What is a featured app on Google Play?

The Google Play store has 2.8 million apps for Android users to choose from. Dumpster, Cover and X Cleaner are among these. 

Such choice is excellent for consumers, but you may understandably be intimidated by this level of competition. If you have developed an Android app, how can you hope to get noticed among such a crowd?

One way to attract an audience is to become a featured app on the Google Play store. The Big G shine a spotlight on featured apps in four separate lists.

• Featured Apps – the gold standard – an app that the Google Play team consider to be an outstanding addition to the platform and will be helpful for everyday users
• Staff Picks – the Google Play team will each have their preferences for apps. If a staff member takes a shine to your app, it may appear on this list
• Editor’s Choice – we’ll be honest, this list is a tough nut to crack. The Android apps of all time make up this list, so you’ll be competing with the likes of Netflix, Instagram, and Google Maps
• Top Developers – create enough apps that see traction on the Google Play store, and you may be considered a leading developer

What are the advantages of being a featured app on Google Play?

In many respects, searching in the Google Play Store is similar to using the search engine. You’ll think of something you need, enter some keywords, and wait for the results to fill your screen.

Now, with almost 3 millions apps, you may not be at the top of the list. Again, like the search engine, apps are ranked according to a wide range of complex and secretive algorithms.

Be honest with yourself – how often do you scroll past the first page of a Google search? In fact, how often do you look past the first five or six matches before you find what you need? Such competition is why websites do what they can to feature at the top of the first page. The same applies to the app store.

If you’re a featured app, you’ll be much more visible to users. Such visibility will attract more downloads and reviews, which will improve your organic ranking and see you make the charts of your app niche.  Eventually, you’ll start to see the positive impact this can have on your bottom line.

Examples of featured apps on Google Play

If you’re wondering what makes the cut as a featured app on Google Play, here are three examples at the time of writing.

Candy Crush Saga

It’s hardly a secret that mobile games are a big business – and it’s only getting bigger. Creating a game that people want to play and uploading it to the Google Play store can be a huge money-spinner. Your advertising revenue could go through the roof, while there will also be the opportunity for in-game purchases and merchandising.

Best of all, as proved by Candy Crush – arguably the most prominent gaming behemoth of the 21^st Century – you don’t need to create anything complex packed with 3D graphics and Hollywood-worthy production values. Candy Crush has dominated the market thanks to simple, addictive gameplay. 

Depop

Depop is a used clothing app currently featured on the Google Play store. We chose to showcase this app as it’s an excellent example of an ecommerce app that is gaining traction, despite lacking brand recognition or a marketing budget to compare with high street giants.

Another thing that is interesting about Depop is that it is clearly not flawless. Check the reviews of the app – you’ll see several users raising concerns about performance. The manufacturers are taking the time to address and resolve these problems, though. Google love that level of interaction and dedication to customer care.

Driving Theory Test 4-in-1 Kit

You do not need to offer an app for free to be featured on the Play Store. Something for nothing will always be appealing, but people are happy to pay for a helpful app. Take this guide to passing the driving theory test, for example. 

It may retail at £4.99, but it could change a user’s life. Google Play knows this, and so do customers. Just be careful. If you are going to charge for an app, you’ll need to be particularly vigilant about maintaining it.

How to become a featured app on Google Play

The first tip should be obvious, but it bears confirming anyway – your app needs to perform flawlessly. Google is a business that banks on a reputation for reliability. Check your app’s vitals, ensuring that it does not lag, crash, or provide users with any other kind of issue. 

A high-performing app will attract positive reviews, which is another crucial influence on the Play Store’s featured apps. You’ll likely need a high rating to rank as a featured app. Why would Google push an app deemed average when there will no doubt be an alternative that has been dubbed superior?

You may not attract five-star reviews when you first launch. Pay attention to any feedback, responding in public and ironing out any kinks in performance. Responding to reviews shows a willingness to improve and theoretically improves your overall ranking.

A score will also, in theory, attract more downloads of your app. Become a featured app is something of a chick-and-egg scenario. Getting featured ensures more downloads – but you’ll also need a whole lot of downloads to be featured. Raise awareness of your app however you can. App store optimisation and paid advertising campaigns are advisable.

Conclusion

Getting your app featured will make a significant difference to your performance in the Google Play store. If you want to do your part to help Dumpster and Cover get featured, please download our apps now. In the meantime, continue working on perfecting your app. You’ll be glad that you did.

The post Featured Google Play Apps appeared first on Dumpster.

The average person spends 3.5 hours on their phone, if you’re awake for 14 hours out of the day, 3 hours is a considerable amount of time! You’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your time spent online. 

With that said, here’s our list of the most useful Android apps available for free on the Google Play store. 

Dumpster 

If you take a lot of photos & videos we’d highly recommend you use Dumpster. Dumpster is a backup app that restores accidentally deleted photos, videos, files, documents, and more!

The app can restore any old deleted file and keep them from being deleted off of your device. It’s free to use and over 40 Million people have used it to recover deleted photo & video files!

Here are a few of Dumpster’s defining features:

• Backup Android apps, photos, video, files, & more
• Instantly recover important files 
• No internet connection required 
• No need to root your device 
• Cloud storage

Cover

Cover is the world’s ultimate secret photo vault. You can hide & lock away photos, videos, and other files.Your content is automatically encrypted and hidden in a vault that you can password protect with a PIN or fingerprint authentication. Not to mention, Cover automatically hides any incoming explicit content.

Here’s what sets Cover apart from the rest of the photo vault competition:

• Automatic Protection: Sensitive photos & videos will automatically be moved to a private vault.

• Smart Notifications: Cover subtly notifies you if explicit pictures or videos are detected.
• Messaging Blocking: Cover will block any inappropriate photos sent via Messenger, Telegram, Whatsapp, & more!

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is one of the best apps to ensure you’re making the absolute most of your days! The app is great for scheduling events, however, you can also use it as a scheduling tool, reminder, todo list, and a goal setter!

It’s a simple yet highly effective utility app if you make the most out of it! If you aren’t familiar with it’s functionality, here’s a high-level overview of Google’s simplistic and convenient calendar app:

• Month, week, and daily scheduling view
• Add Events from Gmail (Flights, hotel reservations, concert, date nights, etc.)
• Reminders (Option to set recurring reminders)
• Goal setting  
• Scheduling overview (All calendars in one place)

Insight Timer

The busier you are, the more you need Insight Timer! Meditation is a practice in any successful and productive person’s life. Taking the time out to breathe may seem simple, or even counter-intuitive, but you won’t believe the benefits until you try the app out for yourself.

Insight Timer is an award-winning, highly-regarded meditation app used by millions across the world. Here are a few of its features:

• 40,000+ guided meditations
• Positive habit-forming tools built into the app
• Thousands of music tracks and ambient sounds  
• Influential teachers
• Thousands of discussion & support groups 
• Progress & milestone tracking 

Whatsapp

Need we say more? If you don’t already have Whatsapp installed on your Android phone or tablet, we highly recommend you do so to keep SMS, texts, messages, and group chats in one central place!

This Editor’s Choice messing app is used by over a whopping 2 Billion people. Whatsapp connects people around the world for free and seamlessly at that. If you’re wondering what puts Whatsapp over the top, here’s the list:

• No fees
• Send photos, videos, voice messages, and more
• Free calls
• Group chats
• Web compatibility 
• No international charges

Secure VPN

Secure VPN is a lightning-fast app that provides users with completely free VPN proxy services. All you need to do is click one button, and you can instantly access the Internet securely and anonymously.

If you’re online every single day, as quite literally, the entire world is, it’s extremely important to make sure you’re browsing safely and securely. Using a trusted VPN like Secure VPN you’ll be able to encrypt your connection so no one can track what you’re doing online.

Here are a few of Secure VPN’s finest features:

• High-speed bandwidth
• Choose apps which using VPN (Android 5.0+ required)
• Works with Wi-Fi, LTE/4G, 3G and all mobile data carriers
• Strict no-logging policy
• Smart choose server
• No usage and time limit
• No registration or configuration required

Get Dumpster now!

The post The Most Useful Android Apps in Everyday Life appeared first on Dumpster.

In this article, we’ll share a top secret efficiency hack for all Android users that own AirPods. Keep reading to find out one of our favorite utility Android apps!

Can You Use AirPods on Android?

Due to contrary belief, yes, you can use AirPods on almost any Android phone or tablet. Although AirPods were designed with Apple products in mind, as long as bluetooth is enabled, AirPods will be able to connect to almost any device, regardless of operating system.

AirPods don’t have a lot of their functionality on Android, such as: Siri, customized double tap, single AirPod listening, and so on, but you are still able to listen to audio.

How to Find Your Airpods

The fastest way to find your AirPods if you’re an Android device user, is to download an app called Wunderfind: Find lost device – headphones. It’s an app that does exactly what it says it does! It can find your lost headphones, including AirPods, almost instantaneously.

Once it’s installed, all you need to do is select the device you need to find, in this case AirPods, then walk around so the app can detect how close you are to them. Wunderfind’s Device Radar and Distance Score is what makes it great to use for practically any device. 

It’s Device Radar is a unique functionality that shows you all of the Android or iOS devices around you within a certain distance. And it’s Distance Score shows you how close you are to the device of your choosing. 

We highly recommend using Wunderfind because it’s not just for finding lost AirPods. The app is compatible with the following devices & technologies: 

• AirPods
• Apple Pencil
•  iPhone
• iPad
• Apple Watch
• Portable Speakers
• Fitbit Trackers
• And more

Wunderfind is truly one of the most life-saving Android apps to have installed on your device, especially if you listen to music, podcasts, recordings, etc. on a daily basis.

Do You Accidentally Lose Photos or Videos Frequently?

If you’re a clumsy or accident-prone person, in general, we’d also recommend you use Dumpster. Dumpster is a backup app that over 40 Million people have used to restore accidentally deleted photos, videos, files, documents, and more! 

No One Ever Regretted Trying Dumpster for Free

The post The Fastest Way to Find AirPods on Android appeared first on Dumpster.

Install Dumpster to Back Up Photos

Dumpster is a free photo & video recovery tool available for download on the Google Play Store! If you don’t have a phone backup, this is the exact app you need. By having Dumpster installed on your device, you won’t ever accidentally delete any photos, videos, or other types of content you have stored on your device. 

No one ever regretted having a free backup on their device. 

Use Noonlight to Stay Protected

Noonlight is one of the best personal safety apps available on both Android and iOS. The app uses cutting-edge technology to send emergency help to your exact location with just the release of a button. 

It’s perfect for busy photographers because the app can be used in moments where you feel unsafe, or worse case scenarios where you need immediate emergency help. 

Store Passwords with Dashlane

As a photographer, you probably use many apps. Some for photo storage, finances, maps, transportation, messages, social media, and the list goes on. Surprisingly, one of easiest ways to keep your device secure is to keep track of the passwords you use. 

With Dashlane, you can store an unlimited number of passwords and access them anywhere, sync data, create new heavy-duty secure passwords, and so much more. 

Keep Track of Payments with Wave

The hardest thing about being an independent photographer or freelancer isn’t the work itself ー it’s managing your finances!

If you need to keep better tabs on who owes you what, or need help organizing payments & invoices in a central place, Wave is exactly the app you need. It’s great to have for managing clients as well as keeping track of all of your records for tax season.

Check Citizen Before Confirming Shoot Locations

Citizen is an app that notifies you of real-time safety alerts and live video of incidents happening around you. Citizen notifications have urged people to evacuate burning buildings, deterred school buses from nearby terrorist attacks and have even led to a rescue of a 1-year-old from a stolen car.

Before you and your client visit your shoot location, it’s in your best interest to ensure the location is safe. You’re better off safe than sorry, especially if you’re located in a metro area.

Download Dumpster the #1 Photo & Video Recovery Tool Today!

The post 5 Phone Safety Tips & Apps for Photographers appeared first on Dumpster.

It’s a terrifying phenomenon, however, there are many easy steps you can take to prevent someone from hacking into your Android phone.

1. Update your phone with every new release

Keeping your phone updated with every new Android version release, will ensure your device is up to date with the latest important security & privacy enhancements.

Google almost always includes significant improvements that aren’t necessarily noticeable to the naked eye. This is an easy way to receive the latest security measures and even other general Android improvement updates.

If you don’t know how to update, you can view instructions on Google’s Help Center. 

2. Facial recognition & long passwords

The more security measures are in place to get into your phone the better! That said, adding facial recognition, if you can, is always better than not having it. The odds of a criminal being able to unlock it by using their face is close to zero thanks to innovative biometric technologies.

It’s also important to use longer passwords – not just a 4-digit numeric one. Adding a mix of alphabetic & numeric values, caps, and special characters to your password makes it incredibly difficult for hackers to guess.

3. Try not to use public Wifi

Free wifi at a public park, cafe, or library is great, but using it also comes with risk! Joining a public Wifi network means that there is no screening or sign up method to use the internet, which means anyone, including a potential hacker, could use it. 

Using data in public places, instead of relying on an unsecured, public network, is highly recommended.

4. Lock Important Apps

Finance, email, and messaging apps should individually be locked if you’re storing extremely important information on them. 

5. Don’t download shady apps 

If your gut says an app is sketchy, don’t download it. There are many apps that are developed for the sole purpose of scamming money from you, or stealing your personal information. In fact, 10,000 rogue apps are responsible for 28% of all attacks. 

A tip is to recognize & stay away from dark patterns.

6. Clean your phone 

If you don’t clean your phone on a regular basis, clutter, junk files, and unnecessary information piles up along with the possibility of phishy materials. Cleaning it will improve your Android phone’s performance, efficiency, & speed and will make room in your phone to update to the latest Android version. 

Consider using X-Cleaner, a free Android app that automatically cleans your phone and creates storage in the process.

7. Use two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication simply means a method that requires two ways of validating your identity. The way it works is simple. Upon entering your password the second method of verifying will typically arrive by text message. 

What makes it so secure is that a two-factor authentication code can only be used only one time. Every time you log in, you’ll need to use a new code.

Keep Your Photos Safe! Download Dumpster Today!

The post 7 Easy Ways to Block Hackers from your Android Phone appeared first on Dumpster.