Google’s Play Store lost nearly half its apps

Google’s Play Store has lost nearly half its apps since the beginning of last year, shedding around 1.8 million titles to leave approximately 3.4 million remaining.
The decline reflects Google’s efforts to crack down on spammy and low-quality apps, including more thorough app reviews and requiring developers to test their apps with at least 20 people for two weeks.
According to Appfigures data, the most removed categories were games (200,000 titles), education (160,700 titles), and business (115,400 titles).
Despite the loss of many apps, app releases are up 7.1 percent globally compared to the same time last year, according to Appfigures.
Google spokesperson Dan Jackson attributes the decline to a focus on delivering high-quality apps and commitment to user safety, while also investing in ways to protect the community from bad actors.

The Google Play Store shed 1.8 million apps since the beginning of last year, according to an analysis from Appfigures and reported earlier by TechCrunch. That makes up around 47 percent of the 3.4 million apps it started 2024 with — a decline that Google spokesperson Dan Jackson says reflects the company’s focus on “delivering high-quality apps” and “commitment to continuous improvements for user safety.”

In recent years, Google has ramped up efforts to crack down on spammy and low-quality apps. In 2023, the company started carrying out more thorough app reviews and began requiring developers to test their apps with at least 20 people for two weeks. It began purging apps with “limited functionality and content” last year, and announced in January that it blocked 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being published to the Play Store.

As shown by data from Appfigures, nearly 200,000 of the titles removed from the Google Play Store were in the “games” category, followed by 160,700 in education, and 115,400 in business. However, Appfigures shows that app releases are up 7.1 percent globally compared to the same time last year.

“Every year, we continue to invest in more ways to protect our community and fight bad actors, so users can trust the apps they download from Google Play and developers can build thriving businesses,” Jackson said in a statement to The Verge.

Though the Google Play Store may have lost a significant number of apps since last year, Appfigures’ data shows Apple’s App Store making a small jump from 1.6 million to 1.64 million apps.

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Q. How many apps did Google’s Play Store lose since the beginning of last year?

A. The Google Play Store lost nearly half its apps, with around 1.8 million apps shed from its initial 3.4 million apps.

Q. What percentage of the original number of apps was removed from the Google Play Store?

A. Around 47 percent of the original 3.4 million apps were removed from the Google Play Store.

Q. Why did Google remove nearly half of its apps from the Play Store?

A. According to Google, it’s a result of their focus on “delivering high-quality apps” and “commitment to continuous improvements for user safety.”

Q. What measures has Google taken to crack down on low-quality apps in recent years?

A. Google has ramped up efforts to crack down on spammy and low-quality apps by carrying out more thorough app reviews, requiring developers to test their apps with at least 20 people for two weeks, and purging apps with “limited functionality and content.”

Q. How many policy-violating apps were blocked from being published to the Play Store in January?

A. Google blocked 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being published to the Play Store.

Q. Which categories had the most removed titles from the Google Play Store?

A. The “games” category had nearly 200,000 removed titles, followed by education with 160,700 and business with 115,400.

Q. Is app release activity increasing globally compared to last year?

A. Yes, app releases are up 7.1 percent globally compared to the same time last year.

Q. How many apps does Apple’s App Store currently have?

A. Apple’s App Store has around 1.64 million apps.

Q. What did Google spokesperson Dan Jackson say about the removal of low-quality apps from the Play Store?

A. “Every year, we continue to invest in more ways to protect our community and fight bad actors, so users can trust the apps they download from Google Play and developers can build thriving businesses.”