Google announces new policy updates for Google Play Store, removing dozens of apps secretly collecting user data

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Google has introduced new policies for the Google Play Store aimed at effectively preventing outdated Android apps. Under the new guidelines, all apps on the Play Store must update to the latest API within two years of Google releasing the latest Android version, or risk being 'blocked and inaccessible to users.' The new policies will officially take effect on November 1, 2022.

Google states that the majority of apps have already complied with these new policies. For apps that are too old or no longer suitable for continued operation, Google will notify developers and provide any necessary resources for them to update their apps. The company also notes that users with older Android devices can still 'continue to download or reinstall older apps and use them on any device running a supported Android OS version.'

Google Play has implemented numerous new security measures in recent years, particularly with the introduction of Play Protect - a feature designed to integrate machine learning technology to scan for harmful apps. However, despite efforts to combat malicious apps, especially those engaging in background activities to collect user data, there are still apps that manage to slip through the cracks...

For instance, consider the recent incident where Google removed dozens of popular apps with millions of users from the Google Play Store, after discovering that these apps had been secretly harvesting user data for an extended period. These included weather apps, highway radar apps, QR code scanner apps, prayer apps, and others with embedded code aimed at accurately collecting user location, email, phone numbers, and other data. This discovery was made by researchers Serge Egelman from UC Berkeley and Joel Reardon from the University of Calgary, who then reported it to the Google team.

According to reports, Measurement Systems is the company behind these actions. This company is believed to have collaborated with a contractor for defense systems in Virginia, a contractor specializing in cyber intelligence and similar activities to serve the national security agencies of the United States. It's known that app developers were paid by Measurement Systems to integrate the company's software development kit (SDK) into the aforementioned apps. In return, app developers received additional payment while being able to collect detailed information from user databases. The SDK has been integrated into many popular apps on the Google Play Store, and these apps have been downloaded on at least 60 million mobile devices. Furthermore, Measurement Systems likely seeks to gather additional data primarily from the Middle East, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Despite Google removing those apps from the Google Play Store, researchers also warn that those apps still exist on millions of mobile devices, so user data collection activities may still be occurring. However, researchers have found that it seems the SDK has been reconfigured to cease collecting user data after its covert operations were detected and exposed. As for Measurement Systems, the company has spoken out to refute the allegations.

According to Engadget (1) (2)

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