Google Removes Leading Iranian Marketplace App From Its Store

The Iran-based marketplace app, Divar, has been removed from Google Play as sanctions hit e-commerce.

According to an email published by Divar, Google said the app has been removed to comply with the sanctions regime of the United States against Iran.

“Products on Google Play may be subject to United States’ and other jurisdictions’ export control and sanctions laws and regulations,” read Google’s email.

Divar had more than 10 million active users before being removed from Google Play.

The company's public relations published a statement on its website Thursday warning that the removal of its application will cause the spread of malware of the same name and will violate the rights of users.

Meanwhile, according to research, Cafe Bazaar, as one of the subsidiary companies of Hezardastan Holding that owns Divar, is one of the reasons for spreading Android malware in Iran.

Google had previously removed some other applications developed in Iran from its store. In November last year, 10 Iranian apps were removed from the Google Play store, including Divar’s business competitor “Sheipour”.