Despite the recent ban on cryptocurrency mining apps by Google on its Play Store, there are still reports of such apps available for download on the platform.
Mining Apps Still Available for Download
In July, Google released an updated policy document within which contained its decision to ban cryptocurrency mining apps from the Play Store. The move came shortly after Apple made a similar decision. At the time, Google made it clear that they wouldn’t allow mobile apps that mine virtual currencies but they would permit the one that manages cloud crypto mining activities.
However, despite this ban, an investigation carried out by The Next Web (TNW) revealed that there were still a few such apps on the Play Store. According to TNW, one such app, JSEcoin, developed by a British startup was able to publish its mining app on the platform. The app contained features that allowed both remote and direct mobile phone mining capability, the latter of which is a direct contravention of Google’s updated policy.
Speaking to TNW on the matter, John Sim, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the company said:
We have additionally reached out to the Google Support team to confirm if we are allowed to allow our users to mine our tokens via our official app – as we are aware of their restriction policy.
At press time, JSEcoin is no longer available on the Play Store. According to the company, it received an email from Google informing them that their app violated its policies, hence the termination of the listing. Sim told TNW that his firm plans to follow up with Google on the matter but has since published an updated version of its app but without any direct mining functionality.
30-Day Grace Period
Apart from JSEcoin, other mining apps are still up on the Play Store platform. Some of the cryptocurrency mining apps still live on Play Store include MinerGate, Bitcoin Miner, Free BCH Miner, and NeoNeonMiner. A few of these apps have been on the online store for more than a year.
According to Google, the reason for the presence of these apps is because the company has a 30-day grace period. App developers and publishers have 30 days to adhere to a policy change.
What do you think about the presence of these cryptocurrency mining apps on the Play Store despite the ban by Google? Let us know your views in the comment section below.
Image courtesy of Google Play Store