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Google bans apps with deceptive subscription offers from the Play Store
Google has updated the Play Store's policies to ban apps that trick you into subscriptions.
Google is cracking down on apps with 'disruptive' ads
Google's Play Store is a pretty open platform. While that can be a good thing for users and app developers, some bad actors can take advantage, either through malware or obnoxious ads. Today, the company announced that it has removed nearly 600 apps from the Play Store -- and has banned them from its ad monetization platforms -- because they repeatedly violated Google's disruptive ads policy. Unfortunately, those apps have already been installed over 4.5 billion times, according to BuzzFeed News.
Google pulls alleged UAE spying app ToTok from the Play Store, again
From TikTok to FaceApp, it can be hard to tell when an app has nefarious intentions hidden behind its useful or buzzworthy features. The same goes for ToTok. The New York Times reported in December that the app is being used by the government of the United Arab Emirates to spy on its users. In response, Google removed ToTok from its Play Store while it investigated. (Apple removed it from the App Store as well.) An updated version of the app reappeared on the Play Store in early January, but it was removed again on February 14th, according to 9to5Google.
Android saw a 98 percent drop in apps asking for call and text data
Google has been clamping down on Android apps that abuse permissions, and that appears to have had a very tangible effect on the Play Store. As part of a larger piece explaining how Google continues to fight "bad apps," the company revealed that there was a 98 percent drop in the number of Play Store apps accessing call log and SMS data in 2019. Simply put, an October 2018 policy against unnecessary access had its intended effect. The remaining 2 percent are apps that really do require call and text data to perform their core tasks, according to Google.
Opera accused of offering predatory loans through Android apps (updated)
Opera has frequently tried to claim the moral high ground in the web browser world, but it's being accused of using its side projects for far less virtuous behavior. Hindenburg Research has published a report alleging that Opera is running four Android apps aimed at India, Kenya and Nigeria (CashBean, OKash, OPay and OPesa) that appear to be in direct violation of Google Play Store policies forbidding predatory loans and deceptive descriptions. The apps would claim to offer maximum annual percentage rate (APR) of 33 percent or less, but the actual rates were much higher, climbing to 438 percent in the case of OPesa. And while they publicly offered reasonable loan terms of 91 to 365 days, the real length was no more than 29 days (for OKash) and more often 15 days -- well under Google's 60-day minimum.
Google announces the top Play Store downloads of 2019
Google just revealed the year's most downloaded apps, movies, TV shows and books on the company's Play Store, as well as users' and editors' favorite picks. But with Call of Duty and Marvel hogging the charts, it doesn't feel like there are many surprises this year.
Stadia hits Google's Play Store ahead of its debut this month
Google is set to flip the switch on its Stadia game streaming service this month. While you can play through Chrome or your TV (with Chromecast Ultra), you'll also be able to run games like Destiny 2 and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey on some Pixel devices. To help you get ready for the big day on November 19th, Google has added the Stadia app to the Google Play Store.
Google's Play Pass app subscription service is now available
Subscription services have taken over music and movies, and now they're coming to games and apps too. In August we heard that Google was in the final stages of testing its new Android app subscription service called Play Pass, its equivalent of Apple Arcade. Today, Google's service has officially launched in the US and you can sign up now for unlimited access to a catalog of games and apps.
Google pulls 85 Android apps with particularly obnoxious adware
Google has removed 85 apps from the Google Play store after security researchers at Trend Micro found a particularly annoying adware scheme hiding inside.The adware, called AndroidOS_Hidenad.HRXH, was embedded in fully functioning photography and gaming apps that were installed over 8 million times. The apps exploited common Android functions to detect when the user unlocked their phone, triggering ads that were typically five minutes in length and were difficult to skip. They would also replace their icons on the home screen with a shortcut so that even if the user dragged what they thought was the app into the trash, the app would remain functioning on the phone.
Facebook is working on 'entirely new' apps and 'experiences'
Today, Facebook announced a New Product Experimentation (NPE) Team that will be responsible for developing new apps. The goal is to give people "entirely new experiences for building community" and to do so outside of Facebook's existing platforms. According to Facebook, it's a way to create small, focused apps and gauge users' interest. Some features may be rolled into Facebook's other products, but it's too soon to say for sure.
Facebook tries another pay-for-data market research app
Facebook is launching a new market research app to gather data from users' phones. The company wants to know which apps users have installed, the amount of time they spend on those apps and users' device and network types. In exchange, users will be compensated with an undisclosed amount of money. As you may remember, earlier this year, Facebook met criticism for secretly paying teenagers for access to their data. This appears to be the company's attempt at a new and improved market research app.
Android TV will benefit once Assistant is linked to live TV guide data
Remember Android TV? Google does, and not just so it can throw some unexpected advertisements on it. During the opening day of I/O 2019, Google revealed that over 80 percent of Android TV devices are already running version 7 or higher, and the company expects to have more that 60 percent on 8+ / Oreo by the end of the year -- even if it didn't discuss any upgrades on the way to software based on P or even Q. It's also counting over 1,000 streaming content providers on the platform these days, with more than 5,000 compatible apps.
Google bans developer with half a billion app downloads from Play Store
Google is banning a major Android developer DO Global and removing its apps from the Google Play Store after it was discovered the company was committing ad fraud. Nearly half of the developer's more than 100 apps have already been removed from Google's app marketplace and it's expected the rest will disappear in the coming days, according to BuzzFeed. Apps published by DO Global, which is in part owned by massive Chinese tech firm Baidu, have racked up more than 600 million downloads in the Play Store.
Google Play Store has a problem with violent games made for kids
Google's issues with disturbing child-oriented content extend beyond YouTube. Wired has found dozens of Android apps on the Play Store that were rated as safe for kids, but featured gruesome content. Mad Max Zombies was rated PEGI 3 but had you gunning down the undead with plenty of blood, while Baby Panda Dental Care had you pulling teeth in a fairly graphic fashion. There were also pay-to-play slot machines and apps with questionable uses of location tracking and device permissions.
'SimBad' Android adware was downloaded nearly 150 million times
As much as Google has done to keep malware out of the Play Store, some notable examples still get through. Google has pulled 210 apps from the store after Check Point researchers discovered that they were infected with the same strain of adware. Nicknamed "SimBad" based on the abundance of infected simulator games, the code hid in a bogus ad-serving platform and created a back door that could install rogue apps, direct users to scam websites and show other apps in stores. Check Point believes the apps' developers were tricked into using the platform.
Farming RPG ‘Stardew Valley’ finally comes to Android
About five months after the "delightful farming RPG Stardew Valley" came to iOS, it's ready for Android. The now three-year-old game will be available on the Google Play Store for $8 on March 14, meaning Android users will no longer need the Nintendo Switch to manage their virtual farms on the go.
Google Play may have the downloads, but App Store has the money, honey
Mobile analytics firm App Annie released figures today that show that even though the Google Play Store leads the iOS App Store in mobile application downloads by a whopping 60 percent margin, Apple's digital storefront is still where the money is. Despite lagging in total downloads, revenues generated by the iOS App Store were more than 70 percent higher than those from the Google Play Store. Both stores saw significant growth in 2014, with the App Store generating over $10 billion of revenue - that's 40 percent of the total revenue generated by the App Store since it first came online in mid-2008 - in just one year. App Annie also noted that there are three countries that make up the lion's share of app sales - the United States, Japan, and South Korea. And the numbers also showed that males are more likely than females to download games, while females do most of the downloading of social networkng and photo/video apps. The company's data is scoured from analytic code included in products from over 90 percent of the top 100 App Store publishers and from more than 700,000 applications.
Google Play closing in on Apple's store with 700K apps, says Bloomberg
Amidst all the Nexus excitement from yesterday, Google just hit the 700,000 Android app milestone in its Play Store, according to Bloomberg. That would put it near par with Apple, who announced just last month that its App Store hit that same figure. Like Cupertino's iOS shop, Play (which started off as the Android Market) has been peddling its robot wares since 2008, though the store opened several months after Apple's. Google may have been set to trumpet the new figure during the Nexus launch yesterday as they did last June at I/O, but a certain Sandy may have wrenched that plan -- so, we're still waiting for a formal announcement.
Google to Verizon Android users: carrier billing coming to Play store
If you're on Verizon and don't feel like racking up your plastic when you buy Play store apps or content, the carrier will soon give you the option of putting it on your phone bill, according to a recent Google tweet. Mountain View's had the option for a while now, with T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T having already jumped on the app-billing bandwagon, which left Verizon as the final major to climb aboard. Other than saying that you'll be able to bill apps and music that way, details are scant -- but considering Big Red's whopping Android lineup, it's about time.
Latest Google Play store update rolling out now, wishlists in tow
If you're indecisive about that pricey but hard-to-find new app, Google Play will now be offering another option in its store -- you can put it aside in a wishlist until you make up your mind. That new feature (which was espied in recent teardowns) is hitting devices now on a per-account basis, and if you have it (version 3.9.16) you'll notice a bookmark icon near the top right of the screen when you load up an app page. When you tap that icon, the software will be added to your wishlist, which can be scoped from the menu button with the "My Wishlist" setting, saving you the trouble of searching it out later. Depending on your Android device's settings, you may already have it or were notified of its availability -- if so, happy shopping.