Posted by Bethel Otuteye, Senior Director, Product Administration, Android App Security
It’s our high precedence to maintain Android and Google Play protected for builders to construct profitable companies and supply high quality apps and video games to billions of customers world wide. Over the previous years, we’ve continued to share extra instruments to assist shield your apps, evolve our insurance policies to assist hold folks and their households protected and safe, and collaborate with you to construct extra non-public promoting expertise.
We all know it may be troublesome to maintain up with how rapidly the privateness and safety panorama evolves. So, we’ve been sharing extra product and coverage help, frequent updates about our work, and advance discover about modifications. As we did final 12 months, we’re sharing a preview of a few of our key priorities that we’re excited to collaborate with you on, on the behalf of our shared customers.
What we sit up for this 12 months
Constructing a extra privacy-friendly strategy to promoting
Final 12 months, we introduced the Privateness Sandbox on Android, an industry-wide initiative to lift the bar for consumer privateness and guarantee continued entry to free content material and providers. Constructing on our net efforts, we’re growing options for digital promoting that restrict consumer information sharing and do not depend on cross-app identifiers. We’re working intently with the {industry} to assemble suggestions and check these new applied sciences.
Now, we’re getting into the following part of this initiative: Rolling out the primary Beta for the Privateness Sandbox on Android to a small proportion of Android gadgets. With the Beta, customers and builders will have the ability to expertise and consider these new options in the actual world. See our developer steering on learn how to take part within the Beta and observe our Privateness Sandbox weblog for normal updates. We’ll proceed to work in collaboration with builders, publishers, regulators and extra as we navigate the transition to a extra non-public cell ecosystem.
Giving folks extra management over their information
Builders wish to construct shopper belief by showcasing accountable information practices in a approach that’s easy and simple to grasp. Over the previous few years, we’ve helped builders present extra transparency round if and the way they gather, share, and shield consumer information. This 12 months, we’ll proceed enhancing Google Play’s Knowledge security part with new options and insurance policies that goal to provide folks extra readability and management round deletion practices.
It’s also possible to improve your customers’ security by lowering the permissions you request for accessing customers’ information. Your app can typically leverage privacy-preserving strategies for fulfilling its use case. For instance, you need to use the picture picker intent to permit customers to pick particular person images to share together with your app slightly than requesting entry to all of the images on their system by way of runtime permissions. It’s also possible to begin testing privateness, safety, and transparency enhancements in our Android 14 Developer Preview 1. Keep tuned to our Android 14 and Google Play coverage updates, as we’ll share extra quickly.
Defending your apps from abuse and assaults
Builders have informed us that they need extra assist defending their enterprise, customers, and IP. So, we’ve continued enhancing Play Integrity API and automated integrity safety that can assist you higher detect and forestall dangers, and strengthen your anti-abuse technique. Builders who use these merchandise have seen a mean of over 50% discount in unauthorized entry of their apps and video games. Get began at the moment with the Play Integrity API. And, keep tuned for some highly-requested characteristic updates to integrity merchandise and expanded entry to automated integrity safety.
Builders have shared that they need extra assist deciding which SDKs are dependable and protected to make use of. So, we’ve created methods for SDK suppliers to instantly message you thru Play Console and Android Studio about vital points for particular SDK variations and learn how to repair SDK-related crashes. We’ve additionally launched Google Play SDK Index to provide you insights and utilization information for over 100 of the preferred business SDKs on Google Play. Quickly, we’ll share much more details about delicate permissions an SDK might use and whether or not particular SDK variations might violate Google Play coverage. By partnering with SDK suppliers to construct safer SDKs and providing you with better perception, we hope that can assist you and your customers keep away from disruptions and publicity to dangers.
We’re proud that along with builders, we have now made Google Play a trusted vacation spot for households to seek out academic and pleasant experiences for youths. Over the previous years, we’ve launched new options, expanded our applications, and advanced our insurance policies to enhance app expertise and strengthen privateness and safety protections. This 12 months, you’ll proceed to see improved methods for Google Play to assist households uncover nice apps and extra coverage updates to guard youngsters’ security. Keep up to date by way of our coverage e-mail updates and PolicyBytes movies.
We proceed to emphasise that builders and apps ought to solely gather and use information that’s required for his or her apps to operate and supply high quality consumer experiences. This 12 months, you’ll proceed to see new permission and coverage necessities. Keep up to date by way of our coverage e-mail updates and PolicyBytes movies.
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Fostering developer innovation, whereas holding customers protected
As a platform, we’re all the time seeking to perceive the challenges builders face and assist them carry progressive concepts to life. Whereas Google Play already hosts quite a lot of blockchain associated apps, we’ve more and more heard from builders who wish to introduce further web3 parts, together with the tokenization of digital property as NFTs, into their apps and video games. With any new expertise, we should steadiness innovation with our accountability to guard customers, which is why we’ve begun conversations with developer companions to evaluate how potential coverage modifications may responsibly help these alternatives. As all the time, partaking with builders is a necessary a part of how we evolve our platform and keep a protected, clear, and trusted expertise for our shared customers. We hope to have extra to share within the coming months.
Supplying you with a greater expertise with our insurance policies and Console
We’re repeatedly enhancing our coverage communication, help, and expertise. We’ve not too long ago launched a brand new Play Console characteristic to provide you extra flexibility and management over the app assessment course of. This 12 months, we’ll present much more options and help.
Builders have shared that they need a spot to ask questions and listen to from others. So in February, we opened up the Google Play Developer Neighborhood to all builders in English so you’ll be able to ask for recommendation and share greatest practices with fellow developer specialists. Builders have shared constructive suggestions about this new discussion board, and we welcome you to signal as much as be a Product Knowledgeable (choose Play Console as your product and English as your language).
We’re additionally increasing our pilot applications just like the Google Play Developer Helpline pilot, which offers direct coverage cellphone help. At this time, we’ve expanded the pilot to almost 60,000 in 26 nations (16,000 extra builders and 9 extra nations since November). We’ve accomplished almost 5,000 coverage help periods with builders and with a satisfaction rating of 90%.
And final, we’ve additionally been sending you extra notices and reminders about upcoming necessities to your Developer Console Inbox, so we attain you once you’re fascinated with updating your app. This 12 months, we’re additionally constructing a brand new characteristic that can assist you plan forward about declarations.
We’ll proceed to share updates with you all year long. Thanks in your partnership in holding Android and Google Play protected and reliable for everybody.
