Android ecosystem has evolved over the years, malware apps still
keep coming back to Google Play Store.
Sometimes just reposting an already detected malware app from a
newly created Play Store account, or using other developers’
existing accounts, is enough for ‘bad-faith’ developers to trick
the Play Store into distributing unsafe apps to Android users.
Since the mobile device platform is growing rapidly, every new
effort Google makes apparently comes with trade-offs.
For example, Google recently made some changes in its Play Store
policies and added new restriction in Android APIs that now makes
it mandatory for every new app to undergo rigorous security testing
and review
process[1] before appearing in the
Google Play Store.
These efforts also include:
Unfortunately, many developers are not happy with the process, and
handling of manually reviewed cases after the team of experts at
Google made false-positive malware and policy violation detections
and failed to timely respond developers on whether their apps meet
policy requirements.
“When we began enforcing these new SMS and Call Log policies, many
of you expressed frustration about the decision making process,”
Sameer Samat, VP of Product Management, Android & Google Play says
in a blog
post[2].
the company’s plan to adopt more detailed communication with
developers, explaining why a decision was made, as well as offering
improved and transparent evaluations and appeal process.
Google says the company is expanding its “team to help accelerate
the appeals process.”
Besides this, Google has also planned to spend more time in
reviewing Android apps by new developers before approving them to
go live in Google Play Store in an effort to avoid taking decisions
in error.
The review for an app from any new developer who doesn’t have a
proven track record with the tech giant will now take “days, not
weeks,” allowing the company to do “more thorough checks” before
approving apps to publish over the Play Store.
“While the vast majority of developers on Android are well-meaning,
some accounts are suspended for serious, repeated violation of
policies that protect our shared users,” Android developers say in
a blog post.
“While 99%+ of these suspension decisions are correct, we are
also very sensitive to how impactful it can be if your account has
been disabled in error.”
appeal any enforcement, which will be carefully reviewed by the
Android team. If the team discover that an error has been made, it
will restore the account.
References
- ^
review process
(thehackernews.com) - ^
blog post
(android-developers.googleblog.com)
Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHackersNews/~3/lnh6UoV0a0w/android-google-play-store.html