Play Store

It May Be Time to Say ‘Goodnight, Sweet Prince Bixby’

Google and Samsung are apparently working out a deal that would give Google products a boost on Samsung smartphones, according to a Bloomberg report. That means Google might get greater access to Samsung users, while Samsung’s own ecosystem takes a hit. Samsung is the biggest smartphone maker in the world, and Google’s Android is its…

At Least 20 VPN and Ad-Blocking Apps With 35 Million Downloads Actually Monitored Users’ Phones

At least 20 ad-blocking and virtual private network (VPN) apps owned by analytics firm Sensor Tower may have been secretly spying on users’ phones, according to a BuzzFeed News investigation on Monday. Sensor Tower owned over 20 Android and iOS apps that marketed themselves as ad blockers and VPNs (which are are supposed to protect…

Google’s Message to Huawei Device Users: Do Not Use the Side Door to Install Google Apps

Google wants to clear things up for Huawei device users: Google’s apps and services cannot be preloaded on new Huawei devices and are not available due to U.S. government restrictions. If users try to download Google apps and services through a side door, or essentially download them from somewhere other than the Play Store, bad…

Google Is Testing a $5-a-Month Subscription Pass for Play Store Apps and Games: Report

It feels like a lifetime has passed since WWDC 2019 in early June, when Apple announced Apple Arcade, a monthly subscription service that gives users access to a curated list of games on the App Store. Now, while people continue to wait for Apple Arcade to go live later this fall, it seems Google is…

Google Yanks Seven Stalkerware Apps Discovered by Security Researchers From the Play Store

Google has yanked several apps from its Play Store after cybersecurity firm Avast identified them as “all likely designed by a Russian developer to allow people to stalk employees, romantic partners, or kids,” CNET reported on Wednesday. The seven apps—listed as Track Employees Check Work Phone Online Spy Free, Spy Kids Tracker, Phone Cell Tracker,…

Apple, Google Remove Three Dating Apps FTC Said Could Expose Minors to Sexual Predators

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday said that Apple and Google had removed three dating apps from their respective app stores after—yikes—the agency found they allowed children under the age of 13 to sign up, collected data on them in likely violation of federal law, and could allow sexual predators to contact children, CNBC reported.…

Google Is Giving the Boot to a Major Play Store Developer With More Than 600 Million Installs

Google has begun purging the Play Store of apps made by DO Global, a Chinese firm that makes Android apps and is partially backed by Baidu, after a BuzzFeed News report indicated it was committing massive ad fraud. According to a separate report by BuzzFeed this Friday, dozens of DO Global apps had disappeared from…

India Lifts Its Ban on Video App TikTok, Allowing It to Return to Apple and Google App Stores

The Indian government lifted a ban on downloads of the TikTok video app on Wednesday, Reuters cited two lawyers in the case as saying, reversing orders for Apple and Google to remove the app from their stores. Earlier this month, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information technology ordered Apple and Google to remove the…

Apple, Google Both Hosting Saudi Government App That Lets Men Track Women, Restrict Their Travel

Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store both continue to host a Saudi government app, Absher, that allows men in the country to track their female relatives’ movements and restrict their travel. According to the Washington Post, the Saudi Interior Ministry-designed app serves as an e-government and e-services portal, including functions like requesting a passport,…

Google Yanks 29 Malicious Photo Apps From Play Store, But Not Before Millions of Downloads

Google yanked some 29 photo apps from the Play Store this week after they were discovered to have malicious code that pushes full-screen ads, steals information from users by tricking them into believing they have won a contest, and in some cases even lifted photos from devices to send to the malware designers behind the…

Senators Join Call to Investigate Google Over Apps Sharing Kids’ Private Info

Pressure is mounting on U.S. regulators to investigate whether Google Play Store is currently distributing mobile apps that place children’s personal information at risk. A complaint filed Tuesday with the Federal Trade Commission by nearly two dozen consumer, privacy, and public health groups alleges that Google allows apps that violate privacy laws to be downloaded…

Please Don’t Download Fortnite for Android From Sketchy Places

When Fornite developer Epic Games decided to skip the Google Play Store and asked players to install the newly released Android app from its website instead, the decision made a lot of sense financially. By cutting out Google, Epic could retain 100 percent of the game’s profits on Android, rather than let Google take its…

Here’s How to Get Fortnite on Your Android Phone

After months of waiting, Fortnite, the most popular game on the planet, is finally ready for its debut on Android. Unfortunately, when the news was first announced alongside the Galaxy Note 9’s launch last week, there were a couple catches. First, Fortnite creator Epic Games said the game would not be available on the Google…

Researchers Conclude Google’s Play Store Is Likely Chock Full of Apps That Improperly Track Children

Thousands of apps may be tracking the online activity of children in ways that violate US privacy laws, according to a recent survey of Android apps available on the Google Play store. Using an “automatic evaluation of the privacy behaviors of Android apps,” a team of university researchers and computer scientists concluded that of 5,855…

Google’s 3-D Sensing Tango Tablet Up On The Play Store

Google’s Project Tango is a prototype tablet that can see in 3-D. Although it’s mostly aimed at developers, that’s not stopping Google from putting the tablet on the Play Store, along with a $1,024 price tag (although it’s not actually for sale quite yet). When it was launched, Google’s stated objective for Project Tangowas “to…

Primecast Disabled After Just 36 Hours Of Life

Welp, that was pretty fast: just two days after springing into life on the Play Store, Primecast, a $2.99 app that put Amazon Instant Video-streaming capability onto your Chromecast, has ceased to be. The devs have confirmed in a blog post that they were ‘locked out’ of the streaming functionality, and have pulled their (now…

Google’s Launching a Special Store Just for Project Ara Hardware

Everybody’s favorite modular phone project, Google’s Ara, is about to get little bit more interesting. Recently, the company quietly announced that it would be launching a hardware store for developers to sell their own Ara components. It’ll be a little bit like the Play Store, except with hot-swappable hardware instead of apps. This app store…

Google Glass Explorer Edition is now available in the U.S. Google Play store, along with its accessories. Right next to all the products you might actually want to buy. It’s still the same price ($1500) but Google is still throwing in a free pair of shades or frames. Glass was already available in the U.K.…

Google Will Apparently Replace Your Nexus 5 No Matter How You Broke It

Did you bust your Nexus 5 smartphone? Don’t sweat it—users are saying that the Play Store will send you a brand-new (refurbished) handset for free, no matter how you broke yours. Google hasn’t confirmed the offer just yet, but it seems legit. This isn’t the first no-questions-asked smartphone replacement policy; Motorola and HTC both offer…

You Can Buy the New HTC One on Google Play Right Now

Following the launch of the all-new HTC One yesterday, you can already buy one from the Google Play Store, stripped of its HTC guff. https://gizmodo.com/htc-one-2014-review-faster-stronger-better-1550841872 The phone on offer via Google runs a version of stock Android very similar to Google’s Nexus range, which means you don’t get any of HTC’s Sense software or apps.…