Google purged nearly half the apps on the Play Store

Google’s Play Store is losing apps, as the platform saw a 47 per cent drop in hosted apps from Jan. 2024, to today.

According to AppFigures, the Play Store went from hosting about 3.4 million apps worldwide to just about 1.8 million.

TechCrunch notes that this isn’t part of any global trend of app decline—in fact, Apple’s App Store saw a global increase from 1.6 to 1.64 million. It isn’t a major jump, but it is still an increase.

However, it isn’t a sign of impending doom for the Android marketplace—in fact, it’s an improvement in the quality of life for Android owners.

For years, users have had to sort through many low-quality, scam-filled apps to find the best ones to add to their devices. The main problem is Android’s loose app guidelines and automated checks and malware scans to speed up the review process, which results in a shorter app review period. Meanwhile, Apple enforces strict app review measures before the app is published.

The good news is that Google has addressed this issue. In 2024, the tech giant announced that it would raise the minimum requirement for apps, which appears to have impacted the number of available listings.

Instead of banning only apps that were broken or not loading, Google has also banned apps that demonstrated “limited content and/or functionality.” Google gave examples like PDF files or text-only apps, providing only a single wallpaper, or “apps that are designed to have no function, or do nothing.”

Source: TechCrunch