17.04.2026
2 min
191
Google has blocked more than 8.3 billion ads that violated its platform policies and removed nearly 25 million advertiser accounts, as the company focuses on combating fraud that is growing rapidly thanks to the use of artificial intelligence.
Google introduced two major policy changes intended to protect users’ privacy while increasing protections from fraudulent activity. These were made public as part of the same announcement of the removal/ blocking of over 8.3 billion ads and suspension of nearly 25 million accounts, by year-end 2025.
Changes included restrictions to contacts and geo-location on android devices. Third-party apps will have much less ability to access user’s personal data.
A manual contact chooser has been added (contact-selector) so the user may individually select which contacts to allow to view to the app. Prior to this, a READ CONTACTS permission was needed to open the entire phone book, including all associated details.
Android version 17 restricts apps to request only specific fields (phone number, email etc.), not allowing them to request a copy of the full contact record. The Google system contact selection interface (or Android ShareSheet) is the required method for accessing these records.
If a developer wishes to continue requesting full access to user contact records, they will need to justify this via a declaration within the Play Console. Most developers will likely remove READ CONTACTS permissions completely, particularly those developing for version 17 or higher.
Another restriction involves geo-location. An option exists for developers to add a one-time location request button. This provides the user with increased control over what data is shared with applications, how long it is shared and for what purpose.
Additionally, starting with Android Version 17, a permanent icon will display each time an app accesses geo-location. Developers should assess whether geo-location data is absolutely necessary and limit the amount of data collected.
If a developer only requests geo-location for temporary purposes, Google recommends using a special flag “onlyForLocationButton” in the manifest file. If geo-location is required permanently, then developers will require justification through Play Console as well. The framework for declaring permanent geo-location usage will be released sometime prior to October 2026. On October 27th, the Play Console will begin to auto-detect potential violations of both contact and geo-location policy issues through pre-screening of submissions.
As part of the changes above, Google will introduce an official process for changing ownership of applications. As of today, this can be accomplished through the Play Console Account Transfer feature. Any third party methods (i.e., transferring login credentials or selling an account through marketplaces) are strictly prohibited. The new regulations are set to take effect on May 27th, 2026.
Against this backdrop of regulatory changes, Google has also provided insight into combating malicious advertisements. The company utilizes its Gemini artificial intelligence model to identify threats to users before they are exposed to advertising that could cause harm.
More than 99 percent of advertisement deemed malicious in 2025 was detected by Google and subsequently removed from circulation before being shown to any users. Additionally, the company’s systems:
Removed/blockaded over 600 million ads
Suspended over four million advertiser accounts due to fraudulent behavior
Blocked/restricted approximately four point eight billion ad assets
Took enforcement action against over 480 million websites
Compared to last year, the figures were significantly higher, with over five billion ads blocked from distribution and approximately 39.2 million advertiser accounts suspended.
