Technology 2 min read

Google Removes Hundreds of Android Apps for Disruptive Ads

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BigTunaOnline / Shutterstock.com

Google will no longer allow Android apps with ads that interfere with user experience.

Google is on a continuous quest to clean up its Play Store, taking down as many dubious apps as it can. In its latest attempt, the tech company removed as much as 600 apps from the store for violating its policies.

In a blog post announcement, senior product manager of Ad Traffic Quality at Google, Per Bjorke said:

 “Today, we’re announcing nearly 600 apps have been removed from the Google Play Store and banned from our ad monetization platforms, Google AdMob and Google Ad Manager, for violating our disruptive ads policy and disallowed interstitial policy.”

Here’s the breakdown of the ban.

Google continues

Removing Android Apps With Disruptive Ads

Disruptive ads are ads that appear to users in the most unexpected ways, impairing or interfering with the usability of device functions. An example of such is a full-screen ad that appears during a video call.

According to Bjorke, developers have become much better at hiding disruptive ads in apps. But, Google is also improving how to detect them.

The company has been creating new technologies to protect users from apps that interfere with their experience on Android. For example, Google recently developed a machine-learning based approach to understanding out-of-context ads better.

And that led to the recent sweep on its Play Store.

Reports suggest that most of the affected apps were from developers based in China, Singapore, and India. Also, a large number of disruptive Android apps were aimed at English-speaking users.

For example, Buzzfeed reported that the recent clean-up affected over 40 apps from China-based company, Cheetah Mobile.

While this may be the biggest sweep yet, Google has taken similar actions in the past. Back in July 2019, the tech company banned a Chinese developer, CooTek, for using an adware plug-in that sent users aggressive ads.

At the end of the announcement, Google expressed its commitment towards creating a safe platform for its users.

“As we move forward, we will continue to invest in new technologies to detect and prevent emerging threats that can generate invalid traffic, including disruptive ads…”

Read More: New Google Play Store Malware Avoids SMS Two-Factor Authentication

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Sumbo Bello

Sumbo Bello is a creative writer who enjoys creating data-driven content for news sites. In his spare time, he plays basketball and listens to Coldplay.

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