Google Play, the Google app store, one of the main digital bazaars available on the web for all types of devices, is preparing changes. The company has confirmed them through a statement in which it sets out, above all, the way in which the user experience will be revolutionized through new customization options.
What Google is looking for with the changes it is going to introduce in Google Play is to make the day-to-day life of users in its store more in line with their preferences. Therefore, all the content that will begin to be recommended to you will be as closely adjusted as possible to your interests. This will apply to almost all of the recommendations that you can find in the store and in other types of places that depend on its same database.
More personalized recommendations
Google says there will be four elements in which you will receive personalized recommendations: books, applications, search results and offers. As we indicated, all of these will be seen not only in Google Play, but also in other applications that may have advertising or different content recommendation systems. By obtaining this data from you, Google Play will try to prevent you from finding content that does not interest you or that does not fit your philosophy or preferences.
How Google Play collects this data depends on a number of factors. Google Play will learn from your activity, your profile on the store, your impressions of other apps, such as ratings, and your searches. The links you click on may also have an impact on the search results you get. Google Play will learn from all of this to provide you with a more convenient user experience.
The system will be under your control
If you're worried about your activity or this type of data being used, or you'd prefer to keep it private, don't worry. Google has insisted that you will have complete control over this recommendation system, and that you'll be able to enjoy a Google Play experience that meets your every need.
The way to access the customization and fine-tuning section will be through the Personalization section in Play, which will appear in the main menu of the store. Once inside, you will have access to all the data. You will be able to see the activity that takes place within the personalization and recommendations system, and you will also have the opportunity to edit the experience in depth. For example, you will be able to determine which items you have in your Library will be used by Google Play for personalization. Let's say, for example, that you have the Harry Potter books in your account, but you don't want their presence to be valued by Google Play to make recommendations to you.
To do this, you can set aside those Harry Potter books so they don't impact the personalization of recommendations in any way. The same goes for games, apps, and many other types of content you may have assigned to your account. You can even customize the level at which data from that app or content is shared for the recommendation system. The system is so deep that, for a single app, you can choose whether or not to share in-app purchases, activity, installation and uninstallation logs, and more.
When will these customization options be available on your Google Play account? The company says they will be released in the coming weeks and it is to be expected that they will be applied to different profiles progressively.