Disciplining the developer.

The popularity of Android development can be judged by the fact that it has even become any platform for airing one’s political views using the amusing launch of “Angry Imran” this coming year; this is a game inspired by the highly popular Angry Birds, through which players can use a electronic Imran Khan to knock down famous political leaders. The developer-friendly nature of Android ensures that both fresh graduates and encountered developers are quickly jumping about the bandwagon to develop for smartphones and tablets powered by the popular mobile OS. With over the hundred million Android devices available and thousands of Apps being launched daily, industry for such apps is certainly not going away anytime soon.

Search engines Pain

Android has both been lauded and criticized because of its App model, which allows programmers to quickly build and release new applications, in comparison for you to Apple’s extremely strict approval procedure. Yet at the same time this free-for-all has caused malicious applications to slip over the cracks and infect users’ smartphones, much to their misery. Just recently, Android smartphones got taken over and become a spam botnet which would logon to the users’ Yahoo accounts and deliver spam, unbeknownst to the consumer. Android users also contribute to the problem as they often attempt to download pirate version of apps (which are malicious in nature) to avoid paying for legitimate apps authorized by the developers. The long list of malicious applications which has plagued the Google Play iphone app store since its launch is definitely a major problem for Search engines. Although a service was introduced not too long ago by Google to scan industry place for malicious applications, the challenge still remains.

Recently, as one of the major steps towards cleaning up Google Play, Google has introduced a whole new set of rules for programmers, which it hopes will make a better environment for developing mobile apps and assistance in identifying and removing suspicious apps on the marketplace. Developers have a 30-day deadline to adhere to this policy, or else their app may become removed. So it’s clear that Google just isn't kidding around.

No more Backup Cats

One of the major issues in Google Play has been that of copycat apps, where apps bearing names/icons much like popular apps, like Angry Wild birds or Temple Runner, are downloaded by users unknowingly and end up infecting their devices. To halt this practice, Google has stated that developers should ensure that their app is not pretending being someone else’s, and not bear a name or icon which is identical to someone else’s. All the apps and icons that are currently available will be reviewed, and those obtained in violation will be swiftly taken out. This is a welcome step to clear out a problem caused by unethical developers who exploit gullible users. However it should be interesting to discover how Google decides which applications to keep regarding two very similar sounding apps produced by two developers trying to prove their legitimacy!

Spamming Apps any no-no

Excessive spam can drive even essentially the most patient of users over your edge, so Google has outlined several key policy changes on how Apps should behave:

No far more Apps sending ads disguised because system notifications. Google finally can make it clear that developers are to never use this tactic, which spoils the consumer experience with extremely irritating pop-ins. Moreover, users are to be informed when ads are going to make changes, to discourage those apps that love to make unwanted shortcuts, toolbars etc. The developer/company will be held to blame for apps which spam ads in violation on this policy.

No more attempting to improve an application’s ratings via duplicated ratings, and making users rate a credit application multiple times.

No more inaccurate product descriptions, which are built to make the app climb in the relevancy ladder in search effects.

No more apps whose sole purpose should be to advertise or drive traffic to some specific website.

No more apps sending SMS, emails or messages without explicitly informing the consumer of what content is becoming sent and who the receiver is. This is a welcome change to something which has been abused by malicious apps at users’ cost during the past.

Privacy and security friendly apps

It may seem like any no-brainer, but apps that decrease the security amount of the device, or introduce vulnerabilities will no longer be allowed. Included are “malicious scripts”, “phishing apps” or maybe apps that download information through outside Google Play. Developers thinking about launching apps that disclose user data with no their explicit permission may become banned as another welcome phase by Google towards enhancing the privacy facets of Google Play.

Payment Policies

Apps that accept process payment transactions will be required to use Google’s own payment program. This will apply to payments which can be carried out with in-app purchases instead of for goods outside the apps. Interestingly enough, developers are also instructed to never mislead users, so if a casino game requires a purchase for the consumer to finish it, this would have to be informed right from the start.

Google’s new policies are any welcome step towards making Google Play a mature marketplace and finally reducing the challenge of malicious and spam-heavy apps that unethical developers often overflow it with. With Google Play now boasting a nearly equal amount of apps as Apple’s App Retail store, this is an excellent time for Google to spell out exactly what is expected from developers if they really want their apps to remain available. Developers who took advantage of Google’s lax policies during the past should take heed of these changes and commence complying, before they find themselves getting booted out of the marketplace!