In an attempt to boost confidence in its Play Store offerings, Google has
announced new rules designed to weed out misleading, low-quality apps from
its marketplace.
In an update published 4-29-21, the company announced new metadata policies
that will regulate how developers present their apps in the Play Store. The
rules, meant to drive more “meaningful downloads” for consumers, will take
effect later this year.
Google has often struggled with marketplace quality control. It’s not just
the rashes of malicious, trojanized apps that routinely crop up. The more
widespread problem is the issue of spammy apps, lesser quality “clone” apps
that are designed to look like legitimate ones, or apps that have low
functionality or just don’t do what they say they will do. In the past, the
company has gone to certain lengths to de-incentivize and eliminate sketchy
practices used to drive downloads and illegitimately boost reputation, though
the problem still obviously persists.
The newly announced rules seek to provide some dos and don’ts when it comes
to previewing assets—asking developers to provide “a clear and precise app
title and brand name” that is limited to 30 characters long. At the same
time, there is a list of assets that will no longer be tolerated. Caps lock?
Bad. Emojis: also bad. Emoticons and special characters will also be banned
or discouraged. Lots of exclamation points? It goes without saying that, as
the unfortunate “Crane: travel PLANNER!!” below shows, that sort of
enthusiasm will not be tolerated.
The rules also prohibit “keywords that imply store performance, promotion in
the icon, title and developer name,” meaning that apps shouldn’t advertise
deals or use cheap methods to incentivize downloads.
Basically, Google is telling developers to leave the used car dealership,
sign-spinning antics at home and be more straightforward with how they
present their products. This tactic will likely boost downloads for apps
that can rely on their pre-established brand reputation, while hopefully
shutting out apps that don’t actually have anything to offer consumers.
“App title, icon and developer name that do not meet the upcoming policies
will not be allowed on Google Play. You can expect more details about this
policy change, including enforcement start dates, later this year,” the
update states.
While the company doesn’t give a firm deadline for when these rules will
take effect, it says that the company will “start using these guidelines to
inform our recommendations starting in the second half of 2021.”
Credit: gizmodo.com
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