Google is implementing some stricter regulations for the Play Store

Since their inception, Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store have taken diametrically opposed positions when it comes to policing the content allowed into their respective online marketplaces. Whereas Apple, in natural fashion, reviews every single app submitted, Google has historically taken a more lax position, creating an open digital playground of sorts and opting to address issues after they arise as opposed to before. Initially, this strategy helped position the Google Play store as a more accommodating and developer-friendly marketplace. All the more so given Apple’s penchant for rejecting apps for seemingly arbitrary and contradictory reasons. Over time, though, Google has slowly but surely started to see the wisdom in Apple’s approach. While Google still takes a relatively hands-off approach to submitted apps, a recently updated version of its Google Play Developer Program Policies demonstrates that Google sees the merit in having stricter governing rules in place. According to Betanews, Google is now “clamping down on the problem of impersonation, making it clearer that it is not permissible to mislead users by imitating other apps, making false claims, or suggesting endorsements that do not exist.”