On occasion, Google Play sends promotional push notifications about deals and app-related editorial content. Some users today were prompted in the Play Store to download Google Opinion Rewards as a way to earn Play credits.
While there was no push notification, the alert appeared within the Play Store as a red dot in the top-left corner next to the hamburger button. Opening the navigation drawer revealed a numbered badge next to the “Notifications” menu item.
The prompt advertises how you can “Earn Google Play credit with Google Opinion Rewards.” It features the triangle logo, and green “Install now” button that takes you to the Play Store listing for Opinion Rewards.
Earn Google Play credit to use on games, apps, books, or movies when you answer brief surveys.
This prompt is odd for a number of reasons. Some users might find an alert about earning free Play credit useful, but it’s different from past notifications. Unlike “5 offline games you can play anytime” or other editorial content, it’s not directly related to the content store. While Opinion Rewards does provide credits, it’s not associated with Play — rather Google Surveys. In certain countries, answering questions pays actual money that can be transferred via PayPal.
Other notifications that usually appear are for app pre-registrations or those related to built-in functionality, like Play Points, that users have directly asked for. Technically, the Opinion Rewards one fits under the “Deals and promotions” category that users might have opted in to and “[notifies] when there are offers we think you’ll like.”
The two members of our team that received the prompt interestingly already have Opinion Rewards installed. Meanwhile, it’s unclear how many users received the notification.
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