Removing apps from Google Play Store – now in 5 days

“There’s no question that Google Pixel and iPhone are almost equal when it comes to security,” says Android’s security chief. “For almost all threat models, they’re almost identical in terms of platform-level capabilities.”

Unfortunately for Google, that claim is now eight years old and no more true than it was then. But that could all change.

In 2016, the then Chief Security Officer at Android suggested in an interview with Vice that “Android’s open ecosystem will put it in a much better place.” How times have changed. That open ecosystem remains Android’s main vulnerability, but at least Google is finally getting close to slamming the door on a stable release.

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While Play Store malware is still a threat—much more so than Apple’s App Store—downloading apps from a third-party source is a bigger risk. Samsung is taking the lead in cracking down on third-party app stores and direct installs, and it’s easy to see why. Google’s ongoing security campaign in Singapore “blocked nearly 900,000 high-risk (third-party) app install attempts on over 200,000 devices” in less than six months.

Google has so far focused on expanding its Play Protect ecosystem to better protect devices from sideloaded apps as well as those from its own Play Store. The delayed introduction of AI-powered live threat detection in Android 15 will be the latest advancement in that approach. But it’s the massive changes to the Play Store itself that are more significant and could finally bring Android security closer to the iPhone.

In July, Google announced drastic changes to the Play Store, with the elimination of low-quality, poorly developed apps. This level of control is much more Apple-like than Google’s approach to date, but more importantly, it should eliminate most shell apps that either hide malware or bundle themselves with malware once installed on users’ devices.

“We’re updating our spam and minimal functionality policies,” the company warned app developers, “to ensure apps meet the elevated standards for the Play catalog and engage users with high-quality functionality and content user experiences.”

The changes will come into effect on August 31, just five days from now.

But there’s an ironic catch—and it’s a big one. Soon, Google will adopt this new way of thinking, and regulators could bring about its downfall.

A US federal judge has just warned of “significant changes… designed to punish the company” following a grand jury’s declaration last year that the Play Store is “an illegal monopoly that has harmed millions of consumers and app developers.” Meanwhile, the UK regulator has “closed its existing investigations into the Apple and Google app stores.” But that’s a temporary reprieve, as “new laws to regulate digital markets” are on the way.

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Google’s new approach to Play Store security is smart and long overdue. The constant promotion of Play Protect as a defense against rogue apps, and now this app purge, should condition users to see the Play Store as a safe bet. Samsung’s default sideloading blocking goes further. Apple’s explicit warnings that the forced opening of third-party app stores in Europe is a security risk for users do the same.

All of this raises a key question for regulators, tech giants, and users: what’s more important, security or a seemingly more open market for access to our phones. The very real fear is that you can’t have both, in which case tech ecosystems need to give users a reason to make the right choices despite the growing risks.

And in this context, we look forward to the coming months and to what extent Google’s threat to finally clean up the Play Store is truly stinging. How seriously Google is taking the removal of all these threats — we’ll see.