Google Play Store users no longer have to worry about fake government apps stealing or misusing their data. Because Google just revealed that it is rolling out the badge to official government apps in more than 14 countries. He first announced this feature back in November 2023.
These badges can be found on more than 2,000 apps in countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Japan, South Korea, US, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and Mexico.
Search for official government apps on Google Play and you'll see a list of apps with a government badge. When you tap one of the badges, you'll see a message that says, “Play has confirmed that this app is affiliated with a government agency.”
This is a very innovative solution to clean up the Play Store these days. Particularly in places like India, fake central and state government apps are popping up on the Play Store at an all-time high to dupe people.
Google acknowledged that to achieve this, it would need to partner with governments and their app developers to include badges in their apps. It also recommended that if the government releases an app, they should create a developer account on Google Play using their official email ID.
Hopefully, Google will partner with more governments and extend this feature to more countries around the world, especially African countries where fake apps and phishing scams are prevalent.