Smartphone users in Russia face new delays downloading banking applications onto Android devices following security changes introduced by tech giant Google.
Eldar Murtazin, the lead analyst at Moscow-based telecommunications consultancy Mobile Research Group, warned in an interview with Russian news outlet Gazeta.Ru that installing financial software could now take up to 24 hours under updated operating system protocols.
Cooling-off periods for unverified apps
According to Murtazin, Google is deploying a more complex installation process intended to protect smartphone owners from cybercriminals who spread malicious software. Under the new rules, applications originating from unverified developers will trigger automated security restrictions, including a mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period before installation can complete.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, develops the Android operating system that powers the majority of smartphones in Russia. While Android allows users to install software from outside its official storefront, Google maintains security oversight through automated verification systems that check application safety and developer credentials.
The new restrictions present specific challenges for Russian banking services. Many of the country's largest financial institutions were removed from global app stores and denied official Google developer certificates following international sanctions imposed by Western nations in 2022.
Impact of Western sanctions on bank downloads
Murtazin explained that the extra verification steps compound delays for users attempting to download sanctioned bank applications through third-party platforms. He noted that installing the domestic app store RuStore requires a 24-hour waiting period, and downloading a sanctioned bank app from that store demands an additional 24-hour delay, stretching the entire installation process across two days.
RuStore was launched by Russian technology firm VK alongside domestic internet companies, with backing from the Ministry of Digital Development, to function as an alternative app store for Android after Western digital platforms restricted Russian software.
Murtazin said the rollout of the new Google security controls will occur in stages. He added that in 2028 and 2029, Google will begin blocking applications that it considers harmful.
Russian parliament response and app store alternatives
The warnings follow earlier advice from the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, regarding the removal of applications from mobile storefronts. Andrey Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on information policy, previously recommended that Russian citizens transition to domestic platforms and app stores after applications were removed from the App Store and Google Play.
Gazeta.Ru, founded in 1999, is a major Russian digital news publication covering national politics, economics, and technological developments.
