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Google announces the removal of about 600 apps from the Play Store

Cheetah Mobile's apps can no longer be downloaded on the Play Store. (Source: Cheetah Mobile)
Cheetah Mobile's apps can no longer be downloaded on the Play Store. (Source: Cheetah Mobile)
Google has released a blog post explaining why nearly 600 apps have just been removed from Android's Play Store. These apps were deemed guilty of "mobile ad fraud", which contravenes the Mountain View giant's policies. The apps in question include all those associated with the company Cheetah Mobile.
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Google has highlighted the recent prowess of its mobile surveillance teams and their latest technologies in a blog post on its advertisment ecosystem. The company claims to have made these environments safer for users and developers through the detection of apps that conduct mobile ad fraud.

This form of fraud is defined by Google as those kinds of ads that pop up even when the app that pushes them is not even open on a given phone, or are disruptive to the user experience in other ways. This issue has been addressed through the recent removal of several hundred apps from the Play Store.

The same apps have also been barred from Google Ad Manager and Google AdMob, monetization channels often used on this platform. They include all apps from Cheetah Mobile, which had also been found to perpetrate click-fraud when downloaded from the Play Store. Android Police reports that they are still available as APKs from the company's own website, although their installation may be inadvisable.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 03 > Google announces the removal of about 600 apps from the Play Store
Deirdre O Donnell, 2020-03- 2 (Update: 2020-03- 2)