Google has updated its developer policies to ban apps that mine cryptocurrencies on Android.

In its periodic update to the Play Store Development policies, the tech giant included a new section on Cryptocurrencies – explaining:

We don't allow apps that mine cryptocurrency on devices. We permit apps that remotely manage the mining of cryptocurrency.

In a move that echoes Apple’s revisions to its rules for cryptocurrency Apps made in June, the ban doesn’t preclude the management of mining – which specifically explained that:

the only cryptocurrency mining apps allowed are those that mine outside of the device, like cloud-based mining.

Apple’s move – and presumably Google’s – is intended to ensure that developers don’t inefficiently use the phone’s power, generate excessive heat or put strain on the device’s resources.

After Apple last year admitted that it intentionally slows down older devices to prolong the phone’s lifespan, it is understandable that cryptocurrency mining – a computationally very intensive process – is not at the top of their list of priorities for app developers.

Google and Blockchain

Google have been in the news quite a bit recently with respect to their approach to the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.

Co-founder and CEO Sergey Brin recently revealed that he has for two years been personally mining ETH – while also conceding that his company failed to be “on the bleeding edge” of the development of blockchain technology.

With Google on Monday finally announcing that it will be entering the blockchain space through a partnership to bring Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) solutions to its Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and crypto-related ads returning to their search site, it will be interesting to see how the company’s approach to the industry develops as it grows.