Google is cracking down on subpar Android apps with plans for a massive purge of any deemed low quality. The tech giant is clearing out the Google Play Store of any apps that don’t meet tough new standards.
Google’s app store is thought to have more than 3 million apps in total. But some simply aren’t very good or useful. These sorts of apps aren’t security threats but may turn out to be slow, buggy, and crash. Google wants to purge them so there’s more top-quality content on the platform.
What Google Expects from Developers
In an update to developers, the firm said: “We’re updating the Spam and Minimum Functionality policy to ensure apps meet uplifted standards for the Play catalog and engage users through quality functionality and content user experiences. Apps should provide a stable, responsive, and engaging user experience. Apps that crash, do not have the basic degree of adequate utility as mobile apps, lack engaging content, or exhibit other behavior that is not consistent with a functional and engaging user experience are not allowed on Google Play. Apps with limited functionality and content will be banned.”
Implications for Users
Google has warned that the new rules will come into effect on August 31. This only applies to apps hosted on Google Play. Fear not, apps won’t start disappearing from your smartphone. This is all designed to get rid of those pesky pointless apps that do pretty much nothing from the Google Play Store. The aim is to ensure the Google Play Store is filled with good quality apps instead – quality over quantity as they say. But Google has no control over the apps already installed on your phone. If you have buggy or poor quality apps on your phone, it’s down to you to delete them yourself.
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