Android 11 will no longer allow all apps to know the list of apps already installed on your smartphone. From May 5, 2021, Google will indeed impose new restrictions on Android developers. To obtain the inventory of apps installed by users, developers will have to justify themselves.
Google has just announced a series of changes in the Play Store policy on Android 11 . With this new burst of measures, the Mountain View giant limits the amount of information accessible to applications installed from the store. Android 11 will in particular limit access to the inventory of applications already installed.
GOOGLE FURTHER RESTRICTS THE ACCESS PROVIDED TO ANDROID APPS
Only certain specific applications can continue to collect the list of applications already installed. “The use of this permission is only permitted when the primary purpose or basic user-oriented functionality of your application requires extended visibility into the installed applications,” Google continues. Concretely, the app must absolutely need the list of Android applications present on the smartphone to function. Google lists antivirus , file managers and browsers in particular . For a short transition period, Google will also allow banking or digital wallet apps to access the inventory for security reasons.
By default, other apps will not be able to get the app list. Developers who believe they need the authorization will have to justify themselves to the Google teams. Note that the American giant will automatically prohibit access if the information collected by the app is intended to be sold for advertising purposes . This new policy will come into effect on May 5, 2021, Google announces. Developers therefore have several weeks to adapt and submit an authorization request.