With the recent change in its terms of use, the Google Play Store service announced a ban on crypto mining apps. “Apps that mine on users’ devices are not allowed,” the new term states, and apps that use the processing power of devices will soon begin to be removed.
However, apps that are used to manage another device are allowed and will not be removed.
Google's move is very important, as if a device mines for many hours continuously, it is very likely to overheat and damage its battery, deform or even catch fire. Such scenarios are not hypothetical as they have happened in the past with malware such as Loapi and HiddenMalware.
The policy change was not announced anywhere but was done secretly. Immediately, the creators of the apps that were blocked from the Play store started complaining on Reddit about the update they did not receive. The updated terms of use are available here.
Apple banned mining apps last month from the App Store
The company's decision to ban crypto mining apps from the Play Store came about a month after Apple banned them from App Store in early June.
Google removed all mining-related extensions from its web store in early April.
Furthermore, ads with cryptocurrency-related content have now been banned by Google and Facebook as they very often lead to scams or phishing sites.
