Google Tightens Play Store Controls as Fraud Apps Persist in India

[lingriiddd]

Google says it has intensified measures to block malicious apps in India as digital fraud reaches record levels. Through Play Protect, the company has stopped more than 115 million installation attempts involving predatory loan apps this year, many of which attempted to sideload sensitive permissions abused in scams.

Google Pay now surfaces more than a million fraud warnings per week, and Google’s DigiKavach campaign has reached over 250 million people, including efforts with the Reserve Bank of India to publish a verified list of approved digital lending apps.

Despite these moves, Google and Apple continue to face criticism for allowing fake or misleading apps to slip through review systems. Several investment and loan-app scams remained live on app stores until authorities intervened, highlighting the ongoing challenge of policing India’s massive Android ecosystem.

[Nahid Hossen]

Stricter Play Store rules are overdue — fraud apps have been a massive problem. ️

[Abdul Khan]

User safety should come before app volume, and Google finally seems to agree.