Luglio, 2022

Think back to 2012: “Call Me Maybe” was on top of the music charts and “Venmoing” wasn’t a mainstream verb yet. Android — with its mission to make mobile computing accessible to everyone, everywhere — was just a few years old.

That year, we opened the (digital) doors of Google Play. A decade later, more than 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries use Google Play every month to discover apps, games and digital content. And more than 2 million developers work with us to build their businesses and reach people around the globe. As we celebrate 10 years of Google Play, here are 10 of our favorite milestones and features from the last decade:

1. New ways to enjoy apps and games: Products and features like Google Play Pass and Google Play Instant introduced new ways to discover and experience apps and games. We also launched Google Play Points so you can earn points and rewards for the ways you already use Google Play. As of today, more than 100 million people have joined the program.
2. Gameplay on more devices: We set a goal to make our products and services work better together. Last year, we announced the beta of Google Play Games on PC in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan — allowing for easy gameplay across your Android phone, tablet, Chromebook and Windows PC.
3. A celebration of your favorite apps and games: Our annual Best Of Awards celebrate the top apps, games and other content on Google Play. Over the years, we’ve expanded it to 19 countries and added new categories like “Best Hidden Gems” and “Best Apps for Good.” We also introduced the Users’ Choice Award so you can vote for your favorite titles and recognize the developers that make the apps and games you love.
4. A safe and trusted space: Google Play Protect, our built-in malware protection for Android, now scans and verifies over 100 billion apps every day to help keep your device, data and apps safe. And earlier this year, we launched a new Data safety section where developers are required to give people more information about how their apps collect, share and secure data.
5. Help for developers of all sizes: Every step of the way, we’ve invested in helping our developer community grow their businesses — including providing business and technical consulting and supporting small studios through efforts like our Indie Games programs. Visit the Android Developer Blog to read more about our journey with our developer community over the past decade.
6. Support for nonprofits: You can make charitable donations through Google Play and even use your Play Points to support great causes, with 100% of your contributions going directly to nonprofits.
7. Stronger representation in gaming: Through research, youth engagement and partnerships, Google Play’s Change The Game initiative celebrates and empowers women as players and creators. We’ve been particularly inspired by the creativity and talent of Design Challenge participants over the years.
8. Resources for parents: The Kids tab in Google Play helps parents easily find and pick teacher-approved apps, while Google Kids Space — a kids mode on select Android tablets — features apps, books and videos for your kids to explore. Family Link also gives parents the tools they need to stay involved and help manage their children’s online experiences.
9. Investment in local economies: Partnering with our developer community has helped bring better apps and games to people around the world, created new jobs and supported local economies. In fact, Google Play and Android have helped create over 2 million jobs in the U.S. alone.
10. A fresh look

To round out this decade, we’re introducing a new logo that better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products — Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail and more.

Thank you to our Google Play community and developers for 10 years together. Play Points members can get 10x points on everything they buy by activating a points booster. The official start date varies by country — visit the “Earn” tab of Play Points Home to learn more.

The Bay Area is our home, and we’re helping our hometown communities solve challenging problems. In 2019, we committed $1 billion to help increase the Bay Area’s housing supply and support organizations on the front lines of homelessness. Over the last three years, we’ve been making investments and allocating land to help developers create new affordable housing units in all corners of the region.

Investing $1 billion across the Bay Area

So far, we’ve allocated a total of $128 million of our $250 million investment fund to 18 organizations, which has supported the development of 23 affordable housing projects across the Bay Area.

As part of our commitment to give $750 million worth of our land to housing development, we’ve worked closely with elected officials and residents to propose plans where residential units, offices, retail spaces and open space will coexist on our land. The San José City Council unanimously approved our Downtown West project in May 2021, which calls for 4,000 housing units. In addition, we’ve submitted plans for mixed-use developments in Mountain View and are working with city staff to have Middlefield Park voted on by Mountain View City Council by the end of 2022, followed by North Bayshore in 2023. Together, these plans consider a total of 8,900 housing units, which would be developed by a partner.

While we’ve made progress across the Bay Area through funding and land allocation, we know that’s only part of the solution. Fighting the housing crisis requires innovation and collaboration across the community. So today, we’re also sharing how we’re using philanthropy to test new methods of intervention with trusted nonprofit leaders.

Using philanthropy to test innovative solutions

Over the next three years, we’re giving more than $10 million of our 2019 $50 million Google.org grant commitment and providing pro bono support to select Bay Area nonprofits. These organizations are starting programs to test the impact of cash transfers on housing stability for community members experiencing homelessness. With cash transfers, money is directly provided to people to spend on things like rent, medical expenses, food, or other day-to-day expenses. Our funding will go toward direct cash support, infrastructure for the nonprofits and randomized impact evaluation. This way, critical research can be used to have a systemic effect to assist in providing stable housing.

Google.org has been a longtime supporter of cash transfers, having distributed over $31 million globally, and providing over 235,000 households with cash support to improve their financial resilience and weather economic uncertainty. Research has shown that giving recipients the ability to decide how they spend their money leads to increases in economic and psychological well-being, physical health and household purchasing power. A randomized evaluation in Canada found a one-time cash transfer to individuals experiencing homelessness leads to quicker housing stability and spending fewer days unsheltered.

There is little to no research, however, of the effect of cash transfers on a demographic like Bay Area homeless communities. To better understand the impact, Google.org is supporting the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in partnering with several leading homeless service providers in the Bay Area. Through the Bay Area Evaluation (BAE) Incubator, providers are building their capacity to design and implement randomized evaluations of cash transfer programs.

In addition to J-PAL North America’s effort, Google.org is supporting some emerging cash transfer pilots:

• Bay Area Community Services (BACS), alongside UCSF, is running a longitudinal study aimed at determining the effect of cash assistance for 100 Oakland households on housing stability and homelessness prevention while also measuring potential reduction of racial disparities in those who become homeless.
• Chapin Hall, in partnership with Point Source Youth and Larkin Street Youth Services, will be launching community engagement work to prepare for a Bay Area expansion of a national effort. Their program tests the effectiveness of direct cash transfers and support programs on housing stability and well-being for young adults facing housing insecurity.
• Miracle Messages, in partnership with the University of Southern California, will conduct a randomized controlled trial for people experiencing homelessness. The trial adds cash assistance to social support programming to measure multiple outcomes including housing stability, food security and mental health.

As we provide funding, we’re evaluating impact to determine the most effective cash transfer delivery models and programs for reducing homelessness. It’s our hope these grants will not only help individuals and families experiencing housing insecurity, but also expand the evidence base around the effectiveness of cash transfer programs, particularly in high-income communities like the Bay Area.

With this $10 million in grant funding, we’ve granted a total of $18 million of our 2019 Google.org commitment to Bay Area nonprofits providing services like food distribution, job training and case management. Through these grants, these organizations will help provide services to more than 90,000 people and house 10,000 individuals over the span of four years. It’s a testament to the impact philanthropy can have on the housing crisis.

Looking ahead

We can’t celebrate the last three years of work without recognizing the work that lies ahead. There is still a severe housing shortage of more than 400,000 in the Bay Area, and we’ll continue to work with housing experts, developers, nonprofit leaders and elected officials to find opportunities to build units and provide services to people as quickly as possible.

Learn more about our housing commitment at g.co/housingcommitment.