Google banned nearly 120,000 malicious developer in 2020
As we all know, the Google Play Store is not as strict as the Apple App Store in terms of security and review, but Google is still continuously improving the overall situation and bringing users a better software environment. To this end, Google has now disclosed various methods it uses to combat malicious applications and developers in 2020 and has shared some accompanying statistics.
In 2020, more than 100 billion installed applications will be scanned by Play Protect every day. Play Protect was introduced into the Android operating system as early as 2017 to let users know more about Android security. Due to the increasing number of fake news, the U.S. election, and people scrambling to find reliable information about COVID-19 and vaccines, 2020 is a particularly difficult year. Google has taken several measures to ensure that the application does not harm users through misinformation.
One of the requirements is that applications that handle sensitive use cases (such as displaying information about COVID-19 detection locations) should meet a high level of user data privacy and should be approved by the government or medical institution. New guidelines have been introduced for apps that are named “News” to increase transparency for Play Store users. Finally, a dedicated team and process were established to focus on the US election and prevent abuses related to the Play Store.
Google’s machine learning algorithms prevented more than 962,000 apps from being released on the Play Store in 2020 because they violated certain policies. Similarly, 119,000 malware and spam developer accounts were banned.
Other improvements include reviewing all applications that request location access in the background and forcing developers to inform users of the purpose of providing this approach when requesting this information. Apps that do not comply with these guidelines will be removed from the Play Store. Google plans to disclose more information about this process soon.
Via: Neowin
