In recent years, Google’s Android development team has implemented improvements that make the Google Play Store more secure. Additional features will soon be available for app developers that should offer their apps and the store in which they are located more security and privacy.
Google has made security and privacy a priority for Google Play in recent years and has implemented a number of important management features to this end. This is to guarantee the security and privacy of the entire Android ecosystem as much as possible.
This includes tools that help app developers protect themselves against fraud, pre-review checks to solve policy and compliance issues at an early stage in the development cycle, and advanced detection functionality using AI.
This would mean that the Google Play Store would contain up to 50 times less malware than Android apps downloaded from other app stores.
More pre-review checks
The Android development team now wants to make it even easier to deliver safe apps to Google Play. More pre-review checks will be introduced to help developers understand Google Play policies. The number of policies for which Android Studio already issues warnings during the coding process will be expanded for this purpose.
The navigation in the Play Console’s Policy Center will also be expanded and new features in the Play Console and Android Studio will enable developers to solve problems before they offer apps in the app store.
Expansion of Play Integrity API features
In addition, Google’s Android development team is releasing updates for the Play Integrity API. This API helps developers use code safely and from other sources. As a result, developers are said to use up to 80 percent fewer unverified and unreliable sources.
Newly implemented API technology on all devices running Android 13 and higher that make apps faster, more reliable and more private, as well as improved security signals for the trustworthiness of the environments in which apps run, will be coming to all API users in May.
New features will also be available later this year that will allow app developers to use the API to better deal with emerging threats. Especially for the re-identification of abusive and high-risk devices, without compromising the privacy of end users. The Android team is also helping developers solve these problems.
Other improvements
Other new features that should help app developers make Google Play and the entire Android ecosystem safer include an expansion of the number of badges for apps in Google Play. These apps offer end users an extra layer of validation. For example, there is now a ‘Government’ badge for government applications and a ‘Verified’ badge for VPN apps.
Furthermore, Google Protect will get new security features to protect against fraudulent and malicious financial apps, more measures will be taken to specifically protect children against malicious apps and a beta program will be launched to better secure digital identities in apps within the Play Console.
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