The IT Nerd

It’s no secret that Apple has tight controls on what gets into the App Store. But Google doesn’t and that can lead to all sorts of problems. Fake apps, viruses and the like have popped up on Google Play which isn’t good for the average Android user. Google aims to change that according to this blog entry:

Several months ago, we began reviewing apps before they are published on Google Play to better protect the community and improve the app catalog. This new process involves a team of experts who are responsible for identifying violations of ourdeveloper policies earlier in the app lifecycle. We value the rapid innovation and iteration that is unique to Google Play, and will continue to help developers get their products to market within a matter of hours after submission, rather than days or weeks. In fact, there has been no noticeable change for developers during the rollout.

To assist in this effort and provide more transparency to developers, we’ve also rolled out improvements to the way we handle publishing status. Developers now have more insight into why apps are rejected or suspended, and they can easily fix and resubmit their apps for minor policy violations.

One thing to note is the timeframe that it takes for the review process. Google claims that apps that pass their filter will be available in a matter of “hours” which is way faster than the week or so that Apple takes to review an app. This of course assumes that the people at Google who are responsible for reviewing apps are actually doing a real review rather than doing a quick look over of the app. If they are, that’s good. Google also revealed that it would be working with the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI), and other organisations to assign age-based ratings to apps hosted in the Play Store. Developers are now being asked to log into the Android developer console to respond to a questionnaire about their products so that a rating can be assigned to the app. Both of these are signs that Google Play may finally be evolving so that they can be taken way more seriously. Something that some would argue is long overdue.

This entry was posted on March 19, 2015 at 9:32 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Android, Google. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.