Google has announced new security features coming to the Play Store and Android in 2025. The mechanism for detecting malicious apps will be improved, it will be more difficult for attackers to force users to install malware, the reliability of the Play Integrity API will be increased, and new app labels will appear.
Image source: android-developers.googleblog.com
Google Play Protect, a real-time threat detection system, is already in place, warning users about apps that collect sensitive data or track users without their consent, and analyzing app activity patterns. These features will be expanded to include attempts to detect malicious apps that pose as financial services clients, as well as those that are inactive or attempting to hide their activity.
Google also intends to “make it harder for attackers to trick or trick users into installing malicious apps.” Third-party sources contained 50 times more malware than the Play Store, the company calculated. The store will increase the presence of labels for various apps, such as “Verified” labels for network services and other categories.
The Play Integrity API will be more robust, allowing it to re-identify high-risk devices while preserving user privacy. Google says Play Integrity has already helped reduce app abuse by 80%. Developers will be able to conduct more checks directly in Android Studio to avoid common policy violations. The company plans to improve developer communication through the Play Console; and open Google Play developer support communities in Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and other languages.