Google is following the product policy lead taken by fellow American company Apple by removing Iranian smartphone applications from its online stores, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on September 9.

At the end of August, Apple said it was deleting Iranian iOS operating system apps from its App Stores because they fell foul of US economic sanctions. Google is now apparently taking the same line when it comes to Iranian Persian-language Android operating system apps stocked by its Google Play Stores. For instance, the Snapp ride-hailing application has already disappeared from the stores' online sales windows.

Both Google and Apple began offering hosting space for Iranian apps after the 2016 alteration of US sanctions imposed on Iran that followed the multilateral signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the JCPOA, or nuclear deal).

Unlike with Apple's iOS, Iran’s Android ecosystem has been entirely localised with several homegrown application stores offering their own versions of popular applications. The most popular is Café Bazaar, which is funded by European and Russian technology backers.

As occurred after the Apple removals, Iranian tech enthusiasts have expressed their outrage at the Google move on social media.

One person, going by the name of Amir Farsi, tweeted: “Google, why can Iranians not get [access] to Google Play and Android Messages, while you allow free apps to distribute in Iran.”

Apple has no official presence in Iran with the iPhone not legally available for sale in the country and no Iranian App Store in operation. Nevertheless, Iranians own millions of iPhones smuggled in from Dubai, Hong Kong and other locations.