. The episode is a pointer to how Play Store payment enforcement, apparently driven by rigid automated criteria, can cut off funding for independent open-source projects that depend on the platform for distribution.