Google has started marking out the government apps on Playstore to avoid fake app downloads, Offering genuine badges for the apps published by government entities like MeitY and the national governance division.
Benefits of Marking Government Apps on Playstore
Currently, the Playstore adding government badges to the apps published by the government of India to help people download the right apps, not the fake ones to avoid any future scams or fraud.
When you search for an app like mAadhaar, Daisy Locker, mParivahan, or Umang app, You can see a government badge on the information page on Playstore. When you tap on the government badge a pop-up message shows up saying ” Play verified this app is affiliated with a government entity.”
This is one of the latest features Google has added to the Play Store To date there are over 14 countries are part of this badge rollout and covers over 2000 states and Central Government apps.
From the user’s perspective, it is an appreciated effort by Google to help them recognize the genuine government tabs so they won’t fall into scammers’ traps and lose their critical information.
Google argues that its security checks on the Play Store are strong, but prior incidents have demonstrated that there are flaws in its armor, and it hopes that badges like this will help customers identify between legitimate and fraudulent apps.
The government badge cannot be handed out to any developer, and app publishers must utilize official email addresses to host their apps for customers.