The Google Play Store just updated its content policies that govern the action of apps distributed through the service, and a seemingly small change could have big repercussions for Facebook.
Recently, Facebook released a version of its app that allowed updates to be made without going through the Play Store, bypassing Google altogether once the initial app download was made.
Now Google has banned that practice, in a move that could be specifically targeting Facebook's workaround. "An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play's update mechanism," says the new policy for version 4.0.27 of the Google Play Store.
That should prevent a new feature in Facebook's latest app update. Now word on whether Facebook will be changing its app to accommodate, though it seems likely, since Google would need to block the Facebook app to enforce its new policy, and that seems like a debacle both companies want to avoid.
Despite recent reports of bad blood between the two tech giants, they've been able collaborators. Facebook chose Google's Android operating system as the environment for its Facebook Home series of apps.
Home reskins Android to bring Facebook content and features to the fore. The home screen turns into the Cover Feed, a full screen version of the News Feed, and notifications from other apps and Android processes are integrated into Facebook's own notifications about status updates, photos, tags and likes.
Of course, one of the reasons Facebook may have picked Android in the first place is its relatively lax restrictions on content, at least compared to Apple's App Store. This latest crackdown by Google could spur Facebook to look more aggressively into developing the Home apps for other operating systems.
Check back to find out.
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