Android Developer Blog: Google Play Notes: Keeping our platform secure
Posted by Jacqueline Hart, Director, Trusted Experiences, Developer Support
Hi,
With millions of Android apps to choose from, users are increasingly focusing on the privacy and security of the titles they download. That’s why it’s so important to build user trust through high-quality, enjoyable app experiences built on a secure foundation.
My name is Jacqueline Hart and I lead the team that helps developers navigate our policies. We are also responsible for reviewing apps on Google Play to ensure they are safe for users.
In this edition of Google Play Notes, I’d like to share how we’re working to improve your policy experience and how we’re helping to build user trust by highlighting your app’s approach to privacy and privacy. security.
Over the past few months, we’ve shared updates on our key privacy and security initiatives to help you prepare for changes and utilize new tools and resources, including improved data transparency and controls account in the Data Security section of your app and the new Android 14 feature. Today I’m happy to share the next phase of features, tools and updates we’ve been working on to ensure security and the reliability of our platform.
Give you a better political experience
A few months ago we announced that we were redraw it App Content Page in Google Play Console to clarify your pending tasks. We are now adding additional information to help you:
- Spot deadlines with a new timeline view for new and updated filings
- Understand why your application falls within the scope of a particular declaration
- Find relevant policy issues next to each statement, helping you identify and resolve issues faster.
Later this year, we plan to post not only existing filings, but also upcoming reporting requirements and deadlines to give you more time to plan.
We also welcome you critical information about third-party SDKsincluding a new opinion on Google Play SDK Index to help you make more informed decisions about which version of an SDK might cause your app to violate Google Play policies.
And now we’re bringing more critical information directly into Play Console. Previously, you could only learn about SDK policy issues affecting your apps through an inbox message or email. Later this year we will bring this information directly to you on the Policy status page so you can see all issues in one place and stay up to date with your app’s policy status.
We also facilitate find out if your application is impacted by our Target API Requirements, which requires you to build the latest versions of Android in order to use our latest security updates and platform improvements. Since the beginning of August, you may have seen information describing any potential impact to your application on the Policy status pageincluding resources to help you know what to do to stay compliant.
To provide you with further support, we are launching more ways to improve the experience. These include the new Developer Help Communitywhere you can ask your peers about everything from Play Console to the latest rule changes to Google Play Warning Removal Program, which helps eligible developers get certain warnings removed after completing related Play Academy training. We launched the program as a pilot last year and saw a successful reduction in repeat violations. So we are now making it available to all developers.
Build User Trust with Data Security
To help users have confidence in their downloads in sensitive app categories, we will soon add a new Play Store banner for the VPN app category to highlight the importance of reviewing an app’s Data Security section before installation.
If you are a VPN developer and would like to learn more about this feature, please submit this form.
Looking forward
Our team at Google is prioritizing new ways to give users even more confidence in the quality and security of the apps and games they download, making Google Play the most trusted app marketplace. This includes efforts like our new developer verification process for new Play Console accounts.
We have much more to come, but I’m excited to share these updates with you now and hope they help you continue to thrive on our platform. As always, thank you for partnering with us to make Google Play a safe and trustworthy platform.
Jacqueline Hart
