Google Play, the app store for Android, developed in a more than remarkable way during its history, although it is undeniable that he started from a position that could be greatly improved. Those of us who experienced the early days of smartphones remember very clearly the more than substantial difference between Apple’s policies with the IOS App Store and Google’s policies with the Android Market, the original name of the software store for Android smartphones.

Those from Cupertino applied very strict rules from day one focused on ensuring the security and privacy of its users, while Google has been too lax in this regard, leading to the proliferation of malware in all its colors and flavors. And as a result, even today, the notion that Google Play is not a safe option for downloading apps still lingers in part of the collective imagination.

However, Google was quick to respond to this issue., improving the oversight and verification processes for apps that were supposed to be published in the app store, and that process remains open today, with news like the one we told you about a month ago. And while there is still a general perception that the App Store is more secure (which is also influenced by the more closed ecosystem of iOS compared to Android), the truth is that the difference has only narrowed in recent years, especially since the arrival of Google Play Protect.

Now it seems that Google intends to further improve the experience of using applications in its operating system and will soon take a very important step in this regard, because, as we read on the Play Console page, Google will apply new features, content and user experience rules to Google Play apps. Their use-by date will be August 31st, and from that date, apps that don’t meet them may be removed from the store. Google describes these new rules as follows:

Limited functionality and content

• Applications that are static without specific functionality, such as applications that only provide access to a fixed selection of text documents or PDF files
• Apps with very little content that do not provide an attractive user experience, such as apps that only provide wallpaper.
• Apps that are designed to do nothing or have no function.

“Broken” feature

• Apps that don’t install.
• Apps that install but don’t load.
• Apps that load but don’t respond.

This cleanup is supposed to be massive and will undoubtedly be very positive for users. Now, they said, Google is aware that “false positives” can occur in the process, so assures that measures will be taken to prevent this. Even so, developers should remain vigilant in case they are affected by a bug in the application of Google Play’s new rules, and in that case contact Google to try to reverse the removal.