Google banned nearly 120,000 developer accounts in 2020

As we all know, the Google Play Store is not as secure and rigorous as the Apple App Store, but Google is still continuously improving the overall situation to bring a better software environment to users. To this end, Google now discloses the various methods it used to combat malicious applications and developers in 2020, and shares some accompanying statistics.

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In 2020, more than 100 billion installed apps were scanned by Play Protect every day. Play Protect was introduced to the Android operating system as early as 2017 to give users more insight into Android security. 2020 has been a particularly difficult year due to the rise of fake news, the US election, and people scrambling to find reliable information about COVID-19 and vaccines, and Google has taken several steps to ensure that apps don't harm users through misinformation.

One of the requirements is that apps that address sensitive use cases (such as displaying information about COVID-19 testing locations) should meet a high level of user data privacy and be approved by the government or medical organization. New guidelines have been introduced for apps that use "news" in their name to increase transparency for Play Store users. Finally, a dedicated team and process have been established to focus on the US election and prevent related abuse through the Play Store.

Google’s machine learning algorithms blocked more than 962,000 apps from being released on the Play Store in 2020 for violating certain policies. Similarly, 119,000 developer accounts were banned for malware and spam.

Other improvements include reviewing all apps that request background location access and forcing developers to inform users of the purpose of providing this information when they request it. Apps that do not follow these guidelines will be removed from the Play Store. Google plans to disclose more information about this process soon.

Finally, Google is also launching a new tab in the Play Store that includes "teacher-approved" apps with recommendations from academic experts and advisors.

Google said it will continue to invest in preventing malicious content from spreading on the Play Store and hopes to build and maintain trust with users and developers. Google pointed out that over the past year, its enforcement actions have led to increased developer satisfaction and an overall reduction in the number of complaints.

This article is reproduced from OSCHINA

Title of this article: Google banned nearly 120,000 developer accounts in 2020

Article URL: https://www.oschina.net/news/138739/google-banned-over-100-thousands-developers-in-2020