CerealCrunch not uploaded yet, perhaps this is whyhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/07/18/google-play-store-update-for-samsung-pixel-android-users-in-6-weeks/
Cue the imminent Play Store mass app deletion which Google has just previewed and confirmed is now just six weeks away: “We’re updating the Spam and Minimum Functionality policy to ensure apps meet uplifted standards for the Play catalog and engage users through quality functionality and content user experiences.”
Google is being clever here, ramping up its quality threshold. We have seen multiple recent examples of vacuous but seemingly harmless apps getting onto Play Store and then either being used as a conduit to other malware-laced apps, or more recently used as evil-twin decoys for those alternatives. There is a building expectation that this will even hit some popular apps with millions of installs, and some legitimate apps which are low on the quality mark will also fail to make the cut.
For developers, Google warns apps must “provide a stable, responsive, and engaging user experience… Apps that crash, do not have the basic degree of adequate utility as mobile apps, lack engaging content, or exhibit other behavior that is not consistent with a functional and engaging user experience are not allowed on Google Play.”
These are not the only changes coming into force on Play Store with enhanced security in mind. Google’s July 17 policy changes include enhanced malware prevention—including a mandate that developers must remove third-party code from providers known to peddle malware, regardless of the code itself, as well as new rules on spyware prevention and tighter enforcement across the board.
Makes sense as to why it has not been uploaded, lots of new rules and higher standards to reach. But perhaps some day we will know the real reason.....