The Play Store now has a COVID-19 section filled with apps that help you stay informed (Updated)


Google is working hard to prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, so it has added curated safety tips and information cards to coronavirus search results. It didn't include the Play Store in these efforts right away, though, and it looks like that helped some bad actors: Until recently, a search for "coronavirus" or "covid-19" led to apps and games with mostly questionable content. While there are legitimate apps sprinkled between these bad results, Google seems to have decided to fully slam the brakes for now and has stopped showing results altogether for any query containing "covid-19," "coronavirus," or "corona." The solution isn't waterproof, though: searches for "covid19" (sans dash) and other misspelled variations still give you results.
There are a few more indicators that Google wanted to move as quickly as possible and hasn't been able to put much thought into its response yet. When you search for "covid" or "coronavirus" on the mobile Play Store, you'll still get autocompleted suggestions that give you access to some "COVID19" app with less than 1,000 downloads and (thankfully) the Brazilian government's official source of information on the disease. Hitting the search button will make these disappear, though, so there's no intuitive way to download a legitimate app like Brazil's or the CDC's straight from the Play Store when looking for the relevant terms for the disease. Brazil's case is even more severe, since all searches that merely include "coronavirus" or "covid-19" are banned from the store, and the app is called "Coronavírus SUS."
Big difference: COVID-19 (the correct spelling) and COVID19.
Other than the functional "covid19" search term, you'll also get results by searching for "covid," "coron virus," "cornavirus," and other slightly misspelled variations. You'll find many unhelpful apps this way, but to be fair, the CDC application and others are also sprinkled among these results. The Play Store website additionally still shows audiobooks, ebooks, and music results that don't seem to be too helpful when you search for the correctly spelled "coronavirus" or "covid-19."
The web Play Store still gives you (questionable) non-app results for a coronavirus search.
The most likely reason for the unavailable search results is an attempt to keep misinformation from spreading and preventing bad actors from profiting off COVID-19. It would be great if Google managed to whitelist a few apps that have proven to be trustworthy, even if that would only give you access to the CDC and other agencies or non-profits. We've reached out to the company for comment.
Dedicated section with COVID-19 information
It almost seems like Google listened to our suggestions, as a new curated section with information on the coronavirus outbreak is now available on the Play Store. You can find it in on the Store's website or in the mobile version's Apps bottom tab, though you might need to scroll down a bit there until you see it. In it, you get access to the CDC, the American Red Cross, Doctor on Demand, News360, Medical ID, and Twitter (which also shows you curated results when you search for COVID-19). The section is country-specific and will show you a different set of applications depending on where you're based.
Searching for "coronavirus" or "COVID-19" still only returns a blank page, though, so there's some work left to do for Google.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linktree’s free workaround lets you add multiple links to your Instagram bio

Image
Instagram only gives you one opportunity to link to outside resources inside its photo sharing platform. This might not be a problem for a majority of the users, but for those wanting a little more customization and even more options, it leaves much to be desired. Enter  Linktree , a free tool for Instagram designed to improve traffic to your outside link, be it a blog, portfolio, or store. How it works is fairly straightforward. After connecting Linktree to your Instagram profile, you’ll receive a single link to place in your Instagram bio. Once that link in place, you can customize what it’s linked to within your browser, be it a single website, or a collection of sites you’re looking to direct followers to Say you’re a photographer who’s using Instagram as a marketing tool for your wedding photography. Using Linktree, you can direct Instagram followers to your blog, your portfolio site, and even your other social media accounts. Until now, you would’ve been stuck choosing b
Read more

EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE PIXEL 4, THE MOST-LEAKED PHONE EVER

Image
Google’s  Pixel 3 might have been the  most-leaked phone in history . Long before its unveiling, we knew practically everything about it from unboxing videos, photo comparisons, even a full review of the device. Surely, for the Pixel 4, Google would clamp down on leaks to leave some surprises for its debut on  October 15th , right? Let’s just say, if that was the plan, it didn’t exactly work out. We’ve now seen the Pixel 4 XL from every angle and in three different colors. At least seven different sources have touched this phone, many of them confirming the same specs. We not only know which cameras it’ll have, but also what they may be capable of, including air gestures (go figure). That doesn’t even count information Google has already shared  on purpose. So if you want to know almost everything about the Pixel 4 nearly a month before it’s announced, buckle up. We’ve sifted through all of the rumors and information we can find to compile everything we know — and everything we
Read more

Our favorite iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad in 2018

Image
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to look at some our favorite apps of the year. While not all of these are brand new, many of them popped up onto our radar for the first time in 2018, and are definitely worth the attention. Others are some of our favorites that are still best-in-class despite having been around for some time now. We aim to do things differently at TNW, and as such you’re not going to find the recommendations you’re probably used to seeing: Gmail, Skype, Dropbox, and the like. Instead, we want to focus on the best-of-the-best that you may not have heard of, and others that are just special enough to warrant a mention. As always, we’d encourage you to share some of your favorites in the comments below, or on Facebook. Enlight Pixaloop (Free Pixaloop  is one of my favorite apps on the market. Unlike typical image editors that allow you to remove red eye or apply a filter, Pixaloop allows you to create stunning photo animations with a few clicks on your
Read more