No doubt many "legitimate" apps, including some of Google's own are spyware. This claims to be about the sort of malware that steals your bank account login.

I'd even speculate that most of the people involved are working in good faith; they think they're the good guys and they can be trusted with that kind of power. Nobody should have that kind of power though because it always leads to corruption.

It's only spyware if Google can't monetize it. Which is ironic if you think about it.

Also the true malware is currently signed and it still reaches millions of people, most of the time downloaded straight from store.

I would argue that was the definition even in the early 2000s. then it became a business model for famous companies.