▲ Thanks to @softmedianewcomer2016930 for the picture.

According to the screenshots provided by users, the “Payment Methods” of Google Play Store can now bind the UnionPay debit card of Chinese banks. According to a discussion in the V2EX forums, debit cards from banks such as ICBC, China Construction Bank and China Merchants Bank are also available.

▲ V2EX-related discussion screenshot

Previously, local users in Hong Kong could choose from local credit/debit cards, PayPal, AlipayHK and Octopus to complete their transactions.

As for the bundling method, when adding a Mainland China UnionPay card, you need to enter the bank’s bundled cell phone number to receive the SMS verification code. In addition, the process can only be done through the Play Store on mobile, and attempting to add a card on the web will still result in an “invalid card number” message.

It’s also important to note that the feature is still suspected to be in internal testing, with only a small number of users able to bind a UnionPay card.

The post Google Play Store in HongKong can now add mainland UnionPay cards for payment appeared first on TechGoing.

Google has rolled out new features to help users discover their favorite apps and games, according to changes posted on its support page. “Mobile users will see limited-time event suggestions and sponsorship suggestions next to past searches when starting a new search.” Users can observe this behavior without any input, just tap the search bar in the Play Store.

According to some users, the Google Play Store has started displaying app ads in the search-related interface.

Previously, ads for the Google Play Store were “on every corner,” with the only exception being the search bar for past searches. Now in addition to ads, app and game highlights can also be displayed, these banners appear once and then disappear, usually not a second time.

This update will be pushed to users via the April 2023 Google System Update and Google Play Store v35.0 and later.

The post Google Play Store Ads Invade Search Bar History appeared first on TechGoing.

Google’s security team said: “In 2022, we have improved security, strengthened relevant policies, and increased disclosure of machine learning systems, further sorting out and improving the application review process.”

Google is working with software development kit (SDK) providers to limit access and sharing of sensitive data, ensuring better “privacy protection” for the more than 1 million apps in the official Android store.

For comparison, Google blocked 1.2 million policy-violating apps in 2021, disabled 190,000 accounts associated with malicious and spam developers, and closed about 500,000 inactive or abandoned developer accounts.

The post Google releases bad app report: 173,000 developer accounts banned and 1.43 million offending apps appeared first on TechGoing.

After McAfee reported the findings to Google, it removed the problematic games. The number of downloads of the main counterfeit apps attached is as follows:

 Block Box Master Diamond – Over 10 million downloads

 Craft Sword Mini Fun – Over 5 million downloads

 Block Box Skyland Sword – 5 million+ downloads

 Craft Monster Crazy Sword – 5 million+ downloads

 Block Pro Forrest Diamond – Over 1 Million Downloads

 Block Game Skyland Forrest – 1 million+ downloads

 Block Rainbow Sword Dragon – 1 million+ downloads

 Craft Rainbow Mini Builder – 1 million+ downloads

 Block Forrest Tree Crazy – 1 million+ downloads

After players launch these copycat “Minecraft” mobile games, the advertisement will be loaded, but the screen content will not be displayed. McAfee reported that initial network packets for several applications had a similar structure, using “3.txt” as a path of the form “https://(random).netlify.app/3.txt”.

While loading ads is a relatively low threat among malicious apps, it can slow down the performance of mobile devices, raise privacy concerns, and may even create security holes that expose users to more serious infections.

The post More than 35 million downloads, 38 counterfeit Minecraft games found on Google Play Store appeared first on TechGoing.

In June last year, the British CMA launched an antitrust investigation into Google because Google required app developers to use Google’s own payment system for in-app purchases. The CMA believes that Google’s restrictive behaviour hinders fair competition and also harms the interests of consumers.

Source: Pixabay

The CMA said today that Google has given a new proposal to address this concern, allowing app developers to provide different payment options and allowing users to choose between third-party payment systems and Google Play’s payment system.

In this regard, Ann Pope, senior director of antitrust at the CMA, said: “It is great to see that our investigation has led to Google giving thousands of app developers the freedom of in-app payments. But at the same time, we need to ensure that this Promises pay off in practice.”

To this end, the CMA is assessing and consulting on whether Google’s new proposal is adequate until May 19. Google said it will continue to listen to feedback and continue to invest in helping developers thrive in Google Play.

According to the CMA, Google Play accounts for more than 90% of all app downloads to Android devices in the UK. In addition to the UK, Google also allows some developers in the EU to use third-party payment systems to comply with the EU’s Digital Market Act.

The post After Apple, Google also chose to compromise: allowing developers to use third-party payment options appeared first on TechGoing.

Image Source Pexels

Starting next month, Android users in India will be able to use third-party billing services for apps and games. They will also be able to use a different default search engine of their choice during the setup process. These specific rules apply only to India, but similar rules have been set up in other regions as well.

As for smartphone manufacturers, they will be allowed to license separate Google apps to be pre-installed on the devices they ship. Previously, manufacturers were forced to bundle the entire Google suite of apps.

Google will continue to appeal the CCI’s decision, but for now it is working to implement the following changes.

OEMs will be able to obtain licenses for individual Google apps to be pre-installed on their devices.

Android users will always be able to customize their devices to their liking. Indian users will now be able to select their default search engine, and that display will soon appear when users set up a new Android smartphone or tablet in India.

Android compatibility requirements are being updated to introduce changes for partner builds of incompatible or forked variants.

Starting next month, user choice billing will apply to all apps and games. With user choice billing, developers can let users choose other billing systems as well as Google Play’s billing system when purchasing in-app digital content.

Android has always supported the installation of apps from a variety of sources, including through sideloading, which involves downloading apps directly from developer websites. Recent changes have been made to the Android installation process and automatic update feature for sideloaded apps and the app store, while ensuring that users are aware of potential security risks.

A few days ago, Google also agreed to allow third-party app stores to be listed on the Google Play Store, again due to pressure from the CCI.

The post Google to allow Play Store to offer third-party billing for apps and games in India appeared first on TechGoing.

Kodi 19.5 is the last version of “Matrix”, and this update will not appear on Google Play or Microsoft Store. Kodi 19.5 does not introduce any new features, mainly fixing a large number of bugs found in previous versions and optimizing background performance. The full changelog can be accessed here.

Download address: (passwords are all 1234)

Regarding the Kodi 19.5 update that cannot be updated through the Play Store platform, the Kodi Foundation stated:

"Please note that we are unable to provide this update through Google Play. The updated Google requires apps to be at least API level 31 (Android 12) now, while Kodi v19 targets API level 29 (Android 10).

As a result, we were unable to upload the 19.5 update to the Play Store, and users are currently still able to download the Kodi 19.3 update on the Play Store. However, for those who want a newer version, 19.5 can be downloaded from our servers and installed manually."

The post Multimedia player Kodi version 19.5 released without Google Play Store and Microsoft Store appeared first on TechGoing.

Google recently brought v33.4 update to Google Play Store, which officially provides the app archiving feature. Instead of disappearing from the desktop, the archived app icons will have a cloud download symbol in the icon.

The company has also created a new APK format to do this, which it officially calls ArchivedAPKs. According to Google, ArchivedAPKs are much smaller than traditional APKs and will save all of the user’s data until the user restores it.

The post Google officially offers app archiving through Play Store: Partially uninstall apps appeared first on TechGoing.

A report shows that Google is testing displaying ads for apps directly in Play Store searches. When a user clicks on the search box on the Play Store, it typically opens the keyboard immediately and shows the user the four most recent searches.

But the folks at 9To5Google say that clicking the search box on the 33.0.17-21 version of the Google Play Store app shows three apps that have not been searched or interacted with and are all games with icons.

In addition, previous search results will appear only after the user has entered a letter into the search box using the keyboard. Past queries will appear first, followed by auto-complete suggestions.

At this time, it is unclear if these apps appear in the Play Store search box for a fee. The latest November Play System update does include “a new format for search results” and “new features to help you discover your favorite apps and games. “The Play Store search changes may be related to this.

The post Google to show advertising apps in Play Store search appeared first on TechGoing.

In total, these updates are said to be three in number: a new device-specific search filter, a new section focused on Android apps for non-phone devices, and a new option to remotely install apps from your phone.

The updates come in the context of Google’s ongoing efforts to improve the Android hardware ecosystem beyond cell phones – a focus highlighted by the company’s own efforts to release more Android hardware options, including this year’s GooglePixel smartwatch and a new Google tablet in 2023. It seems that if Google itself is going to offer a wider range of hardware, the company also wants to make it easier to install apps on a variety of devices.

The first update to the Google Play app adds new home pages for non-mobile devices, including watches, TVs and cars. These home pages can be accessed from the “Other Devices” tab below the search box, and users can specify the exact type of device. Each home page is made up of rows of suggestions. 9to5Google previously discovered these new sections in beta testing, and they officially launched this week.

Searching for apps for non-mobile devices should also become easier thanks to new search filters that appear below the search box. Users can use the filters to limit searches to one of their devices, whether it’s a smartwatch or Android TV. this feature also officially rolled out this week.

Finally, once you’ve found the Android app you want, Google’s announcement says it’s now easier to install it remotely. A promotional image shows how the same Android app can be installed on multiple different devices with a single click. Remote installation of Wear OS apps is a feature that has appeared on Google’s support page since last year, and users also found that Google tested remote Android TV app installation last November. Now, however, the remote installation feature is fully available to all users.

The post Google Play Store update makes it easier to find apps for watches, tablets, TVs and cars appeared first on TechGoing.