How to Restrict Access to Google Play Store

The Google Play Store is one of two primary places to download applications. It’s a digital distribution platform operated by Google and the official store for Android apps. The store has millions of apps available.

Business devices hold an array of apps, most likely downloaded from the Google Play Store. While allowing the end-user full access to the store may seem straightforward, this comes with concerns.

The solution is for businesses to restrict access to Google Play Store for end-users and manage this at an IT level.

We’re going to explain further the risks for businesses that allow their employees free reign to the store and detail in steps how to restrict access to the Google Play Store.

1How to Restrict Access to Google Play Store in 3 Steps

An organization's IT team can adopt a mobile device management (MDM) system like AirDroid Business to restrict employees' access to the Google Play Store. This software's many features include allowing the IT team to access the store only and ensuring company-approved apps are downloaded and installed.

AirDroid Business - 3-Step Process

With AirDroid Business, IT teams can lock access to the Play Store on Android in three straightforward steps. This allows for the Play Store access only at this senior level.

Step 1: Access the AirDroid Business Dashboard. Enroll the device using Android Enterprise or Zero Touch methods.

Step 2: Complete the binding process for your Google account.

Step 3: Manage Apps in Google Play Store. Add approved apps to the managed Google Play Store.

This means that only the apps on this list can be downloaded by anyone with a registered device in the company.

Organizations that block Play Store access in this way ensure that their devices only contain approved apps, eliminating the risk of security issues and less opportunity for misuse of the endpoints.

Pro-tip:

Navigate to Policy>User and Account> Allow or disallow adding/deleting Google accounts.
Many employees have their own Google accounts and may be tempted to switch to their personal ones on a company device to access the Google Play Store. However, by restricting the adding or deleting of Google accounts, they’re unable to do this.

2How AirDroid Business Helps

Google Play, blocked by AirDroid Business, helps an organization in many ways.

Here’s a look at how:

Monitor app usage across devices: AirDroid Business gives IT teams complete monitoring ability over all apps on all devices. If somehow a device has accessed the Google Play Store, they can take action.
Install, update, or remove apps from a centralized dashboard: IT teams manage app deployment. The devices' end-users don’t need to concern themselves with these tasks, leaving them with no reason to visit the Google Play Store.
Configure devices to operate in single-app or multi-app mode: AirDroid Business allows IT teams to lock devices to single or multi-app mode. This restricts the end user to only being able to download approved apps.
Private app store: IT staff can create a customized app store via AirDroid Business. They determine everything related to the app, including its name, description, and icon image. Having an in-house app store means there’s no need to visit the Google Play Store.
Can review app data usage report: AirDroid Businesses, app data usage reports allow IT staff to monitor the activity of every Android device. If unfamiliar app activity appears, they’re notified immediately.
Can receive alerts to monitor an app’s running status: If an app on any device is displaying an unusual status, AirDroid Business advises the IT staff in real-time.
Monitor app’s current version: The AirDroid Business platforms enable the admin to monitor the status of every app on every device so that the IT team will know what the latest app is on all managed devices and when they need an update. This update can be deployed to all the required devices, leaving the end-user with an updated device at all times, giving them no reason to visit the Google Play Store.

AirDroid Business - Effectively limit access to the Google Play Store and ensure compliance with app usage policies.

AirDroid Business restricts access to the Google Play Store and allows IT teams to monitor app usage, restrict personal Google accounts, and receive real-time alerts.

14-days Free Trial

3Importance and Risk

With millions of apps available, allowing anyone in the organization to download whatever app they want can present many issues. These concerns range from compatibility due to different versions to apps that are end-user preference only and not business-relevant, as well as malicious apps that can cause performance issues or, worse, open the door for hackers.

Irrelevant Apps
A significant issue for many businesses is the time their employees spend using non-work-related apps. A LinkedIn report by PWC suggested that, on average, an employee wastes 2.5 hours per day on non-work-related activities, including social media, personal emails, and other online distractions.

Compatibility Issues
Developers update apps constantly, some more than others. If an end-user is operating an older version of an app, they may experience faults or incorrect results.

Malicious Apps
Any developer can pay ($25) to have their app available here. It is put through some tests before being released on the store, mainly to ensure it doesn’t breach Google’s content policies and security standards.

However, savvy developers have found ways for their apps to contain malicious content, including malware that puts anyone, including businesses, in danger.

Cost Management
Some business apps require licenses, which come at a cost. If every end-user downloaded one of these apps, the license costs could be enormous. Another issue is that some apps have in-app purchases, which the end-user may take advantage of without getting approval first.

Corporate Environment
Organizations may have contracts with third parties to use their apps only. If end-users download and use competitor apps, they may put the company at risk of contract breaches.

4Restrict and Relax

Many business owners are concerned about what apps are on their employees’ phones. Without proper controls in place, these devices may contain many non-work-related apps, as well as ones that are out of date or may breach security. AirDroid Business can help organizations restrict access to the Google Play Store to their employees, allowing only their IT teams to manage the downloading of apps effectively and securely.