Google files patent for detecting pirated apps in PlayStore

Google has managed to obtain a patent that will help the company remove pirated and “cloned” apps from the Google Play.

The company will reportedly maintain a database of approved apps that have already been uploaded to its online store by legitimate developers. All new apps will then be compared to the database before being approved, in order to detect any similarities with existing apps.

The company will not compare all the apps with each other, but will compare code, data files, audio and image files. A special algorithm will determine the “similarity rating”, determining whether an app is a clone or not.