EskomSePush app available again for download after suspension lifted for unvetted Covid content

Android users can now download the popular load-shedding app, EskomSePush, after it was reinstated on the Google Play Store.

The app was suspended from the platform this weekend. On social media, co-founder of the app Herman Maritz, shared a screenshot of an e-mail from Google, stating the app’s suspension and the reasoning behind it.

“The timing is painful because Google Ads now stopped working and when there is load-shedding it's the only time we make some money to keep the app running,” said Maritz.

However, after some digging to find out how to get the app back on Google Play Store, Maritz found out that the suspension was likely because of the User Generated Content feature, where EskomSePush users spammed the platform with “irrelevant content”.

Speaking to CapeTalk, EskomSePush co-founder Dan Wells said Google revealed that the app was actually suspended for sending Covid-19 data to its users without any authorisation from a government entity.

Wells said the app did not meet Google's criteria to share public health information.

“Google just said that our app has been suspended because we're misleading our customers on the Play Store. We appealed that and subsequently, we found out that we're not allowed to share the Covid-19 updates that were added into the app about a year ago,” he said.

The updated app was reinstated on the Google Play Store and Wells said they have reached out to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) about getting authorisation to use its Covid-19 data.

“Hopefully we can add that back because we've got a lot of users on the app that check the data every day,” he said.

On social media, many have shared how useful the app is, not only for load-shedding updates but also the country's Covid-19 stats.

Here is a snapshot of what was said.