Google Play Is Going To Start Highlighting Apps With Widgets (theverge.com) 15
Google Play on Android devices is being updated to include a new search filter for widgets, widget badges on app detail pages, and a curated editorial page dedicated to widgets. The Verge reports: With the search filter, users will be able to more easily search for apps with widgets. The badge "eliminates guesswork for users and highlights your widget offerings, encouraging them to explore and utilize this capability," Taiwo-Peters says. And the curated editorial page will show off "collections of excellent widgets." The updated widget discoverability tools will be "coming soon," Taiwo-Peters says. "Historically, one of the challenges with investing in widget development has been discoverability and user understanding," product manager Yinka Taiwo-Peters says in the post. "You've asked for better ways for users to find and utilize your widgets, and we're delivering." Yinka Taiwo-Peters also acknowledges that "we understand that the effort required to build and maintain widgets needs to be justified by user adoption."
Lawsuit magnet (Score:2)
If a security breach is found in Widgets, then the flagged victims might file a class action lawsuit against Google for de-facto advertising who is vulnerable.
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How do you figure? Because they put a badge on the app in the store telling you there was functionality, now they're responsible for what the shitty developer wrote?
Stop trying to sue your way out of responsibility. Look who the developer is, look at what the app does, and make a decision for yourself if it warrants an install.
Jesus H. Christ already.
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I meant faults in Google's libraries, not the library user.
Imitating 'live' tiles (Score:2)
I remember 20 years ago, when Google reduced the number of filters. Such as, no longer allowed to remove "ad-ware", or "requires-internet" (all ad-ware requires internet) from the search results.
"... justified by user adoption."
While widgets are old technology, Google wants widgets to be the next "killer" app. They're unpopular, because they're small, don't co-operate with other 'widgets' like Notifications and the unlock keyboard, can't be customized, and require massive amounts of the home-screen real-estate be empty. As a pop-up with
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Resounding meh (Score:2)
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Let's blame product manager Yinka Taiwo-Peters, who was mentioned in this article. I bet you can find them on Google's Orbital.
The benefits won't last long (Score:2)
The benefits of this filter will last only as long as it will take for all the spam apps to incorporate useless widgets into their apps.
Okay but.. (Score:2)
... what about highlighting or allowing people to permanently filter out apps with gambling / pay to win mechanics, or paywalls, or dark patterns that induce users to only give positive ratings, or steal biometrics like facial data, or exhibit unusual patterns of network activity?
Basically all the slimy underhanded shit that Play could screen out or hide from view (thus incentivizing apps not to do it), but doesn't because it has a financial stake in seeing it continue.
But at least we can find widgets more
Google Play's search is 95% useless (Score:2)
I search on the web for what I need, then look for the specific app by its name in Google Play... and even then my target comes up 3rd-5th place in the search results.
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then look for the specific app by its name in Google Play
After having to go through two steps just to get the search field, which used to always be at the top of the app where you wanted it. That alone was more enshittification than should have occurred.
Search on open source, ad-free (Score:2)