Google to police new app developers more closely

Android developers new to Google's phone platform could have publication of their apps delayed for days as more rigorous checks are done on coders.

Google said it was stepping up checks on app-makers it had not seen before to thwart "bad faith" developers.

These malicious developers often create new accounts to avoid Google's checks, it said.

Others hijack existing accounts to exploit the good reputation which established developers have accrued.

One cyber-security company said it expected the move to "have a positive impact".

"We find that malware authors often change their account information to conceal their identities," commented Kristy Edwards, from security company Lookout.

She added that one malware creator had been found to have used 707 different ID codes to try to evade detection.

The "more thorough" checks will be done on application creators who do not have a "track record" with Google, wrote Sameer Samat, product manager for Android and Google Play.

Google would be taking days to investigate developers who open new accounts to see if they have links to "bad faith" developers who have a history of making malicious and unsafe apps, he said.

It was common to see such developers try to "game" Google's systems to get around the existing controls, he said.

App developers seeking to abuse the Play Store, or make malicious apps, would have their accounts blocked, he said. Humans would make the final decisions on blocks and suspensions.

:story: BBC News