Apps convey devices to life -- letting yous volume a ride instantly, connect too percentage memories amongst friends, survive alerted nearly electrical flow events, play games amongst someone across the globe, too acquire move done inwards the constituent or on the road. Google Play is committed to providing a prophylactic sense for billions of Android users to uncovering too uncovering such apps. Over the years, this commitment has made Google Play a to a greater extent than trusted too safer place. Last twelvemonth we've to a greater extent than than halved the probability of a user installing a bad app, protecting people too their devices from harm's way, too making Google Play a to a greater extent than challenging house for those who seek to abuse the app ecosystem for their ain gain.
In 2017, nosotros took downwards to a greater extent than than 700,000 apps that violated the Google Play policies, 70% to a greater extent than than the apps taken downwards inwards 2016. Not alone did nosotros take away to a greater extent than bad apps, nosotros were able to position too activity against them earlier. In fact, 99% of apps amongst abusive contents were identified too rejected before anyone could install them. This was possible through meaning improvements inwards our mightiness to uncovering abuse - such equally impersonation, inappropriate content, or malware - through novel motorcar learning models too techniques.
We've also developed novel detection models too techniques that tin position repeat offenders too abusive developer networks at scale. This resulted inwards taking downwards of 100,000 bad developers inwards 2017, too made it to a greater extent than hard for bad actors to create novel accounts too displace to position out yet to a greater extent than or less other fix of bad apps.
Here are a few examples of bad apps nosotros took activity against inwards 2017:
Copycats
Attempting to deceive users past times impersonating famous apps is 1 of the most mutual violations. Famous titles acquire a lot of search traffic for item keywords, then the bad actors attempt to amass installs leveraging such traffic. They produce this past times trying to sneak inwards impersonating apps to the Play Store through deceptive methods such equally using confusable unicode characters or hiding impersonating app icons inwards a dissimilar locale. In 2017, nosotros took downwards to a greater extent than than a quarter of a 1000000 of impersonating apps.
Inappropriate content
We don't allow apps that comprise or promote inappropriate content, such equally pornography, extreme violence, hate, too illegal activities. The improved motorcar learning models sift through massive amounts of incoming app submissions too flag them for potential violations, aiding the human reviewers inwards effectively detecting too enforcing on the problematic apps. Tens of thousands of apps amongst inappropriate content were taken downwards concluding twelvemonth equally a termination of such improved detection methods.
Potentially Harmful Applications (PHAs)
PHAs are a type of malware that tin terms people or their devices -- e.g., apps that bear SMS fraud, deed equally trojans, or phishing user's information. While pocket-size inwards volume, PHAs pose a threat to Android users too nosotros invest heavily inwards keeping them out of the Play Store. Finding these bad apps is non-trivial equally the malicious developers become the extra mile to brand their app await equally legitimate equally possible, precisely amongst the launch of Google Play Protect inwards 2017, the average annual PHA installs rates on Google Play was reduced past times fifty percentage twelvemonth over year.
Despite the novel too enhanced detection capabilities that led to a record-high takedowns of bad apps too malicious developers, nosotros know a few nevertheless grapple to evade too play a joke on our layers of defense. We create got these extremely seriously, too volition conk along to nowadays our capabilities to improve uncovering too protect against abusive apps too the malicious actors behind them. We are committed to brand Google Play the most trusted too prophylactic app shop inwards the world.
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