According to the VP of Products for Android devices in Google, the company is seeing an increase in threats and as such, it’s working on various Play Store update to prevent abuse an increase safety on the platform.
Important Google Play Store Update Coming Up
Since August of 2025, the Google Play Store has had an important play store update heading its way: Google has introduced developer verification. The bad news is that this Play Store update isn’t active as of now and users will have to wait until 2026 until the safety on the platform increases, but the good news is that starting from 2026, the new Google Play store update will require all Android developers to be verified, similar to an ID check at the airport.
According to Google’s VP, this play store update should provide better security and privacy screening for users and ensure that the apps on the Google Play Store aren’t malicious. The change is set to occur in a few select countries that are severely impacted by fraudulent apps masquerading on the Google Play Store – then, Google will likely evaluate the effectiveness of this step and likely develop similar play store update in other countries.
According to Google, they’ve received supportive feedback in regards to this initiative from Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand with governments seeing this step as a “significant advancement” in user protection and encouraging it as a “positive and proactive measure.”
We are yet to see how this Google Play Store update will develop or impact users of the Google Play Store, but with governments and Google approving this change, it’s likely to improve the stance of user privacy in the long run.
Protecting Yourself Beyond the Play Store Update
While the Google Play Store update is important as it will enhance user security and privacy by verifying the developers of the Android applications distributed on the store, It’s important to keep in mind that you must take steps to protect yourself beyond the Google Play store update as well.
Using data breach search engines is a good way to do that because data breach search engines like BreachDirectory.com will allow you to check whether your personal information is at risk by allowing you to search through compromised email addresses, usernames, or IP addresses. The data breach search engine will also let you search through other sensitive information to help you investigate cybercrime and other nefarious activities to help keep your personal information safe.
Besides that, the BreachDirectory API will help you implement the data in the data breach search engine into your own application should you want to do that.
Take the BreachDirectory data breach search engine for a spin today and keep in mind that all versions of BreachDirectory that do not end in .com are fake and/or plagiarized.
Summary
Google Play Store is rolling out an important update come 2026 – all developers of Android-based apps will now need to be verified similarly to passing ID verification in an airport. This play store update is likely to increase security and privacy of the users of Google Play Store as well as increase trust in developers by the users of their apps.
The play store update is rolling out in 2026 – until then, keep yourself safe by using data breach search engines and following good security practices on the web, and until next time.
FAQ
What’s the Newest Play Store Update About?
The newest Google Play Store update is about verifying the identity of developers developing apps for Android devices. Google argues that such a step is likely to decrease fraud and other related activities on the play store.
How Can I Ensure I Download Safe Apps From the Play Store?
To ensure you download original and safe apps from the Google Play Store, ensure that you’re using a real version of Google Play, look at the reviews of the app in question, and when in doubt, always consider contacting the developers and asking about their app.
Why Should I Use BreachDirectory?
Consider using data breach search engines like BreachDirectory.com because such data breach search engines allow you to check whether your personal information is at risk by allowing you to search for email addresses, usernames, or IP addresses, as well as other sensitive information or help you investigate cybercrime if you’re already fallen victim to identity theft or other attacks.