I created it back in 2011 or 2012.

It wasn't a gift card that personally motivated me to make this. It was credits from an online referral program I was gifted. I guarantee I did not read the fine print at that time.

I only created it because I had Google Play Credits that were gifted to me. I built an app to "convert" them to cash for myself. I had never built an app before. I was proud of it and tried to make it pretty and professional and useful for others, and used it as a learning experience. The listing on the Play Store was clear about what it was.

I had to answer questions about what the API was being used for when I signed up for Dwolla (an actual regulated money transference service). I answered honestly. They approved it.

The app sat unused with no downloads for years before someone on Reddit's `r/churning/` posted about it.

I was investigated and cooperated fully.

Edit: I just remembered, the bank I used for the transference did do KYC for all users who were sent funds. This makes it more like "money dirtying", since the account is tied directly to a real identity.

It was risky because I didn't actually receive any money from Google until about a month later.

It let users cash out their Google Play Credits for real cash, which I automatically wired them.

Someone then hacked in to a major bookstore chain, stole piles of Google Play Gift cards, activated them using their access, and used my app to get cash for them.

Luckily, the whole thing blew up on me before I got in serious trouble, rightfully so, and the app was removed by Google, then an investigation followed. A ton of copycat apps popped up immediately after, then a few months months later Google announced their app review process.

Unfortunately it's bandwidth is limited to 20Mbps up, so web hosting isn't ideal. Down is actually slightly faster, but not by much.

They also restart the VM often, wiping everything but your home directory. And Docker doesn't work at all, and Muse can't find a way around it.

I use this Shopify feature as a buyer to get discount codes, as abandoned cart emails often come with them.

You're probably getting the "abandon cart" emails, which is legally considered a "transactional email", and doesn't require consent.