Google Play Store

Near the end of 2018, Epic Games made a lot of noise that criticized Valve's and Google's, but not Apple's, practice of taking a large chunk out of both direct app sales as well as in-app purchases or IAPs. This isn't really news, however, as the 30/70 revenue cut has long been in place and only now being questioned. Some apps and services have taken matters into their own hand and Tinder might be the straw that breaks the Google Play Store camel's back.

Continue Reading

Avast, a security company best known for its antivirus software, has announced that Google removed a number of stalking apps from the Google Play Store found by the security company. A total of seven stalking apps were found in the app store -- four on Tuesday and another three on Wednesday -- enabling anyone to stalk kids, partners, employees, and others who owned an Android phone without their knowledge or permission.

Continue Reading

A huge number of Android users have been tricked into downloading a fake Samsung firmware update app that claims it will update a phone's software, but in reality redirects users to an ad-filled website and predatory subscription plan. The app is still live on the Google Play Store as of July 5 at 8PM ET, though it will no doubt get removed in the near future.

Continue Reading

Google never misses a chance to talk about improved security on Android and, to some extent Chrome, especially when it means talking about AI and machine learning to no end. News after news of malicious apps getting into Google Play Store, however, almost throws all of that out the window. Google Play Store is supposed to be Android's most secure and safest source of apps but a new study shows that more than 2,000 of those apps are not only counterfeits but potentially harmful apps as well.

Continue Reading

It's probably nothing new by now whenever news about this or that malware getting into Google Play Store's automated "bouncer" but few have probably achieved the same mass reach as this one. Called BeiTaAd or BeitaPlugin, the particular strain of adware will perhaps go down in history for having taking great pains to hide its nature from security measures and being found in 238 unique apps. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that those apps were all made by the same Chinese company as well.

Continue Reading

As part of a number of changes to its Play Store policies, Google now requires developers to disclose the odds of getting loot box items before players purchase the boxes. The move follows growing backlash from consumers and public health officials who compare loot boxes to gambling, expressing concerns that some kids and vulnerable adults are engaging in unhealthy spending patterns related to these offerings.

Continue Reading

Mobile spending, as multiple headlines have told us throughout the years, is something that can quickly get out of hand. Google today is looking to do something about that by rolling out budgeting for the Google Play Store. With this new feature, you'll be able set a budget for mobile purchases and track how close you are to meeting that limit.

Continue Reading

While some apps on Google Play Store almost seem to stay there forever, there are a few that suddenly disappear without a trace. Some are barely noticeable but when a paid app or game from a major developer suddenly vanishes, users are naturally unhappy. The mysterious disappearance of Baldur's Gate II and Icewind Dale from the Google Play Store may have finally been solved but it actually underlies a silent problem happening behind the scenes of the Google Play Store.

Continue Reading

Google recently implemented stricter rules around reading SMS and call logs to prevent malicious apps from gaining access to those personal data. That policy, however, put apps like Tasker and Titanium Backup in limbo since they needed those permissions for valid but unsupported purposes. Google eventually loosened the restrictions a bit to allow the likes of Tasker to be exempted. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Titanium Backup but the story might not be so straightforward as it seems.

Continue Reading

Although Apple's iOS App Store is starting to show its holes, no thanks to Facebook and the whole Enterprise Certificate brouhaha, Google's Android counterpart has mostly been perceived has having too many holes for comfort. With a different set of standards and different methodology, Google Play Store, despite the canonical source of Android apps, has had so many lapses that weekly malware reports have become almost a joke. Google now reports how much of its security system has improved in 2018, which, to be fair, might be true. It still, however, might be below acceptable thresholds.

Continue Reading

Google removed more than two dozen camera apps from the Play Store today due to a variety of security issues. Many of these apps involved "beautification," artistic filters for images, and stickers, but all of them had one thing in common: anyone who downloaded them was left vulnerable to malicious ads, hidden icons, and other security problems.

Continue Reading

Epic Games is making rounds in headlines lately and not just because of games it publishes. It ended 2018 with some great news for gamers but bad news for Apple and Google. Actually, it’s bad news just for Google really. While it did not give out specifics, it reiterated what the game developer had already alluded to before. Its Epic Game Store isn’t going to stop at challenging the status quo in the PC gaming market. It’ll be taking its developer-centric cause to mobile but while its intentions are noble, it might do more harm than good in the long run.

Continue Reading