Google Tweaks Play Store Updating Policies
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Simpsons Tapped Out
Is one app that ALWAYS updates itself without using the store, directly through that app.
This is a pretty lame change right here, updating that game was also was easy and so painless, took about 5 - 10 seconds during the launch, and you wouldn't have to reset it or anything.
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The problem is that when updates come through the Play Store, Google can verify that the updates are not malicious.....if not, then they can't. For big companies like Facebook it isn't a problem, Facebook probably isn't going to send out a malicious update. But a smaller, independent app company just might. It would be the ultimate trojan, originally a harmless app, but then gradually send out updates which attack the phone. It isn't a far fetched notion at all I don't think.
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It has already happened that existing apps have elevated their permissions with updates, and people get angry when they notice that a formerly harmless app suddenly wants access to more stuff.
If those apps update via their own server, you might not get the manual approval notice which the Play Store uses to prevent sneakiness.
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I assumed that it was more than just a hypothetical, but didn't know of any examples.
Bottom line is that more transparency is always better. Silent updates that you aren't aware of and have no choice about accepting them are unacceptable.
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