Apple and Google are reportedly set on a massive culling of their own app stores, with Google planning to remove or hide almost a third of its store’s content. The change is in order to try and improve security for users. See, the apps in question have been ‘abandoned’. This means they haven’t seen an update in over two years.
Due to recent policy changes from both Google and Apple, apps that haven’t stayed up to date are up for the chop. These apps aren’t as safe as they should be, making them easier to exploit. This is because older apps aren’t using the newest APIs, and don’t take advantage of newer system software.
In Google’s case, the affected apps total around 869,000. This is close to a third of the entire Play Store library. Apple’s culling will be a little less severe, but only barely. With only 650,000 apps affected, Apple won’t feel this loss as hard as Google will. The number of archaic apps on each platform comes via a report by Pixalate.
What happens now?
Google Play Store apps that have not met the policy changes requirements will be hidden and removed from the search bar. Apple’s policy isn’t as specific about what will happen to outdated apps, though one developer reportedly stated that their app was being removed for exactly this reason. Go figure.
Even after these apps are hidden or removed, neither store should see a huge drop in customer usage. This is because there are still nearly 3.1 million available apps between the two. Apps that update regularly constitute around 84% of usage from the two stores. Most users won’t even notice that some apps have been removed. This would be an added bonus for both Apple and Google — the less bloatware on their platform, the better.
Is there a game you just can’t get enough of, even years later, that hasn’t seen an update made in over ten years? Never fear. If it’s on your account – downloaded or not – you should be able to access it at any time. If you can think of any older app you may want before the removal, you better rush and tie it to your account. The purge could begin at any time, though there will probably be some sort of announcement prior to the culling. At the time of writing, no exact date has been made public by Google or Apple.
Source: CNET