Google No Longer Allows Apps That Sell Banned Substances

Google has once again updated the policy guidelines for the Play Store and this time around, it’s dropping the banhammer on apps that sell unapproved substances. The company updates these policies often to ensure that the Play Store remains clear of apps that might be harmful to users. It has now deemed such apps to fall in this category and has thus decided to ban them from the Play Store.

These policy guidelines are in place to make sure that the Play Store remains clear of illegitimate content. There’s still a lot of room for improvement in this regard but Google does take steps regularly to address the matter.

The latest apps to get banned as a result of an update to the policy guidelines are those that promote or sell unapproved substances. By that, the company means any banned or unapproved supplements, pharmaceuticals, supplements with dangerous ingredients, ephedra, and products that make misleading claims about their benefits.

In a related move, Google has also updated the definitions for a “sensitive event” and “bullying & harassment” which fall under the inappropriate content category. Examples include bullying the victims of an international or religious conflict or denying a major tragic event, both of which now fall under restricted content.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, google play store