All changes for Play Store
Google is clearly on a mission to make Android more and more like the iPhone. We’ve seen numerous announcements of iPhone-like features in recent months, and Android 15 promises the most comprehensive set of privacy and security updates in a single release.
But one battleground where Android continues to lag the iPhone by some distance is app safety and security. Despite its best efforts, Google can’t seem to keep dangerous apps on the Play Store out of the headlines. And while its excellent Google Play Protect does a great job protecting many users, the threat is getting worse. But now Google seems to be more serious about clearing up the problem once and for all.
Yes, Android 15 will bring “live threat detection” to use the device’s AI to “analyze behavioral signals related to the use of sensitive permissions and interactions with other apps and services” and quickly flag perpetrators. But while this will reduce the time between an app misbehaving and it being flagged and removed, it doesn’t solve the problem of it getting into the Play Store in the first place.
Highlight the impending mass deletion of apps from the Play Store, which Google has just reviewed and confirmed is only six weeks away: “We’re updating our spam and minimum functionality policy to ensure apps meet heightened standards for the Play catalog and engage users through quality functionality and content user experiences.”
As of August 31, the type of apps in Google’s sights will include those “that are static without app-specific functionality, such as text-only apps or PDF files, apps with very little content and that do not provide an engaging user experience, for example apps with a wallpaper and apps that are designed to do nothing or have no function. Of which there are literally millions – some no doubt on your own phone.
Google is smart here by raising its quality threshold. We’ve seen numerous recent examples of pointless but seemingly harmless apps entering the Play Store and then either being used as conduits to other malware apps, or more recently used as evil twin baits for those alternatives.
Low-quality apps are set for a major purge
Assuming that most dangerous apps on the Play Store do not serve legitimate purposes, this is an excellent approach to tighten the web. As such, while purging apps is nothing new for Google, this time around feels different. There is a growing expectation that it will even hit some popular apps with millions of installs, and some legitimate apps that have a low quality mark will also fail to make the cut.
For developers, Google warns that apps must “provide a stable, responsive, and engaging user experience… Apps that crash, lack the basic degree of adequate utility as mobile apps, lack engaging content, or exhibit other inconsistent behavior with a functional and engaging user experience are not allowed on Google Play.”
These aren’t the only changes taking effect in the Play Store with improved security in mind. Google’s July 17 policy changes include improved protection against malware — including a mandate that developers must remove third-party code from vendors known to distribute malware, regardless of the code itself, as well as new rules for spyware prevention and stricter enforcement across the board.
None of this should come as a surprise to developers, and they have six weeks to consider whether or not to comply. Long gone are the days when Google encouraged third-party stores and users to sideload apps regardless of origin. We’re fast approaching Play getting as close to Apple’s App Store as we’re ever likely to see.
In the meantime, if you can’t get enough of these low-quality torches, horoscopes, PDF and QR code readers and quizzes, then maybe now is the time to stock up.
