Google Play Brings Another Change With Mass App Removal In Just 5 Weeks
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Google’s mission to make Android more like the iPhone in terms of security and privacy continues. Android 15 promises to use on-device AI to alert users of malicious app activity in real time. And while the days of sideloading aren’t over yet, Google’s Play Store defenses have expanded to protect even that Wild West as best they can. And all of this is just a precursor to the biggest change of all: Google’s headline-grabbing mass removal of low-quality apps from the Play Store, which will begin on August 31, five weeks from now.
The latest update to the Play Store is a welcome acknowledgement of these security improvements, with Google confirming through its Chrome team that users who have enabled Play Protect for the Play Store will no longer see “file may be unsafe” warnings when using Chrome to download APKs from third-party stores. If Play Protect is enabled, users who have enabled Play Protect will no longer see “file may be unsafe” warnings when using Chrome to download APKs from third-party stores. not enabled, users will still see warnings in Chrome and a warning to enable Play Protect.
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As Android Authority reports, “[Chrome] Google will soon use the presence of Google Play Protect to decide whether to show the alert… While Play Protect initially only scanned new apps uploaded to Google Play by developers themselves or by users when they first sideloaded them, it was recently upgraded to perform some on-device app scans in real-time and will soon perform even deeper scans using on-device AI. Given these improvements to Play Protect, it’s no surprise that the Chrome team now considers the “file may be dangerous” warning unnecessary.
Google Play Protect isn’t a one-size-fits-all tool, which is why so many malicious apps still end up on the Play Store. But once malware is identified, it can scan for it again and again. That should tip the scales in Google’s favor, even if it’s harder than expected. But live monitoring of suspicious app behavior, including permissions, will be a major step forward.
But the main goal is to push users to think of the Play Store as their one-stop shop for apps — and more, according to the latest updates. Samsung just tightened its own default restrictions on devices to keep users away from third-party stores or direct downloads, and Google clearly intends to build a better wall around the Play Store this year.
According to Android AuthorityThe first part of this change to go live is the warning to enable Play Protect if it’s disabled; Google says the removal of the warning about harmful files will come later, but it’s “still likely to be pushed out in the near term.”
The decision to remove thousands of apps deemed to be of poor quality is primarily a matter of security and privacy. These types of meaningless apps either hide malware or are part of an attack chain that prepares a device for malware attack from another source, bypassing some of these protections.
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Google says the apps that will be flagged for removal include those “that are static and don’t have specific features, such as apps with only text or PDF files; apps with very little content that don’t provide a compelling user experience, such as apps with only a wallpaper; and apps that are designed to do nothing or have no function. This will have a huge impact on the Play Store, and users should prepare for it.”
And while many longtime Android users don’t like the idea of Google angling its operating system toward Apple, the reality is that Apple users are significantly better protected from malware than Android users. Google is catching up.
The days of Android’s Wild West truly seem to be over.
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