Google Might Be Gearing Up To Remove Millions of Play Store Apps Next Month (pcworld.com)

An anonymous reader shares a PCWorld report: Take a look at the digital shelves of the Google Play Store and you're likely to come across a bevy of so-called zombie apps. These apps typically take the form of a knock-off of a popular game or a sloppy utility that doesn't quite match its description, and they strategically turn up alongside legitimate apps, which makes them hard to spot if you're not doing a forensic analysis of reviews while you shop. Now it looks like something is finally being done about them. In a letter uncovered by The Next Web, Google has begun warning some developers that one or more of their apps has been flagged for a lack of an adequate privacy policy, a common problem among these sort of hastily published and subsequently ignored apps. In the message, Google reiterates its policy, which "requires developers to provide a valid privacy policy when the app requests or handles sensitive user information." Such permissions include camera, microphone, account, contacts, or phone access, which requires a transparent disclosure of how user data is handled, according to Google's requirements. It's unclear how many letters were sent out, but The Next Web estimates it could affect millions of apps.

Comments

Google is full of LUDDITES.

[Anonymous Coward]

Google is simply jealous that they aren't appy enough to know how to app apps, because only LUDDITES would want to remove appy app apps from app stores! Appdows 10 has the appiest apps and never has to remove apps, because only apps can app apps!

Apps!

Lack of privacy policy != shady app

[Anonymous Coward]

I just received such a mail last week about one of my apps (a music visualiser that uses the microphone). None of my apps have a privacy policy because none was required by Google up until now, and I couldn't be bothered (I'm a hobbyist app creator). Turns out that it's the law in some countries. If your app has access to personal information (such as contacts, camera, microphone, ...), or sends user information to a server somewhere, you MUST have a privacy policy that explains what you do with this information. All Google is doing now, is enforce that law. It has nothing to do with fighting knock-off apps or improving the quality of the apps in the store.