Google Play
Google said today that it globally paused its experiment that aimed to allow new kinds of real-money games on the Play Store, citing the challenges that come with the lack…
Google Play cracks down on AI apps after circulation of apps for making deepfake nudes
Google says apps offering AI features will have to prevent the generation of restricted content.
The changes are designed to enhance the consumer experience of using Google Pay and make it a more competitive option against other payment methods.
Google takes aim at Android malware with an AI-powered live threat detection service
Google is preparing to launch a new system to help address the problem of malware on Android. Its new live threat detection service leverages Google Play Protect’s on-device AI to…
Google will now show labels in Play Store to denote official government apps
Today, after months of testing, Google is rolling out labels in the Play Store to denote official state and federal government apps in more than 14 countries. This new label…
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Your Android phone could have stalkerware — here’s how to remove it
This simple guide helps you identify and remove common consumer-grade spyware apps from your Android phone.
Google Play will show AI-powered FAQs and recent YouTube videos for games
Google announced a number of new features for Google Play listings for games, including AI-powered FAQs, displaying the latest YouTube videos, new immersive ad formats and support for native PC…
Google adds new developer fees as part of the Play Store’s DMA compliance plan
Google today is sharing more details about the fees that will accompany its plan to comply with Europe’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA), the new regulation aimed at increasing competition…
Google temporarily restores Indian firms’ apps on Play Store after regulatory intervention
Indian firms whose apps were delisted by Google last week have begrudgingly started to comply with Play Store billing rules to get their apps back on the store.
All the changes coming to Google Play and sideloading following $700M settlement
Google announced today that it will pay $700 million as a part of a settlement with the U.S. attorney general for a lawsuit over Google Play Store. Along with that,…
Apple and Google avoid naming ChatGPT as their ‘app of the year,’ picking AllTrails and Imprint instead
Both Apple and Google today announced their best apps and games of the year, with the hiking and biking companion AllTrails winning as Apple’s iPhone App of the Year in…
Google Play tightens up rules for Android app developers to require testing, increased app review
Google today is announcing strengthened protections for Android developers publishing apps to its Google Play store. The changes are a part of Google’s broader efforts at keeping low-quality and unsafe…
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Android’s new real-time app scanning aims to combat malicious sideloaded apps
Android’s in-built security engine Google Play Protect has a new feature that conducts a real-time analysis of an Android app’s code and blocks it from installing the app if it’s considered potentially harmful. Google announced in October the new real-time app scanning feature built into Google Play Protect that the…
Google Play’s policy update cracks down on ‘offensive’ AI apps, disruptive notifications
Google is taking aim at potentially problematic generative AI apps with a new policy, to be enforced starting early next year, that will require developers of Android applications published on…
Google pulls popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store
Google has removed popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store. The company confirmed the move to TechCrunch, saying that the app violated its user-generated content…
Google Play Points, the marketplace’s rewards program first introduced in 2019, is announcing its latest line-up of perks and deals at its second annual Google Play Live event this afternoon.…
Google boosts tablet apps’ visibility on Play Store following Pixel Tablet launch
Following this summer’s launch of the Google Pixel Tablet, the company says it’s updating its Google Play Store to better showcase apps designed for large-screen devices. The changes will help…
Google Play changes policy toward blockchain-based apps, opening door to tokenized digital assets, NFTs
Google has updated its mobile software marketplace policy to allow application developers to integrate digital assets like NFTs into their games through its Play app store, the company’s group product…
Google Play Games for PC is now rolling out to Europe and New Zealand
Google is now rolling out Google Play Games for PC Beta — a service that lets you play Android games on Windows — to users in Europe and New Zealand.…
Google Play developers will be able to push you to update your apps
In addition to its AI-powered Play Store updates, Google also introduced today several new security and privacy features for both app developers and Play Store users at its I/O developer…
Google tests a new ad slot on the Play Store ahead of its I/O developer conference
Google has been spotted testing a new Play Store ad slot ahead of its I/O developer conference in May. If rolled out publicly, the change could significantly expand the company’s…
Google launches an auto-archiving feature for Android apps to save space
On Monday, Google launched a new auto-archiving feature, which removes more than 60% of an unused app’s data from an Android phone to save storage space on the device. This…
Google follows Apple by introducing account deletion policy for Android apps
Google announced a new account deletion policy for Android apps today, which means that apps that offer account creation must have an easy way to delete the account as well.…
Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware
Several apps made by Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo were flagged as malicious and dangerous by Google.
Google Play Games for PC to roll out to Europe and Japan, add new titles including Garena Free Fire
In a keynote address at the annual Google for Game Developers Summit, Google said its Google Play Games for PC service, which brings Android games to Windows users, will roll…
This Week in Apps: ChatGPT app scammers, Instagram revamp and a consumer spending slowdown
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app economy in…
Google Play now lets children send purchase requests to guardians
Google already offers parents and guardians tools to restrict purchases their children make on Play Store using the family payment method. The company is now introducing an additional feature that…
BeReal and AI art tool Dream by WOMBO top Google Play’s list of best apps in 2022
Just a couple of days after Apple announced the best apps of 2022 in its annual App Store Awards, Google Play has now shared its own “best of” list. The…
Unified Payments Interface — commonly known as UPI — has become the most popular mobile payment route for P2P and merchant payments in India, and now Google’s stepping up with…
Google Play to pilot third-party billing in new markets, including US; Bumble joins Spotify as early tester
Google today announced it’s expanding its user choice billing pilot, which allows Android app developers to use other payment systems besides Google’s own. The program will now become available to…