Google is finally following in Apple’s footsteps, and has stripped all cryptocurrency mining apps from its Play Store and outright banned them. It has also updated its Play Store policy page to reflect this move.
Unders the “Financial Instruments” section of its policy page, Google has made its stance very clear about the volatile digital currency. “We don’t allow apps that mine cryptocurrency on devices”. While mining apps are banned, Google’s new policy does still permit apps that are designed to remotely manage non-Android apps and devices that are designed for mining cryptocurrency (i.e. cloud-based mining).
Google’s decision makes a lot of sense, especially in the interest of preserving the lifespan of Android devices. Unlike full-size and dedicated mining rigs, Android devices do not have the appropriate cooling solutions needed for the rigorous and complex calculations required by cryptomining. Because of this, most Android devices can easily overheat or have its battery suffer from a series of issues, from deforming to catching fire.
Case in point, cryptocurrency mining malware such as Loapi and HiddenMiner have been known to physically damage an infected Android smartphone.
This isn’t the first cryptocurrency-related issue for Google. Back in April, the internet giant banned all extensions that mined cryptocurrency from its Chrome browser. Before that, the company also announced that it would be blocking cryptocurrencies from its advertising platform in an effort to protect its users from scams.
(Source: Google via Bleeping Computer, Mashable)
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