Google has long promised to tackle the problem of low-quality apps in the Play Store, and its latest solution is an undercover rating system based on user reviews. Now, if an app gets a high number of negative reviews, Google will tip you off that you’re about to install a possibly “dodgy” app—one that does not fulfill its promises and is going to pester you with endless unsolicited ads.
“According to Google, every app goes through a ‘rigorous review process’ before being accepted into the Play Store.” However, the sheer volume of malfunctioning apps still flooding the catalog suggests that automatic filters may not always work as planned. For each genuinely useful app, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of clones under different names; all of which provide similar functionality but are filled with either ads or worse.
This new feature was discovered in the latest version of the Play Store app, which includes descriptions such as:
“This app is often uninstalled when compared to other similar apps in the Play Store.”
“Google Play has limited user data about this app.”
“This app has fewer active users than others on Play.”
In other words, if an app has recently been published in the Play Store or is with few installs compared to its complaints, Google will let you know about its possibly poor quality before you hit the install button. But then again, that does beg the question: why doesn’t Google just remove such low-quality or potentially harmful apps from the Play Store?
It’s worth noting that mentioned warnings will no longer appear as visible pop-up alerts when one tries to install any suspicious app; they are rather moved to the detail section of an app.
Just like a lazy cop, Google periodically announces solutions against low-quality or outright risky apps for users but without credible actions or delivering long-lasting effects. Those new warnings could be a part of the ‘Spam and Minimum Functionality policy update,’ which details how the company is actively working to rid the Play Store of defective apps in the same way it would for old or poorly updated ones. It still remains to be seen how these steps will help in the long run to improve app quality on the Play Store and save users from “dodgy” apps. Meanwhile, users are encouraged to pay attention to reviews and ratings of an app before downloading, and when problems arise, report them so that Google can help better the environment on the Play Store.
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