Developers, beware. Now is a good time to make sure your app is up to date when it comes to following all of Google's guidelines. Because if it doesn't, it will just be one of the many Android apps said to be getting the ax in the app store.
Google reportedly has plans to remove apps from the Play Store next month that are in violation of the company's User Data policy by not featuring a privacy policy. And this could mean million of apps get removed.
The tech giant is sending developers a notice that warns them about the breach in User Data policy.
The Google Play policy states that when an app requests to access user data or permission to access things like their camera, microphone, contacts and the like, that title must have a privacy policy in place.
According to the letter emailed to developers worldwide, Google is asking them to "include a link to a valid privacy on your app's Store Listing page and within your app."
Developers have until next month to act on this or else their app may be removed.
Google cites that "administrative action will be taken to limit the visibility of your app, up to and including removal from the Play Store" is the action is met by March 15.
Of course, developers who don't want to add a privacy policy can instead remove the requests within their app.
But many titles will probably be removed from the Google Play Store because of lazy developers who don't know how to or care to create a privacy policy.
While this sounds like a bad thing, it will actually help reduce the amount of "zombie apps," which are apps that don't have high rankings, may be copycats of other titles, and are just sitting there lifeless without many downloads.
This is a good thing for legit developers since they will have the chance to be featured or discovered more with less titles around, as well as for users who won't be faced with browsing through a cluttered app store.
Google has not changed its policy, but rather appears just to be enforcing it.
