Security News > 2020 > February > Google exiles 600 apps from Play Store for 'disruptive advertising' amid push to clean up Android souk's image

On Thursday Google confirmed it has removed nearly 600 Android apps from the Google Play Store and banned them from its ad services for violating its policies on disruptive advertising and interstitials.

Such purges have become a regular occurrence on platforms where third-party developers are afforded some freedom, like Google Play, the Chrome Web Store, and even the iOS App Store.

In 2018, the company removed Android apps that incorporated third-party ad network SDKs involved in ad fraud.

In 2019, the ad biz said it removed "Tens of thousands of apps and developers" from AdMob, its mobile ad platform, and its Play Store for policy violations.

Asked whether this latest ouster of 600 apps for bad advertising would have any effect on the prevalence of ad fraud, Augustine Fou, a cybersecurity and ad fraud researcher who advises companies about online marketing, doubted there would be any noticeable impact, given that there are about three million apps in Google Play.

News URL

https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/21/google_nixes_android_apps/