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Company Profile

Google Play Services

Google Play Services is a proprietary software package produced by Google for installation on Android devices. It consists of background services and libraries for use by mobile apps running on the device. When it was introduced in 2012, it provided access to the Google+ APIs and OAuth 2.0. It expanded to cover a variety of Google services, allowing applications to communicate with the services through common means.

Services
Google Play Game Services Location APIs provide specifications about the location technologies, providing geofencing APIs for scheduling specific actions when the user enters or leaves specific geographic boundaries, Fused Location Provider acquires location information such as reduced power usage and activity recognition for allowing applications to adapt to the current action of the user (e.g. cycling, walking, etc.). In 2019, the company announced that the software was scanning 50 million apps per day. On 6 November 2019, Google announced the App Defense Alliance. Partners can request Google Play Protect to analyze an app. Results are sent to the partner and Google Play Protect receives results from partners. As of November, 2019, partners of the App Defense Alliance included ESET, Lookout and Zimperium. In October 2023, Google announced that Play Protect would scan sideloaded apps for malware at install time. In May 2016, Google announced Instant Apps, a feature provided via Google Play Services for Android 4.2 and later that allows app developers to provide lightweight versions of their apps without first having to install them from the Play Store. The feature debuted in 2017. In June 2025, Google announced through Android Studio that Instant Apps support would be removed that December. The decision was attributed to low usage of the functionality. == Adoption ==
Adoption
Google Play Services is automatically updated through Google Play on devices with Android 6.0 or newer. This means Google can deliver updates without manufacturers having to update the Android firmware, working around the fragmentation of the platform that has become infamous for Android products. == Concerns ==
Concerns
The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) was announced in 2007, and functioned as the baseline system for all OEMs and firmware modifications such as CyanogenMod and LineageOS. Various AOSP apps were transferred to Google Play with a closed-source model. Many apps (such as Lyft, Uber, and many of the Google apps like Gmail and YouTube) function only when the Google Play Services package is available and enabled. On the other hand, distributions like GrapheneOS, implement a sandboxed version of Google Play Services, that have them run with regular privileges as any other app would. In that way, the privacy issues are mitigated and they can interact with Google APIs while not breaking compatibility with some of google apps. == See also ==
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