Cryptocurrency, kids apps, weapons … Google hardens the rules of its Play Store

Google continues the cleaning started a few months ago on the Play Store of Android, its mobile operating system. After chasing out the applications registered under a false identity, the Mountain View firm tackled several problematic issues, as indicated by an update of its by-law.

First, programs apparently intended for children with violent or sensitive content are now prohibited. A new rule similar to the one introduced on YouTube, a company owned by Google in November.

Next, cryptocurrency mining applications, such as bitcoin, are also banned from the Android catalog. More specifically, it is the devices using certain components of your smartphone, the battery for example, which are targeted. Applications for remote mining are still accepted.

Weapons Banned from the Catalog

Weapons sales applications or advice on their manufacture will also disappear. The same applies to content intended exclusively for you to click on advertising links, and those for which the developer deliberately misleads the user, for example by pretending that his application would be sponsored by a celebrity.

Finally, Google decided to eliminate clones of applications, as well as those " created by an automated tool or an badistant ".

This hardening of rules occurs while the Play Store is often criticized for flexibility regulation, leaving the door open for many malware.