During Google I/O 2014 today, some time was spent sharing the role that Google Play Services holds in keeping all users up-to-date and secure against malicious attacks. According to Google, Google Play Services gets updated every six weeks and is one of the few frameworks that they actively monitor to make sure it stays on that schedule. With these updates rolling out regularly, Google says 93% of all Google users are on the latest version.
Keeping users on the latest version is important to Google because the Play Services platform is part of their strategy to implement malware protection. All apps are scanned as they go through the Play Store system resulting in less than one-half of one percent of Android users experiencing any kind of malware issue. Google also uses the Play Services updates to push out security patches to Android systems.
Google is adding some new features to the Play Services framework. These include a factory reset protection to help users who may find themselves separated from their Android devices. Universal Data Controls are also being implemented to give users a central place to manage privacy settings on a platform-wide scale.
Be sure to check back for more coverage from Google I/O 2014.
