Google will raise the minimum quality requirements for Android apps and will remove those that do not meet expectations from the Play Store for the foreseeable future. These are software products that have “limited functionality and content,” according to Google’s updated spam policy.
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Starting August 31, the ban includes text-based applications, programs with only wallpapers, as well as products designed to literally do nothing. Previously, faulty applications that do not respond to user actions, do not install, malfunction, or otherwise demonstrate abnormal operation were banned from the Play Store.
The new requirements are added to “ensure that apps can meet the elevated standard of the Play catalog and attract users with quality functionality,” Google said. The company has previously made attempts to tighten control over the quality of applications in the Play Store. In 2023 alone, by its own admission, about 2.28 million applications were blocked on the platform for violating policies and threatening user safety. It also suspended 333,000 bad Google Play accounts for repeated serious policy violations, as well as concerns about fraud and malware.