play store

All the changes coming to Google Play and sideloading following $700M settlement

Google announced today that it will pay $700 million as a part of a settlement with the U.S. attorney general for a lawsuit over Google Play Store. Along with that, the company has also agreed to take

Google says it will pay $700M as a part of Play Store dispute settlement

Google said today it will pay $700 million — $630 million to U.S. consumers and $70 million to a fund used by U.S. states — in a Play Store settlement. In September,  the company reached a tentat

Google admits Spotify pays no Play Store fees because of a secret deal

A Google executive said during testimony in the Epic versus Google trial that a deal with Spotify allows the audio company to bypass Play Store fees, as first reported by The Verge. Don Harrison, Goog

5 things we learned from the Epic-Google antitrust case this week

Though Match settled its antitrust case with Google over Play Store fees for north of $300 million, Fortnite maker Epic Games proceeded to take its case to trial this week. The game maker argues that

Google Play tightens up rules for Android app developers to require testing, increased app review

Google today is announcing strengthened protections for Android developers publishing apps to its Google Play store. The changes are a part of Google’s broader efforts at keeping low-quality and

Google is putting short videos on Play Store to aid app discovery

If you think almost every app has some form of vertical video, add one more unexpected one to the list: Google Play Store. Google has introduced an original video series called “The Play Report&

Xiaomi said Mi Music app was unavailable on the Play Store because of ‘technical issues’

Update 08/08/2023 3:15 PM IST: The company said that the Mi Music app was unavailable due to “technical issues.” The app is now available to download for users again. The headline is updat

Google pulls its AI Test Kitchen app from Play Store and App Store

Google has pulled its AI Test Kitchen app from the Play Store and the App Store to focus solely on the web platform. The company launched the AI Test Kitchen experience last year to let users interact

Google Play developers will be able to push you to update your apps

In addition to its AI-powered Play Store updates, Google also introduced today several new security and privacy features for both app developers and Play Store users at its I/O developer conference. T

Google brings AI and more to the Play Store

Google is bringing its AI technology to the Play Store. At this week’s developer event, Google I/O, the company announced several new ways for developers to use its AI to build and optimize thei

User spending goes up by more than 4000% on AI-powered apps

Given the rising interest in generative AI tools like text-based ChatGPT and image-based Midjourney, AI-powered apps are growing in numbers and popularity in both app stores. A report by analytics fir

Popular Android apps’ Play Store privacy labels don’t match up to their claims, Mozilla says

Google added privacy nutrition labels for apps on the Play Store last April, bringing more transparency to its Android marketplace in response to Apple introducing similar stringent rules. These label

App Store and Play Store are flooded with dubious ChatGPT apps

ChatGPT is the hottest topic of discussion in the tech industry. OpenAI’s chatbot that answers questions in natural language has attracted interest from users and developers. Some developers are

Google Play revamp to highlight higher-quality apps, offer new promotional capabilities

Google today announced it’s making several changes to the Google Play Store that will impact Android apps’ discoverability, how developers can market their apps to consumers and various tr

Google filing says EU’s antitrust division is investigating Play Store practices

A Google regulatory filing appears to have confirmed rumors in recent months that the European Union’s competition division is looking into how it operates its smartphone app store, the Play Sto

Google removes The OG App from the Play Store as founders think about next steps

Almost a week after Apple removed from the App Store The OG App, an Instagram client that promised to provide an ad-free and suggestion-free feed, Google followed the suit and booted the app off the P

Parler forms a new parent company to offer ‘uncancelable’ cloud services

One of the alternative social networks to emerge out of the social media backlash of the Trump era is apparently going to try something new. Parler announced Friday that it has acquired a cloud compan

This Week in Apps: Twitter’s edit button, BeReal clones, Trump’s Truth Social gets blocked

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. Global app spending reached $65 billion in th

Google will allow alternative payment systems for Play Store in more countries

Google announced today it’s expanding the user choice billing program for Play Store — which lets users choose alternative payment systems for in-app purchases — to India, Australia, Indones

Google blocks Truth Social from the Play Store — Will Apple be next?

Google’s decision to block the Truth Social app’s launch on the Play Store over content moderation issues raises the question as to why Apple hasn’t taken similar action over the iOS
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