Google Play Store To Start Hiding Old Apps That Have Not Been Updated In Years

Google is adding a new mandate for app developers and according to that if they stop do not update the apps, Play Store will hide them and prevent users from downloading them.

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 08 Apr 2022 09:56 PM (IST)

New Delhi: Google is adding a new mandate for app developers and according to that if they stop do not update the apps, Play Store will hide them and prevent users from downloading them. apps won’t appear on the Play Store or be available for download. Users may find the app only if it supports the Android OS on their device. Note that, with the release of every new Android OS version, this “requirement window will adjust accordingly.”

Google currently requires new apps and app updates to target an Android API level within one year of the latest major Android OS version release. This means if the apps do not meet the target API levels, they will not be available on the Play Store and that Google is attempting to clean up the Play Store. New apps and app updates that do not meet this requirement cannot be published on Google Play, the company announced.

"Today, as part of Google Play’s latest policy updates, we are taking additional steps to protect users from installing apps that may not have the latest privacy and security features by expanding our target level API requirements," Krish Vitaldevara, Director, Product Management, Google wrote in a blog post.

"Starting on November 1, 2022, existing apps that don’t target an API level within two years of the latest major Android release version will not be available for discovery or installation for new users with devices running Android OS versions higher than apps’ target API level. As new Android OS versions launch in the future, the requirement window will adjust accordingly," Vitaldevara added.

This security measure from the company will revoke permissions of dated apps and hence, users with devices running Android OS 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 will start to get a Google Play Protect update now.