Google Play Store to launch 'Teach approved' children-friendly app section

With a lot of parents having their children at home right now, there is a need to keep the young ones entertained when they aren't doing schoolwork or chores. Google hopes to help out with a new Kids section in the Play Store. The apps in the said section will be "Teacher approved," and Google claims these have been rated by teachers and meet the company's quality standards. The apps are evaluated based on how age-appropriate they are, the quality of experience, enrichment, and delight. Google also adds more information about whether the app will be right for their kid. It's first launching in the US, with international countries getting it in the coming months. We're hoping it arrives here sooner than later.

Google Play Store has a dedicated dark theme toggle on some devices

With every sort of app getting dark mode, we aren't surprised it's showing up more and more. While the Google Play Store has had the feature for some time already, the app is getting a toggle that lets you turn dark mode on—whether it's enabled system-wide or not. It's showing up for some users within their Google Play Store settings. Since it's just showing up for some users, it could mean the company is doing a server-side test before a wider rollout. It doesn't look like it can be enabled via an APK download, so it's a toss-up whether you get the feature now or not. Reports suggest this option won't just be limited to Android 10-powered devices.

To check if you have the option, head to the Google Play Store. Open the side hamburger menu and scroll down to Settings. You'll know if you have the feature if you have a Theme option there. From there, you can choose from Light, Dark, to System default.

Source: 9to5Google

Google Play Store lets you turn off auto-play videos

The Google Play Store, particularly in the Games feed, auto-plays video for promoting certain games and apps. Now, you can turn off this feature if you're worried about it eating up your data. Head to Settings > General > Auto-play videos. There are three options there: one will auto-play videos at any time, another is over Wi-Fi only, and then the other turns the feature off entirely. This feature doesn't work with GIFs, those still work on auto-play. You will have this option if you have version 17.9.17 of the app.

Source: 9to5Google

Google Play Store gets one-tap option to leave beta programs and more

The Google Play Store is simplifying how you can opt-out of beta programs, pre-registrations for apps and games, as well as clear out your Wishlist. There is a new "Google Play preferences" section in the Play Store's settings that will allow you to do what we mentioned above with just a tap of your finger. In this part, you'll discover one-tap options for clearing your Wishlist, leaving all beta programs, unregistering from upcoming events, and removing all app or game pre-registrations. However, the feature is not showing up to all users at this time.

Before this option showed up, you could manage features like these on a per-app basis. The Wishlist is accessible in the side menu, while the beta programs are in the My Apps > Beta section. But now you can sort of Thanos snap these out of your life. Aside from making things simpler, this move could also help with troubleshooting. Beta apps can include more software bugs, so this might be a clean and easier way to get those out of your phone.

Source: Android Police