Almost everyone who follows the tech world is already aware of the risks of sideloading apps, i.e., installing apps from third-party sources or stores. I don’t recommend it either, unless you know exactly what you’re downloading and where it’s coming from. But is downloading apps from the Google Play Store safe? Well, mostly. There were around 200 malicious apps on the Google Play Store only a few months ago, downloaded over 5.5 million times. But thankfully, it’s unlikely to happen again. Google is finally rolling out App Quality Warnings on the Play Store.
Google slaps warnings if an app doesn’t meet quality on Play Store
First spotted last November, Google’s warning about poor-quality apps is now live on the Play Store. In a post on X, AssembleDebug announced the update. We can see three warnings in a yellow banner below the reviews, size, and total downloads section. The banner reads the following:
- This app is frequently uninstalled compared to similar apps on Play
- Play has limited user data about this app
- This app has few active users compared to others on Play
To clarify, receiving one of these warnings doesn’t mean that an app is dangerous or should be avoided. It simply provides additional context to help users make more informed decisions about what to expect. These app quality warnings on the Play Store offer useful information, especially for users who aren’t as familiar with evaluating apps.
They also encourage app developers to address bugs more quickly if their apps have a high uninstall rate and fewer users compared to similar apps. Since some developers take a long time to fix issues, these warnings can be really helpful in pushing them to improve their apps faster and provide a better experience for users. Android Authority confirmed that this feature is live on Google Play Store v44.7.24.
