The Register reports that digital rights management technology introduced to address piracy issues with Android apps has been temporarily dropped, following a bug which rendered some apps unusable.

The feature, introduced in Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), encrypts apps downloaded with a device-specific key – meaning they cannot then be sideloaded onto another device.

However, it was said that users had reported issues launching protected apps, even though they were using legitimate versions downloaded directly to a handheld.

With Jelly Bean currently only available for a limited number of devices, the number of users impacted is likely to be small.

Google is likely to attempt to rectify the issue before the platform is rolled out more widely, in order to address developer concerns about illegal copying.