Ecosystem Android Many consider it out of control due to the great freedoms provided by Google. Although it has its advantages, it also brings its disadvantages, so the search engine giant decided to implement a protection mechanism called Google Play Protect which is in the Play Store.

Google Play Protect defines itself as “the world’s most widely used mobile threat protection service.” It basically consists of “Google’s built-in malware protection for Android. Powered by Google’s powerful machine learning algorithms, it’s constantly improving in real time.”

Google Play Protect is an active service within the Play Store application whose mission is to protect the smartphone even if it is stolen. It’s logical to think that this is an application scanning mechanism, which of course is true, but it also has anti-theft measures with the service find my device and provides secure browsing through Chrome, Google’s well-known web browser.

When it comes to verifying Android apps, the service is responsible for scanning more than 100,000 million applications every day with the goal that at least the ecosystem that is supported by the Play Store is secure, although 100% security is something that can never be guaranteed. The Mountain View giant reminds that it subjects all apps to be published on the Play Store to strict security tests, and this means that if you want to build trust among consumers, you need to be very strict and effective in the field of security. an aspect that has been criticized for a long time in Android for various reasons.

Google Play Protect seems to go somewhat unnoticed, but it is one of the mainstays of security in the part of the Android ecosystem that is directly controlled by the search engine giant (for example, F-Droid is not its responsibility). For this reason, I will go into detail about the features that the service offers.

Scanning applications

App scanning is the most well-known and probably the logical feature of Google Play Protect. As I gathered, it uses machine learning to be more efficient in doing its job. The company says it now scans over 100,000 million apps daily to ensure maximum security for Android users.

Machine learning is used to distinguish application behavior and detect that which is abnormal. If it detects malicious behavior in an app, it will alert the user and even be able to automatically disable the source app to stop the damage. It also warns against permissions granted to apps that haven’t been used in months.

Although it is integrated into the Play Store, Google Play Protect covers not only applications that come from the official Google store, but also those from third-party stores or repositories that the user has configured on his device. The user can perform a manual analysis at any time.

anti-theft measures

Anti-theft measures do not apply to the data, but to the device itself. It is supported by the function “Find my device” or find my device which Google makes available for the purpose of finding lost, misplaced or stolen.

Use find my devicethe user will have to resort to a web browser or other device that has an internet connection. Among the options it makes available are remote calling, locating and locking Android devices, and even remotely wiping data to prevent it from ending up in the wrong hands.

“Find my device” is what was formerly known as Android Device Manager, which is now integrated into Google Play Protect and is more accessible for users to use.

Safe Browsing

Safe browsing works through Google Chrome and is responsible for alerting and blocking suspicious or insecure websites when the user tries to access them. Nothing that isn’t logical and obvious.

Google cares a lot about security, and it’s important to distinguish this from privacy. The company is interested and even convenient for its users to be protected from malicious actors who can damage applications, operating systems and/or steal data, but it is another matter that this protection has the user’s data as an alleged price. While it’s true that Chrome’s privacy can be strengthened, the fact that it’s a proprietary app doesn’t guarantee that said privacy also extends to Google services.

At this point, using Google Play Protect Safe Browsing with Google Chrome or using another browser is already a decision for the user to make. Looking at the market share that Chrome has, it seems that most of them wouldn’t mind having a little more protection in exchange for potentially giving up some data.

How to access Google Play Protect from Android?

Accessing Google Play Protect is easy. You have to do that open the Play Store on Android and click on the user’s avatar in the upper right corner of the application interface. After that, a menu will open from which you can access Play Protect, which is explicitly mentioned. Of course, not all features are present, at least directly, from the Play Store app.

Android 14, a possible challenge to Google Play Protect?

It’s likely that Google has plans to improve Play Protect in the near future because lThe company plans to improve support for third-party stores in Android 14the next version of the mobile operating system.

This change in favor of improving third-party store support is partly derived from pressures from both society and governments for tech giants to offer more open ecosystems. The company most criticized in these matters, as our readers will know, is Apple, specifically because of how restrictive iOS is. However, after years of pressure, the Cupertino giant could allow the use of third-party stores on iOS and web rendering engines other than WebKit, which comes pre-installed on the system.

Google, on the other hand, didn’t get as much criticism because it always ended up allowing the use of third-party repositories and stores on Android, even if it required adjusting the system’s security settings. On the other hand, the framework that currently exists can be improved, so the company set to work.

Improving support for third-party stores is a point that could logically require improvements to the security mechanisms included in Android implementations connected to the Google ecosystem, leaving the door open for modifications to Play Protect to improve it.

Conclusion

Although it does not have much media coverage, Google Play Protect is a service that the user should count on, not only with regard to installed applications on the mobile, but also in cases where the device is lost.

As I’ve said on several occasions, Google tends to be very careful when it comes to security, but it shouldn’t give manufacturers so much freedom when it comes to system maintenance, especially when it comes to distributing updates. This point is much better in any of the other systems that have achieved at least relative success in home computing, starting with its direct rival in the mobile segment, iOS, and continuing Windows, macOS and Linux, all three. systems

Unfortunately, the use of custom Android ROMs is actually quite small. On the other hand, the strong dominant position of WhatsApp, whose client is proprietary, and the very barriers that mobile devices usually involve, ultimately make it difficult for alternative operating systems within mobility. While Google Play Protect is an interesting and important addition, it does not correct the risks of using an operating system without maintenance by its manufacturerand in that case it’s better to have a well-maintained OS without Google Play Protect than no maintenance but with Google Play Protect (you can also have an Android ROM and Google Play Protect if anyone is wondering).