The Google Play Store offers a vast selection of apps that is growing exponentially. However, with the growing e-Governance feature, a lot of fraudulent apps pretending to be authentic government applications are cluttering the Google Play Store, with the intention of tricking users into sharing their data.

In response to the ongoing concerns regarding such issues in the industry, Google is rolling out a new feature that will show whether an App is published by a government entity or not. When you click on the name of an app, you can read its description. Beneath the app name, you will see a new badge labeled "Government." Upon tapping the badge, a pop-up message will confirm that "Google Play has verified this app is affiliated with a government entity."

Furthermore, Google highlighted that the badge will appear in rankings such as 'Top Charts'. The new feature is aimed at assisting users in verifying the authenticity of an app. Recent incidents involving scams using voice cloning and 'deepfake' technology for face morphing have raised concerns among regulatory agencies. 

Google has teamed up with about 14 governments globally, including the Government of India, to address this specific issue. According to Google, over 2,000 apps in various countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, and India now feature the new badge. Moreover, Google plans to extend this feature to additional countries.

In India, apps such as Digilocker, mAdhaar, NextGen mParivahan, Voter Helpline, and similar ones will display the new badge. Google has been working closely with app developers and government authorities to enhance this process.

Source- Money Control