In a move to prevent users from installing apps that may not have the latest privacy and security features, Google and Apple are looking to remove apps that haven’t been updated in the last two years. The latest policy change of Apple and Google may result in the removal of around 869,000 apps from the Google Play Store and around 650,000 iOS apps from the App Store, according to a report from Pixalate.
Google has recently been cracking down on apps that do not comply with the store policies for a long time. The company recently banned 190,000 malicious developers from Play Store. The search giant is also looking to introduce new restrictions to prevent installing sideloaded apps.
As per the Pixalate report, 68% of Google Play Store and App Store apps have received an update in the last two years. To put this into perspective, nearly 3.1 million apps across Play Store and App Store have received updates and, therefore, are abiding by the new rules. The report estimates that nearly 869,000 apps in the Google Play Store and around 650,000 apps in the App Store are likely to face the consequences since they haven't got an update in the last two years. This is equivalent to nearly one-third of Google Play Store and App Store apps combined.
While Google has required developers to update their apps at least once in the last two years, Apple's policy change doesn't have enough clarity. The latter says it would remove apps that have been "updated in a significant amount of time" from the App Store. Apple has given developers 90 days to update their apps.
Google's new policy change will be effective when it officially releases Android 13 for Pixel devices. As a result of the changes, outdated Android apps may either get removed or be hidden from the search result.
Unless outdated apps get removed from the store, users who're using them can continue to use them if they wish to.
Source: CNET via Android Central
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