Google has updated its Android Play Store developers’ license agreement to prohibit the use of deceptive names or icons.
The move aims to thwart the increasing presence of copycat apps that mimic the name and/or icon of popular apps in order to fool unsuspecting users into downloading them. The new rules apply to all apps that get submitted starting today while existing apps are given 30 days to comply.
The new license agreement also added clauses that disallowed misleading users about games and apps content.
The problem of deceptive apps mimicking the names and icons of popular apps has increased significantly over the last few months in both the Google Play Store and the iPhone’s App Store. It is interesting to see how effective Google’s new policy will be when compared to Apple’s walled garden approach.