Alphabet Inc's Google has approved former U.S. President Donald Trump's social media app Truth Social for distribution in the Google Play Store, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates Truth Social, is expected to make the app available in the Play Store shortly, Google said.
TMTG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Truth Social, which launched in the United States in the Apple App Store in February, had not previously been available in the Play Store due to insufficient content moderation, according to a Google spokesperson in August. Google had expressed concerns to Truth Social about violations of its Play Store policies prohibiting content like physical threats and incitement to violence.
Without the Google and Apple stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download Truth Social.
Google's Play Store is the main way users of Android phones in the United States download apps. Android users can get apps through competing stores or download them directly from a website, though it often requires extra steps and security permissions. Truth Social has been available through those means even as Google blocked it from the Play Store.
Android phones comprise about 40% of the U.S. smartphone market.
Truth Social restored Trump's presence on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc's YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
TMTG has pledged to deliver an "engaging and censorship-free experience" on Truth Social, appealing to a base that feels its views around such hot-button topics such as the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been scrubbed from mainstream tech platforms.
News of Google's approval was first reported by Axios.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Google Play Store Will Soon Showcase a New Space for Apps to Show Content-Led Experiences: Report Samsung Good Lock App Reportedly Available on Google Play Store in Early Access Microsoft Finds Major Security Flaw ‘Dirty Stream’ in Android Apps Totalling Billions of Downloads Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV "This Gave A Seizure To...": Musk On Microsoft CEO's Update On Outage Joe Biden Is The Best Person To Take On Trump, Says His Campaign Wife Among Two Jailed For Life For Man's Murder In Gurugram: Cops 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.