Google Play Store ads are about to turn up in an annoying place
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An update to the Google Play Store, in which ads appear when you open the search bar, is reportedly in testing.
9To5Google (opens in new tab) has discovered that the company is considering replacing recent history with advertising. The change was noticed on a device running version 33.0.17-21 of the Play Store.
The current default behavior of search for most users is that when activated, the four most recent searches appear as suggestions in the Android app space.
Play Store ads
For many Android phone users, looking for new apps in the Play Store is not part of their habits – instead, they go straight to the search bar to search for a specific app in their mind.
Google may have noticed this and is testing a new change that could significantly increase ad visibility.
Also, search history may not be very useful to many users, so it would make sense from Google’s perspective to replace it with something more financially beneficial to the company.
The rollout may be part of the Play Store’s latest update – version 33.0.17-21 – which includes a section on “New features to help you discover your favorite apps and games”.
Google isn’t the only company changing the way ads work in its app store: Apple’s App Store has also recently undergone some updates. Ads will now appear in the “Today” tab of the App Store, along with suggestions in each app’s list, highlighted by an “Ad” icon with a blue background.