"Google claims to be cracking down on apps that are using the VPN service to track user data or rerouting user traffic to earn money through ads," Reda Labdaoui, marketing and sales manager at Blokada, wrote last week in a a forum post. The T&Cs spell out that developers must declare the use of VPNservice in their apps' Google Play listing, must encrypt data from the device to the VPN endpoint, and must comply with Developer Program Policies, particularly those related to ad fraud, permissions, and malware.īlokada, a Sweden-based maker of an ad-blocking VPN app, worries this rule will hinder at least the previous iteration of its software, v5, and other privacy-oriented software. The rules appear to be intended to deter data-grabbing VPN services, such as Facebook's discontinued Onavo, and to prevent ad fraud. The revised Terms and Conditions state that developers must declare the use of VPNservice in their apps' Google Play listing, must encrypt data from the device to the VPN endpoint, and must comply with Developer Program Policies, particularly those related to ad fraud, permissions, and malware. However, services will have to ensure that apps and services that pass through the VPN tunnel retain their communication to ad servers. In other words, VPN service providers may open a secure device-level channel for data exchange that takes place via a remote service. However, no VPN service should, “manipulate ads that can impact apps monetization”. Apps that explicitly confirm they offer VPN services and choose to use Google’s VPN API, would be allowed to open a secure device-level tunnel to a remote service. Google basically asks all VPN service providers to use the Android VPNService base class. The updated Google Play policy, which outlines specific requirements for VPN services that work on Android devices, was announced last month. Needless to add, this decision could help Google, but it may pose problems for some applications that need privacy and secure transmission of data. The company has confirmed that it will prohibit Android VPN apps on its Play store from interfering with or blocking advertising. Google seems to be safeguarding its advertising business.
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