Google blocked over a million dangerous apps last year, they never made it to Google Play
The company used an improved process, both manual and automatic, in order to achieve this. It blocked over a million policy-violating apps from ever getting published on the Google Play Store in 2021. To be more accurate, Google mentioned that the number was closer to 1.2 million. The company banned 190,000 developer accounts for malicious behavior. Do note that not all of them actually have been malicious, as mistakes were made due to machine learning. Some also corrected parts of apps that violated Google’s policies.
The company also removed around 500,000 developer accounts
Google mentioned that it also closed around 500,000 developer accounts that were either inactive or abandoned. In its blog post, Google also highlighted some other improvements in the security department that it made a while back. Back in May, Google announced its new Data safety section for Google Play. That section actually launched this week. The Policy and Programs section has also been added to Google Play Console, in order to assist developers. On top of that, Google continued to partner with SDK developers in order to improve app safety, limit how user data is shared, and improve lines of communication with app developers.
Pixel phone security enhancements have been highlighted as well
The company also highlighted some Pixel phone enhancements. The Security hub has been added to protect your phone, apps, Google Account, and passwords. Not only does it contain a ton of information, but it also provides recommendations to improve your security. Google Pixel phones can also use new machine learning models that improve the detection of malware in Google Play Protect, says the company. The detection also runs on your Pixels, and uses a privacy-preserving technology.
