Technology

Google removes 46 apps from Play Store for committing ad-fraud and violating the rules

Google has always been persistent when it comes to the security but lately Google has been taking security on the Android platform very seriously. We have been subjected to media reports over and over again speaking about bulk elimination of malware-infested apps from the Play Store as well as banning a number of developers.

Google has also been constricting its laws over apps that do ad-fraud on a big scale. Recently, Google has taken strict action on DU Group a few days ago by banning their malware-infested apps for the same reason; Google at the present has banned quite a lot of apps from an additional Chinese developer on the Play Store.

In a recent report it was said that Google has banned a bulk of apps from DO Global, which is a Chinese app developer. All the apps from DO Global had accomplished to catch up to 600 million downloads but in spite of the great numbers, Google has excluded 46 of its 100 apps from the Play Store. There are as many as 46 apps by DO Global that have been removed from the Play store as of Friday.In addition, Google has also banned the developer from its AdMob network. As a result, Do Global are not able to publish advertisements through Google’s ad network for mobiles.

The ban was applied after Google found out that maximum of the apps were committing ad-fraud. Do Global’s apps comprised a code in a manner which misinformed the operators into clicking on ads even when they were not using them.

The ad-fraud was initially discovered by Checkpoint Security and was reported to Google well ahead, following which the action was taken and the apps were removed from the Play Store. The apps were violating the guidelines of the Play Store.

In addition, the users were also not informed that these apps were owned by DO Global and it was not well-versed, which on the other hand violates Google’s Play Store policy

Some of the popular apps with thousands of downloads comprised of Photo editor – Makeup Camera & Photo Effects and Crashy Cops. If you are still using these apps or they are installed on your Android smartphone or tablet, it is recommended to uninstall them as soon as possible.

About 46 apps by DO Global have been banned from the Google Play Store as of Friday. The designer firm is partially owned by Chinese internet company Baidu, which has a 34 per cent of its share.

This is not the first time that the Google has banned apps from a developer committing ad-frauds. An additional widespread app developer – DU Group, was also identified for committing ad-frauds through its apps, a few weeks ago. DU Group had a number of popular apps in the Play Store that were downloaded by a lot of users such as Omni Cleaner, RAM Master, Smart Cooler, Total Cleaner and AIO Flashlight, aside from Selfie Camera.

A Google spokesperson in a statement had said: “We actively investigate malicious behaviour, and when we find violations, we take action, including the removal of a developer’s ability to monetize their app with AdMob or publish on Play.”

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