Google has decided to change up some of the policies when it comes to the developer side of things. Those changes specifically targeted those annoying spam ads that appear on either your homescreen, or in your notification drawer. Now we know it is just developers trying to make some extra cash, but the way these ads would just appear on your device, made it seem like your phone was susceptible to being hacked. Well finally we will see the end of those dreaded ads that would make you start uninstalling apps to see which one was causing them to pop up.
- Apps and their ads must not add homescreen shortcuts, browser bookmarks, or icons on the user’s device as a service to third parties or for advertising purposes.
- Apps and their ads must not display advertisements through system level notifications on the user’s device, unless the notifications derive from an integral feature provided by the installed app. (e.g., an airline app that notifies users of special deals, or a game that notifies users of in-game promotions).
Those are the policies that will be implemented this week that developers will now have to abide by. The policy was talked about a month ago, giving the developers a month to prepare for this change. I am sure there will be apps out there that the developers will not update, but hopefully many of those apps that have those ads will get updated and no more randome shortcuts appearing on our homescreens. Happy day indeed.
Source: Phandroid
