NEW YORK — Alphabet Inc’s Google has approved former US President Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social for distribution in the Google Play Store, a company spokesperson said.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates Truth Social, is expected to make the app available in the Google Play Store shortly, Google said according to Reuters.
Truth Social, which launched in the United States in the Apple App Store in February, had not previously been available in the Google Play Store due to insufficient content moderation, according to a Google spokesperson in August.
Without the Google and Apple stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download Truth Social. Android phones comprise about 40% of the US 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 US 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.
