There’s no shortage of VPN apps on the Google Play Store. But downloading a trustworthy VPN app can quickly seem like a lottery. To avoid unpleasant surprises, Google wants to set up a system to recognize “VPN apps that go above and beyond to protect their users.”
A “Verified” badge for trusted VPN apps
To identify trustworthy VPN apps, Google wants to display a “Verified” badge on them. The goal for the Mountain View company is to “highlight apps that prioritize user privacy and security.” With this badge, Google wants to “help users make more informed choices about the VPN apps they use and build trust in the apps they download.” A new tool that complements the arsenal already in place to identify “safe” applications.
The major VPN players will probably have no trouble obtaining this badge. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Aloha, among others, already display it on their application page. But the lesser-known services, with sometimes obscure practices, will have to get to work to hope to highlight their application with this badge. Google has drawn up a list of criteria that they will have to respect before submitting their application for a new validation for the Play Store.
Strict rules to obtain the “Verified” badge
Among the criteria cited by Google for obtaining the “Verified” badge, publishers will have to, for example, publish their application via an Enterprise developer account, or carry out a level 2 validation of the mobile application security assessment. They will also have to have at least 10,000 installations and 250 reviews, and have been published on the Play Store for at least 90 days. Finally, VPN app publishers will have to submit a declaration in the Data Security section, opting for an independent security assessment and encryption of data in transit.
It remains to be seen whether obtaining this badge will be enough to truly sort between good and bad VPN providers. That said, Google has clarified that this list of criteria is not exhaustive to be able to display this badge, as other criteria also weigh in the balance. Nevertheless, the firm specifies that compliance with these criteria considerably increases the chances for the publisher to obtain the verified badge for its application.
Source: Google
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