The European Union (EU) is said to have accelerated its probe into Google’s Android activities, with a suggestion that it may send out a formal complaint “within days”.

According to Bloomberg, companies involved have been given “as short as 24 hours” to remove confidential evidence from submissions. This is an indication that a formal statement of objections is on the way, according to “three people, who asked not to be named”.

It was reported earlier this month that the EU was “advancing” with its investigation, with it also making steps in a separate investigation into Google’s advertising business.

The watchdog is looking at whether Google’s Android activities, and particularly its demands for app support, had affected the competitive landscape. This includes whether the search giant was “requiring or incentivising” vendors to include its core titles in premium positions, at the expense of the alternatives.

Google has already been on the losing end of a similar investigation in Russia, involving rival search engine Yandex. As more traffic moved to mobile, Yandex saw its share shrink, due to the integration of Google search into Android devices.

When the EU first launched its probe in April last year, Google said that the availability of its products “helps manufacturers of Android devices compete with Apple, Microsoft and other mobile ecosystems that come preloaded with similar baseline apps”.