Google Play is the online store with more applications available in the market. Just a few months ago we mentioned it had nearly 2.8 million apps, now that number has reached almost 3.2 million, and it grows every month; with this number of applications in the Play Store, you consider that Google offers apps quality ensurance?

You can find all kind of apps in the Play Store, from games to productivity apps, however some of them are stable and useful and some others just aren´t. So, Google has decided to take action to ensure the quality of Android apps.

Android apps Optimization

For the sake of optimization, Google now reports unstable applications so they can improved in terms of performance and battery life. Google does not intend to keep seeing Play Store infested with bad quality and poorly optimized applications.

For Google, there are three things to consider to develop a successful app: speed, security and stability, and they are seriously working on that. So, in order to help developers provide better optimization,

Google will inform app developers if an app consumes too much energy, if it tends to slow down the system or if it is at risk of being unsafe.

If, despite the warnings, developers don’t do anything to correct these malfunctions, the apps will lose visibility in the Play Store.

High quality apps go on top in Google Play

If you´re an Android developer, one of the most important policy changes that you must be aware of is that Google is implementing a new classification system, which allows users to find easily the best apps in Play Store.

This means that high quality apps will appear at the beginning of the search results, lower quality apps will be at the bottom of the list and eventually removed from the Play Store.

With this action, Google wants to add value to the best applications in the market.

To make this ranking, Google´s algorithms will evaluate the overall application quality: performance data, user´s participation and ratings assigned by users. This action will allow users to find the best applications in each category.

Likewise, this initiative will also encourage developers to improve the quality of their apps.

The end of incentivized ratings

Any developer knows how important it is to have a well-positioned app in Play Store.  But, when choosing an app among all the variety, users can be deceived with inflated ratings or fraudulent app installs. Because truth be told, not all apps are as good as they seem.

You might have even seen campaigns that promote unlocking additional features or “win extra points” in exchange for leaving a positive comment or review on the app.

The new Google Play´s Policy will make this to change soon, as they want to avoid these types of installations and getting ratings in a counterproductive way.

This seeks to eliminate false opinions from users who have valued content positively in exchange for a software improvement. This will also ensure that apps in a specific place on a list are there because of their actual popularity.

All these and others policies that Google is trying to enforce in the Play Store will benefit Android users for sure, since it will increase the security and quality of apps installed in their devices. Also, it will motivate the Android developers to innovate and promote their app in creative ways.