The Google Play Store is reportedly blocking full-screen ads and VPN hijacking. The tech company is at the moment tracking down fake, misleading, and ad-filled android applications on its platform.
The Google Play Store Is Reportedly Blocking Full-Screen Ads
Google has just announced a new play store policy for android developers in an effort to track and crack down on full-screen ads, VPNs, and also fake apps that are impersonating true and genuine software.
The new policy will be coming into effect from September 30, 2022. The Play Store will now require developers to stop showing “Full-screen interstitial ads,” on its platform. For instance, those ads that show during gameplay or during an app’s loading screen. Additionally, full-screen ads that cannot be closed after 15 seconds of playing shall also be banned from the platform.
The new policy however will not include rewarded ads, such as in-app popups in which users can opt into in order to unlock in-app content, which will then continue to be permitted.
Google Play Store Developer Policies
There have been continued revisements to the FLAG_SECURE feature of the company. This is intended to help protect sensitive data on the platform by preventing or obscuring screenshots, and also disallowing screen sharing and broadcasting. Starting from November 1, 2022, apps will not be allowed to create a workaround for the flagged content.
Starting from the same date too, VPNs will also be subject to tighter rules and restrictions. Dedicated VPN apps on the platform will be allowed to “create a secure device-level tunnel to a remote server,” with however some exceptions.
Access to make use of the USE_EXACT_ALARM permission will also be refined to primarily include the apps that solely “requires precisely timed actions” (from July 31, 2022).
Google’s Blog Post about the News
In a blog post by Google announcing the news, the platform said that “We don’t allow apps that mislead users by impersonating someone else (e.g. another developer, company or entity) or another app… To ensure that Google Play remains a safe and respectful platform, we’ve created standards defining and prohibiting content that is harmful or inappropriate for our users.”
The company however recommends users to be checking the developer name which is displayed beneath the app title within the Play Store, that the logo matches the logo of the company, and that the name also appears to be genuine and not in any way misleading.
Other changes to the Google play store include removing misleading health information, safer and better child-friendly ads, better subscription management, and also further personal protection steps and features.
