Google Play Protect: New ‘Rescan’ Feature in Development to Safeguard Users Against Malicious Apps

Google may be developing additional functionality for its cloud-based app-verification service, Play Protect, to further safeguard users against malicious apps. According to a report, the search giant is working on a ‘Rescan’ option for apps that have been previously flagged as harmful, without uninstalling them from devices.

The feature was reportedly spotted during an APK teardown of the Google Play Store app on Android, version 41.9.17. The ‘Rescan’ button would show up after an app has been scanned by Play Protect, giving users another chance to rescanned the app in case it is wrongly labelled, before removing it from their device.

Currently, whenever a user installs an app, it is screened by Google Play Protect for any potentially harmful behavior. If an app is flagged for violating the company’s Unwanted Software Policy, an alert is sent to the user along with an option to uninstall it.

In addition to the ‘Rescan’ feature, Google is also reportedly bringing a new ‘quarantine’ functionality to the Play Store with Android 15. This feature would enable system apps, such as Google Play Services or the Play Store, to isolate potentially harmful apps and apply restrictions on them. Once an app is quarantined, its capabilities would be severely limited, preventing it from negatively impacting the user’s device.

The code referencing this feature was discovered in an Android 15 beta update but is yet to be enabled. It was spotted in the form of a “QUARANTINE_APPS” permission, which apps signed by the same certificate as Google can be granted to.

These developments aim to further enhance the security of the Google Play Store and protect users from malicious apps. While the ‘Rescan’ feature is still in development, it is expected to provide users with an additional layer of protection against potentially harmful apps.