Since November, Google has carried out several active revisions and adjustments to the Google Play app store related to App exposure, marketing, conversion, payment, trust and security, data statistics, multi-terminal traffic integration, and compliance for special populations. Here we will take you to make a brief review of 8 aspects:

● Google Play Store may test ads in historical searches
● Google Play Store third-party payment expands in the United States, Brazil, and other countries and regions, non-game developers are affected
● Technical quality will influence app exposure and conversions in Google Play
● LiveOps will be published as new promotional features for developers
● The function of Custom Store Listings will be launched by the end of the year
● Play Integrity API update, review maintenance feature advance, to keep the app safe and free from harassment
● Google Play Games for PC plans to expand to the US and seven other countries
● Google Play updates children's app censor process, strengthens supervision

1. Google Play Store may test ads in historical searches

Recently, it is found on the 33.0.17-21 version of the device, clicking search will show some applications with logos that have never been searched, as shown below. In the past, clicking the search bar on Google Play would pop up the keyboard and display the user's four most recent query applications.

According to 9to5google, Google staff said it was not a paid ad and that the app that appeared there had "major updates, ongoing events or offers that users might be interested in." Others have speculated, however, that this may be a test Google is doing for new search ads.

2. Google Play Store third-party payment expands in the United States, Brazil, and other countries and regions, non-game developers are affected

On November 10, Google announced that it will expand its user choice billing pilot, allowing non-game app developers to use "User Choice Billing". However, this move does not mean that there is no rake, but the ratio of the rake is reduced. According to Google's official support document, "When users choose to use other billing systems, the service fee paid by developers will be reduced by 4%... Once available, developers also need to switch to our automation API.” Previously, Google would take a tiered cut of 15% to 30% for developers of different types and incomes.

The United States, Brazil, and South Africa are among the pilot areas and countries, and more than 35 countries and regions have been tested, including Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the European Economic Area (EEA), and South Africa. Google Play enabled third-party payment in South Korea at the end of last year. Spotify and dating app Bumble has been the first pilots since March of this year.

To summarize, while the current policy remains cautious, and few applications accept third-party payment, there is an exception, which is still a positive signal for developers.



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3. Technical quality will influence app exposure and conversions in Google Play

According to Lauren Mytton, Group Product Manager for Google Play, high-quality games will be seen in the play store, while low-quality games and apps will be excluded from prominent traffic spots (such as features) and even displayed on app detail pages. A warning that the app will not work properly on their phone to reduce user expectations and the detail page warning will be implemented on November 30, 2022. Currently, Google monitors technical quality through Android vitals, among which core vitals will affect the app's visibility, including user-perceived crash rate and ANR rate.

4. LiveOps will be published as new promotional features for developers

According to the official description, Google Play's LiveOps is "a self-promotional unit in the Play Store to showcase app events, offers, and major updates for an app or game." LiveOps is still in beta; currently, only some apps can use the feature.

Like in-app events provided by Apple, LiveOps has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to developer apps and increase their conversion rates, Google officially tested, promo content made a 5% increase in active users and a 4% increase in revenue in 28 days, compared to developers who didn't use the feature. 

Read more details about Google Play's LiveOps

5. The function of Custom Store Listings will be launched by the end of the year

Custom Store Listings allow developers to create up to 50 custom Google Store listings and target them to user groups or URLs. In the beta, selected developers will be able to try out new targeting options, including targeting those inactive users who have signed out. The program is currently in beta.



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6. Play Integrity API update, review maintenance feature advance, to keep the app safe and free from harassment

One is an update to the Play Integrity API, which helps protect games and apps from potentially risky fraudulent interactions, enabling developers to take appropriate steps to reduce attacks and abuses (such as fraud, deception, and unauthorized access). Developers can customize API responses, set up tests in the Play Console, and use new reports to analyze their API responses.

Another is that Google is rolling out a new program to address coordinated attacks on app ratings and reviews. There isn't much specific information, but what is known is that if a developer's app reviews are maliciously scrambled by competitors, It will give developers a way to fight back.

7. Google Play Games for PC plans to expand to the US and seven other countries

At the 2022 Google Game Developer Summit, Google product managers mentioned that the number of users playing games on both mobile and PC has reached over 1 billion, which is a unique traffic opportunity for developers.



Last year, Google announced that it would launch the PC version of the Google Play Games app, allowing users to play Android games on Windows computers. In March of this year, Google began to open the registration of Google Play Games for PC in some regions and started testing in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, will be included in the pilot this month. Games such as "1945 Air Force", "Blade Idle", "Cookie Run: Kingdom" and "Evony: The King's Return" have already been tested.

8. Google Play updates children's app censor process, strengthens supervision

On November 16, Google Play announced that it will make a series of changes to the store's management rules for children's apps. This update combines the "Family Policy" and "Designed for Families" reviews that children's apps need to comply with before they go live, resulting in a faster censor process and stricter standards for children's apps. In addition to optimizing the review process for children's apps, Google has also updated a censor project called "Family Licensed Ads SDK. If they want to get a "family license", manufacturers must indicate which SDKs are suitable for use by families and children's apps.