Google bans 2.28m apps and 333k bad accounts on Google Play

Google has banned 2.28 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play in 2023. It has also banned 333K bad accounts from Google Play for violations such as confirmed malware and repeated severe policy violations.  

This comes as a result of Google’s investment in new and improved security features, policy updates, and advanced machine learning and app review processes, according to a statement by the tech giant. 

Together with investments in its review tooling and processes, Google identified bad actors and fraud rings and prevented 333K bad accounts from Play. 

Additionally, almost 200K app submissions were rejected or remediated to ensure proper use of sensitive permissions such as background location or SMS access 

In order to give users more control over their personal data, apps that enable app account creation now need to provide an option to initiate account and data deletion from within the app and online. To simplify the user experience, Google has also incorporated this as a feature within the Data Safety section of the Play Store.  

With each iteration of the Android operating system (including its robust set of APIs), a myriad of enhancements is introduced, aiming to elevate the user experience, bolster security protocols, and optimise the overall performance of the Android platform.

To safeguard customers, approximately 1.5 million applications that do not target the most recent APIs are no longer available in the Play Store to new users who have updated their devices to the latest Android version. 

Google is launching new security initiatives in 2024, including removing apps from Play that are not transparent about their privacy practices.  

Google has recently filed a lawsuit in federal court against two fraudsters who made multiple misrepresentations to upload fraudulent investment and crypto exchange apps on Play to scam users. This lawsuit is a critical step in holding these bad actors accountable and sending a clear message that Google will aggressively pursue those who seek to take advantage of its users.    

To help safeguard user privacy at scale, Google also previously partnered with SDK providers to limit sensitive data access and sharing, enhancing the privacy posture for over 31 SDKs impacting 790K+ apps.  

Google also significantly expanded the Google Play SDK Index, which now covers SDKs used in almost 6 million apps across the Android ecosystem. This valuable resource helps developers make better SDK choices, boosts app quality and minimises integration risks.

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