From May 11, Google will be blocking all third-party call recording apps from its Play Store.
The new policy changes were recently spotted by a Reddit user and that means the tech giant is doing everything it can to restrict further access to Accessibility API so they’re harder to reach by developers.
This was previously used by the company to enable all call recordings on a remote basis but now, it feels the time has come to restrict apps on the Play Store from gaining access to the Accessibility Service, starting May 11.
In addition to this, Google mentioned how it hopes to eliminate any confusion that there may be regarding this news by reiterating the recent policy change during a webinar for developers.
The move hopes to tackle the growing issue that many users face in terms of their privacy where complaints about apps recording their call audio without them being aware is a norm.
At the moment, this policy change is solely restricted to third-party applications on the Play Store. It is interesting to note how the change will not affect so many default dialer applications such as Mi Dialer and even Google Phone, whose main function is recording native calls due to their in-built functionality on various devices.
These are usually found on smartphones belonging to the Pixel or Xiaomi range.
He also elaborated that if a pre-installed app happens to be in default mode, you can continue to record audio and it won’t lose its functionality. But after downloading a new app from the Google Play Store, users won’t be able to gain access to the feature anymore.
Read next: Google Changes Cookie Handling Of Its Services Across Europe By Giving Users The Choice to ‘Reject All’
The new policy changes were recently spotted by a Reddit user and that means the tech giant is doing everything it can to restrict further access to Accessibility API so they’re harder to reach by developers.
This was previously used by the company to enable all call recordings on a remote basis but now, it feels the time has come to restrict apps on the Play Store from gaining access to the Accessibility Service, starting May 11.
In addition to this, Google mentioned how it hopes to eliminate any confusion that there may be regarding this news by reiterating the recent policy change during a webinar for developers.
The move hopes to tackle the growing issue that many users face in terms of their privacy where complaints about apps recording their call audio without them being aware is a norm.
At the moment, this policy change is solely restricted to third-party applications on the Play Store. It is interesting to note how the change will not affect so many default dialer applications such as Mi Dialer and even Google Phone, whose main function is recording native calls due to their in-built functionality on various devices.
These are usually found on smartphones belonging to the Pixel or Xiaomi range.
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He also elaborated that if a pre-installed app happens to be in default mode, you can continue to record audio and it won’t lose its functionality. But after downloading a new app from the Google Play Store, users won’t be able to gain access to the feature anymore.
Read next: Google Changes Cookie Handling Of Its Services Across Europe By Giving Users The Choice to ‘Reject All’
