Google Play Store

There’s no arguing that Facebook made a massive blunder in the way it handled the Cambridge Analytica situation. It has caused many big names in many industries, ranging from tech to advertising, to pull out their support or chide the social networking giant. Apple, who has been painted as the poster boy for protecting customer privacy, naturally criticized Facebook’s behavior. But in explaining how Apple would have done it differently, Tim Cook pit the company’s practices and philosophy against those of more “open” app and content markets, like Android’s Google Play Store. But which strategy is the right one to take, especially in this day of rampant privacy violations? As you might expect, the answer isn’t clear-cut.

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The Android platform is open source (though more like open source dump) and there’s no way to close that door anymore. Google, however, has found a way around it through its oh so essential Google Play apps and services. While OEMs had to comply with Google’s rules and certification requirements to officially ship with these, some have found ways around that, usually by side-loading GApps, as the bundle is called, themselves or telling users how to do so. Now it seems that Google is closing the door on that method but users of custom ROMs need not be too worried because Google is surprisingly giving them a special pass.

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Google has added audiobooks to Google Play, offering cross-platform playback and voice control with the Google Assistant. Launching in 45 countries from today, the Google Play audiobooks will support nine different languages. Users with Android and iOS devices will be able to access them, though that's not all.

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Utility apps are a dime a dozen in Google Play Store, but if you’re not careful, you might install one that has some unwanted payload inside. That is the unfortunate situation that a few million Android users may have found themselves in after downloading and installing some random flashlight or utility app, which left them exposed to ads in inappropriate places. And their only fault is to have presumed that since the apps are from Google Play Store, they must be safe to install and use.

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Google has launched its 12 Days of Play sale on the Google Play Store, giving Android users nearly two weeks to get some app goods at a discount. The deal also slashes prices on other digital items, including subscriptions for other services like TuneIn's premium plan and HBO NOW. As the sale's name suggests, it'll be live for 12 days, ending on January 2, 2018. Here are some of the best deals you can get.

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While many companies announced their Black Friday deals last week, Google made us wait a little while longer. With the clock winding down, Google revealed the offers it will have on Black Friday today, and it might surprise you to learn that many of them revolve around Google Play. Sorry to say it, but if you were hoping to see discounts on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, there won't be much for you this year.

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The speculation around Google’s unified operating system for Android and Chrome OS have mostly died down again, just as the fervor around Android apps on Chrome has similarly lost steam. That doesn’t mean, however, that Google has forgotten about its promise, though. With the launch of its new Pixelbook Chromebook, questions about the versatility of these devices come up again. And by happenstance, Google seems to have gotten the ball rolling again, enabling full and stable Android app support for 17 more Chromebooks.

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Android Wear is not yet dead, even if you no longer see them on the Google Store. But, let's face it, it's not exactly the hottest thing in mobile right now, though neither are smartwatches in general. And while development of the platform continues, as seen by the latest Oreo-based beta, the rollout of features hasn't exactly been fast and frequent. That, however, might be changing soon, as Google will start to course new features to smartwatches via the Android Wear app on the Google Play Store.

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It seems almost too ironic that the Google Play Store has been secretly invaded by even more malware after it has promoted its Google Play Protect security platform for Android. Boasting of technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, Play Protect promises to protect Android users more thoroughly without having to increase manpower. Alas, it seems that another malware, named ExpensiveWall, has gotten past the Play Store’s security and this lapse is costing users a lot more than just peace of mind but actual money as well.

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There are pros and cons to the way Apple screens apps that go into its App Store and the way Google prefers to rely on automation to preserve the quality and security of Android apps. The latter methods is more efficient and more open to the hundreds of apps submitted to the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, that does mean that some less than innocent apps do slip in through the cracks. Case in point is a family of spyware collectively named “SonicSpy”, which was able to bypass Google’s automated bouncer, allowing infected apps to join the Google Play Store list, potentially infecting unsuspected Android users.

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Google plans to punish crash-prone Android apps with worse rankings in the Google Play Store, in an attempt to force developers to write more stable code. The move will see Google wield some machine intelligence along with human assessors onto the vast quantity of titles available in the Google Play download store, following persistent complaints by Android device users that much of what's in there can be flaky and dissatisfying. Just as in search, Google plans to hit the developers responsible where it hurts the most: visibility.

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If you go check out the Google Play Store right now, you might find that you have a special offer waiting for you. Google Play is handing out a credit to some of its users, which is certainly a pleasant surprise. Pleasant as it may be, only some users seem to be getting it, and even then, the credit isn't very much to begin with.

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