Google announces Chrome Web Store security crackdown

Google has announced that it will be updating the Chrome Web Store's spam policy in an effort to cut down on the number of “low-quality and misleading” Chrome extensions.

In a blog post, the search giant's Rebecca Soares and Benjamin Ackerman from the Chrome Policy and Anti-Abuse Team explained why the company is introducing these new rules, saying:

“The increase in adoption of the extension platform has also attracted spammers and fraudsters introducing low-quality and misleading extensions in an attempt to deceive and trick our users into installing them to make a quick profit. We want to ensure that the path of a user discovering an extension from the Chrome Web Store is clear and informative and not muddled with copycats, misleading functionalities or fake reviews and ratings.”

Google plans to begin enforcing its updated spam policy on August 27 which will likely lead to a large number of extensions that don't meet the new requirements being delisted.

:story: TechRadar