Google Play Services: The Backbone of Android’s Security and Functionality

Google Play Services, a crucial part of Android, is what puts the Google into Android, influencing everything from security to Google integration with the apps you use every day. Introduced in 2014, it allows new features to be added to Android phones without requiring a firmware update. It provides important APIs that work across the vast majority of the active Android user base. Users benefit from new features and security fixes, even if they’re not running the latest OS version. For apps, Play Services acts as a gateway to Google services on your phone. The Google Play Services client library gives developers APIs to make apps work with Google services on devices with the Play Services app installed. This includes Cloud Messaging, Drive, Location, Play Games, Wear OS, and Google Pay, among others.