Google apps and Play Store.
Photo Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
With over 72 per cent share, Google's Android commands the lion's share of the global smartphone OS market. The Play Store houses millions of apps to cater to 3.9 billion plus Android phones worldwide.
This attracts the bad actors to target millions of naive people. While phone users are advised to be cautious while downloading third-party apps, Google has put in a lot of effort to weed out malware-laced apps from the Play Store.
In 2024, Google stopped more than 2.36 million app submissions for violating the company's user privacy policies. It also banned 158,000 plus app developer accounts that attempted to enrol fraudulent Android apps on the Play Store.
"To keep out bad actors, we have always used a combination of human security experts and the latest threat-detection technology. In 2024, we used Google’s advanced AI to improve our systems’ ability to proactively identify malware, enabling us to detect and block bad apps more effectively. It also helps us streamline review processes for developers with a proven track record of policy compliance," said the Android Security and Privacy Team.
Google has banned several app developer accounts who tried to submit bad apps to the Play Store.
Credit: Google
Google also noted that Play Store prevented 1.3 million apps from unnecessarily trying to access sensitive data. For instance, some clock apps and document scanners seek permission to view messages and even contact lists, which is never needed to deliver services such as alarms, reminders and scan pages of a book or documents.
The company also revealed that it has invested in sophisticated, real-time defence technology that promises to safeguard against scams, malware, and abusive apps.
These intelligent security measures help to keep users, user data, and devices safe, even if apps are installed from various sources with varying levels of security.
Recently, Google enhanced the Play Protect feature to protect users from falling prey to fraud. Even if the user unintentionally sideloads the app, it warns them to be wary of such apps. And, if it is on the blacklist, Google will ask the owner to remove it from the phone.
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