The “dangerous” permissions highlighted by that report include location tracking, access to cameras, contacts and the phone itself. Google’s enhanced protection doesn’t clamp down as widely as that, but focuses on financial exploits that require user credentials and one-time passcodes.

The court-mandated overhaul is meant to prevent Google from walling off competition in the Android app market as part of an effort to protect a commission system that has been a boon for one of the world's most prosperous companies and helped elevate the market value of its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. to $2 trillion.

A judge has instructed Alphabet to lift restrictions that prevent developers from setting up rival marketplaces and billing systems on Android devices that compete with its Google Play Store. The injunction came during a case between Epic Games and Google where Epic convinced a jury that Google abused its power in the Android app

Alphabet Inc must lift restrictions that prevent developers from setting up rival marketplaces that compete with its Google Play Store, a judge ruled, upending the search giant’s dominance in the lucrative Android app market.

Google says that opening up its Play Store to third-party app stores "harms safety and privacy" and "puts users at risk."

A federal judge in California has granted Google's request to temporarily pause his order directing the Alphabet unit to overhaul its Android app store Play by Nov. 1 to give consumers more choice over how they download software.

Google said Friday that a federal judge in California granted its request to pause his order directing the Alphabet unit to overhaul its Android app store Play by Nov. 1 to give consumers more choice over how they download software.

Judge grants Google stay in legal battle with Epic Games, Play Store won't open to third parties. Google's appeal buys time - no app store changes for years, developers and consumers wait. Power struggle between tech giants continues,

Google said on Friday that a federal judge in California granted its request to pause his order directing the Alphabet unit to overhaul its Android app store Play by Nov. 1 to give consumers more choice over how they download software.

Google just netted a small but key victory in its Epic legal battle. Last week, the company asked Judge James Donato to press pause on his November 1st deadline to drastically alter its Android app store rules.