AnkiDroid Loses Google Play Donation Access
Google Play now blocks AnkiDroid from linking to its Open Collective donation page, cutting off the volunteer-maintained app's only funding stream. The error page says "There was an error while loading," but the real issue is more mundane and frustrating: Google's policy on country-specific distribution doesn't account for apps whose entire business model is "we accept donations, nothing else." I've been using AnkiDroid for years. It's the Android client for Anki, the spaced-repetition flashcard app that serious learners swear by. Unlike the desktop version or AnkiMobile, AnkiDroid is built entirely by volunteers — no company, no ads, no premium tiers. The Open Collective page isn't just a nice-to-have; it's how they pay for servers, development time, and basic maintenance. Remove that, and you're asking people to keep the lights on indefinitely for free. This isn't some startup pivoting to a new revenue model. It's a...