New 42 day free trial
Smarty
0
Cart Icon
Cart

Google retracts physical address requirement for Play Store developers

Google Strands
Rob Green
Rob Green
 • 
September 23, 2014
link-icon
Tags
Address validation blog tagAddress validation

Must have address to play

Every month, tens of billions of apps are downloaded from the Google Play store. Users of those apps have historically had limited contact with the app developers for asking questions or lodging a complaint. And getting a response from some developers has proved to be a very difficult experience.

Google briefly considered requiring app developers to provide their physical address or have their app removed from Google's play store. Providing a physical address where customer questions or complaints can be handled would work well for developers that have a separate business address.

Image of usps address verification Google Play

Simple solution

However, many Google Play app developers are work-from-home freelancers who feel uncomfortable with giving out their home addresses to a company that already has most of their identifying data. Additionally, Google was concerned that developers might enter a fake address. The fake-address issue could easily be solved by using simple address verification services like those provided by Smarty. However, never one to use a simple solution, Google has decided jump into the Big Brother arena with their latest project, Google Strands: a DNA-based developer identification system.

Strands of truth

With Google Strands, app developers can fill out a simple request in Google Play and have the Strands kit sent to them free of charge. Within 2 days, a DIY cheek-swab kit will arrive at the developer's preferred address.

cheek swabbing a cat

The developer simply swipes the inside of their cheek with the swab and returns it to Google. Google then rapidly sequences the developer's DNA, and the developer's unique DNA sequence is immediately linked to all of the developer's Google Play apps.

Plans are also in the works for developers to be able to simply lick their webcam to expedite the DNA sequencing process. Job applications from developers to work on the new app have been sparse, though several developers have sent in stool samples to Google corporate headquarters for DNA sequencing in lieu of a formal application. A release-date for the new app has not yet been published.
 

(This post is intended to be a satirical commentary on Google Play's address requirement.)

Subscribe to our blog!
Learn more about RSS feeds here.
rss feed icon
Subscribe Now
Read our 5 address validation use cases ebook nowDownload now
Read our recent posts
Inside Smarty® - Irina O'hara
Arrow Icon
Irina O'Hara is one of our uniquely clever, expert frontend developers. She’s immensely talented and has had a vital impact on our website redesign. When it came time to spotlight her, Irina was a joy to sit down with and get to know a little better. To get to the basics, she writes code and creates awesome websites, and she’s darn good at both. BackgroundIrina was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, she wasn't born a development expert and had other aspirations from the start.
How I reduced my returned mail from 27% to 1% using address autocomplete
Arrow Icon
The following is based on a true story. Some of the names and relationships have been changed to protect the anonymity of individuals and companies. However, the numbers are 100% accurate. In 2023, I wanted to mail some really fancy cards to 165 businesses. I collected their addresses by asking for them or finding them in their online listing and collected them all in a neat little row. Then, I went a step further and ran these addresses through Smarty's bulk address validation tool. Everything was set and perfect.
The ROI of accurate healthcare address validation: Stop hemorrhaging red on your financial statements
Arrow Icon
In healthcare, the havoc an inaccurate address can wreak on your financial results is significant in more ways than one, and the boost in overall profitability from maintaining a clean address database is equally worth noting. Accurate healthcare address validation improves operational efficiency, patient engagement, and compliance and builds revenue to heights that couldn’t be met without it. Here’s what we’ll be covering:Healthcare address validation pros and consCon: Increased claim denials and organizational costsPro: Reduced claim denials and reprocessing costsCon: Increasing patient match error ratesPro: Improved patient matching and data qualityCon: Complicated billing and collections processesPro: Streamlined billing and collections capabilitiesCon: Exposure to legal liabilitiesPro: Enhanced regulatory compliance and risk aversionCon: Misplaced market strategyPro: Data-driven decision-making and market insightsEpilogue: Avoiding the pain (see our summarized financial savings)Healthcare address validation pros and consThere’s a pro and a con associated with having (or not having 🫣) accurate address data in your healthcare systems.
Previous Post
Next Post

Ready to get started?

Schedule Demo
42-day Free Trial