Posted by Suzanne Frey – VP, Product, Belief & Development for Android & Play

Understanding that you simply’re constructing on a protected, safe ecosystem is crucial for any app developer. We constantly put money into defending Android and Google Play, so hundreds of thousands of customers around the globe can belief the apps they obtain and you may construct thriving companies. And we’re devoted to repeatedly bettering our developer instruments to make world–class safety even simpler to implement.

Collectively, we’ve made Google Play one of many most secure and most safe platforms for builders and customers. Our partnership over the previous few years contains serving to you:

At the moment, we’re excited to share extra about how we’re making it simpler than ever for builders to construct protected apps, whereas additionally persevering with to strengthen our ecosystem’s safety in 2025 and past.

Making it simpler so that you can construct safer apps from the beginning

Google Play’s insurance policies are a essential element of guaranteeing a protected expertise for our shared customers. Play Console pre-review checks are an effective way to resolve sure coverage and compatibility points earlier than you submit your app for evaluation. We lately added the power to test privateness coverage hyperlinks and login credential necessities, and we’re launching even extra pre-review checks this yr that can assist you keep away from frequent coverage pitfalls.

That will help you keep away from coverage issues earlier than you submit apps for evaluation, we’ve been notifying you earlier about sure insurance policies related to your apps – beginning proper as you code in Android Studio. We at present notify builders by means of Android Studio about a number of key coverage areas, however this yr we’ll develop to a a lot wider vary of insurance policies.

Offering extra coverage help

Appearing in your suggestions, we’ve improved our coverage expertise to present you clearer updates, extra time for substantial adjustments, extra versatile necessities whereas nonetheless sustaining security requirements, and extra useful info with reside Q&A’s. Quickly, we’ll be attempting a brand new approach of speaking with you in Play Console so that you get info if you want it most. This yr, we’re investing in much more methods to get your suggestions, aid you perceive our insurance policies, navigate our Coverage Middle, and assist to repair points earlier than app submission by means of new options in Console and Android Studio.

We’re additionally increasing our widespread Google Play Developer Assist Group, which noticed 2.7 million visits final yr from builders trying to discover solutions to coverage questions, share data, and join with fellow builders. This yr, we’re planning to develop the neighborhood to incorporate extra languages, reminiscent of Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

Defending what you are promoting and customers from scams and assaults

The Play Integrity API is an important device to assist defend what you are promoting from abuse reminiscent of fraud, bots, dishonest, and knowledge theft. Builders are already utilizing our new app entry danger function in Play Integrity API to make over 500M each day checks for probably fraudulent or dangerous habits. The truth is, apps that use Play Integrity options to detect suspicious exercise are seeing an 80% drop in unauthorized utilization on common in comparison with different apps.

This yr, we’ll proceed to improve the Play Integrity API with stronger safety for much more customers. We lately improved the expertise that powers the API on all units working Android 13 (API stage 33) and above, making it sooner, extra dependable, and extra personal for customers. We additionally launched enhanced safety indicators that can assist you determine how a lot you belief the setting your app is working in, which we’ll mechanically roll out to all builders who use the API in Might. You may choose in now to begin utilizing the improved verdicts immediately.

We’ll be including new options later this yr that can assist you take care of rising threats, reminiscent of the power to re-identify abusive and dangerous units in a approach that additionally preserves consumer privateness. We’re additionally constructing extra instruments that can assist you information customers to repair points, like in the event that they want a safety replace or they’re utilizing a tampered model of your app.

Offering further validation in your app

For apps in choose classes, we provide badges that present an additional layer of validation and join customers with protected, high-quality, and helpful experiences. Constructing on the work of final yr’s “Authorities” badge, which helps customers determine official authorities apps, this yr we launched a “Verified” badge to assist customers uncover VPN apps that take further steps to show their dedication to safety. We’ll proceed to develop on this and add badges to extra app classes sooner or later.

Partnering to maintain children protected

Whether or not your app is particularly designed for teenagers or just attracts their consideration, there may be an added duty to make sure a protected and trusted expertise. We wish to companion with you to maintain children and teenagers protected on-line, and defend their privateness, and empower households. Along with Google Play’s Instructor Authorised program, Households insurance policies, and instruments like Prohibit Declared Minors setting throughout the Google Play Console, we’re constructing instruments like Credential Supervisor API, now in Beta for Digital IDs.

Strengthening the Android ecosystem

Along with serving to builders construct stronger, safer apps on Google Play, we stay dedicated to defending the broader Android ecosystem. Final yr, our investments in stronger privateness insurance policies, AI-powered risk detection and different safety measures prevented 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being revealed on Google Play. In contrast, our most up-to-date evaluation discovered over 50 instances extra Android malware from Web-sideloaded sources (like browsers and messaging apps) than on Google Play. This yr we’re engaged on methods to make it even tougher for malicious actors to cover or trick customers into dangerous installs, which won’t solely defend what you are promoting from fraud but in addition assist customers obtain your apps with confidence.

In the meantime, Google Play Shield is all the time evolving to fight new threats and defend customers from dangerous apps that may result in scams and fraud. As this can be a core a part of consumer security, we’re doing extra to maintain customers from being socially-engineered by scammers to show this off. First, Google Play Shield reside risk detection is increasing its safety to focus on malicious purposes that attempt to impersonate monetary apps. And our enhanced monetary fraud safety pilot has continued to develop after a profitable launch in choose international locations the place we noticed malware primarily based monetary fraud coming from Web-sideloaded sources. We’re planning to develop the pilot all through this yr to further international locations the place we now have seen increased ranges of malware-based monetary fraud.

We’re even working with different leaders throughout the {industry} to guard all customers, it doesn’t matter what machine they use or the place they obtain their apps. As a founding member of the App Protection Alliance, we’re working to ascertain and promote industry-wide safety requirements for cell and net purposes, in addition to cloud configurations. Not too long ago, the ADA launched Utility Safety Assessments (ASA) v1.0, which supplies clear steerage to builders on defending delicate knowledge and defending in opposition to cyber assaults to strengthen consumer belief.

What’s subsequent

Please hold the suggestions coming! We respect realizing what could make our builders’ experiences extra environment friendly whereas guaranteeing we preserve the very best requirements in app security. Thanks in your continued partnership in making Android and Google Play a protected, thriving platform for everybody.