Google has recently announced a series of changes to its Play Store policy in Android 11. With this new round of measures, the Mountain View giant is limiting the amount of information that apps installed from the store can access. Android 11 specifically limiting access to application inventory Already loaded.
“Google Play limits the use of sensitive or high-risk permissions; QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES “providing visibility into the inventory of applications installed on a particular device” Google announces on its website. This permission is for developers get the name of all the apps you have previously installed without any limitations on your terminal. Google now evaluates this information as follows: “personal and sensitive”.
Google still restricts access to Android apps
Alone some very specific applications It will still be able to collect the list of currently installed applications. “Use of this permission is only permitted when your app’s primary purpose or core user-facing functionality requires broad visibility into installed apps” Google continues. In concrete terms, the application definitely needs the list of Android applications on the smartphone to work. Google specifically lists antiviruses, file managers and browsers. In a short transition period, Google will also allow banking or digital wallet apps to access inventory for security reasons.
By default, other apps will not be able to get the list of apps. Developers who believe they need authorization will need to prove themselves to Google teams. Keep in mind that if this is the purpose of the information collected by the app, the American giant will automatically block access. Sold for advertising purposesGoogle announced that this new policy will come into effect on May 5, 2021. Therefore, developers have a few weeks to adapt and submit an authorization request.
