Google Play’s app market is shedding apps.
From the beginning of 2024 to current, the Android app market went from internet hosting about 3.4 million apps worldwide to simply round 1.8 million, based on a brand new evaluation by app intelligence supplier Appfigures. That’s a decline of about 47%, representing a big purge of the apps which were accessible to Android customers globally.
The decline isn’t a part of some bigger world development, the agency additionally notes. During the identical interval, Apple’s iOS App Store went from internet hosting 1.6 million apps to now simply round 1.64 million apps, as an example — a slight improve.
In Google’s case, the decline in apps could possibly be a reduction for Android system house owners who’ve needed to type via scammy, spammy, and in any other case poor-quality apps to search out the very best ones to put in. The discount may additionally assist builders who’ve needed to combat for visibility.
Over the years, Google Play’s much less stringent necessities for app assessment have led to {the marketplace} being overrun with lower-quality apps. While Apple continues to implement strict app assessment measures earlier than publication, Google usually depends on automated checks mixed with malware scans to hurry up the app assessment course of. It tends to have a shorter app assessment interval on account of its lighter contact by way of human assessment.
In July 2024, Google introduced it could increase the minimal high quality necessities for apps, which can have impacted the variety of accessible Play Store app listings.
Instead of solely banning damaged apps that crashed, wouldn’t set up, or run correctly, the corporate mentioned it could start banning apps that demonstrated “restricted performance and content material.” That included static apps with out app-specific options, reminiscent of text-only apps or PDF file apps. It additionally included apps that supplied little content material, like those who solely provided a single wallpaper. Additionally, Google banned apps that have been designed to do nothing or don’t have any perform, which can have been assessments or different deserted developer efforts.
Reached for remark, Google confirmed that its new insurance policies have been elements right here, which additionally included an expanded set of verification necessities, required app testing for brand new private developer accounts, and expanded human opinions to test for apps that attempt to deceive or defraud customers.
In addition, the corporate pointed to different 2024 investments in AI for risk detection, stronger privateness insurance policies, improved developer instruments, and extra. As a outcome, Google prevented 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being printed on its Play Store and banned greater than 158,000 developer accounts that had tried to publish dangerous apps, it mentioned.
One issue Google didn’t cite was the brand new dealer standing rule enforced by the EU as of this February, which started requiring builders to share their names and addresses within the app’s itemizing. Those who failed to take action would see their apps faraway from EU app shops. (It’s value mentioning that Apple additionally started requiring dealer standing info in February, and didn’t see a decline in accessible apps in consequence.)
Appfigures moreover notes it started seeing a decline within the variety of apps on the Google Play Store even earlier than the official begin of the purge final summer time; it doesn’t but have a proof for this alteration. However, the agency says there have been 10.4K releases on Google Play to this point this 12 months, up 7.1% year-over-year as of April.
