Google’s Play Store lost nearly half its apps – The Verge

🔍 Summary:

In a significant cleanup effort, the Google Play Store has removed nearly half of its apps, totaling 1.8 million out of the 3.4 million it had at the start of 2024. This move, as reported by TechCrunch and analyzed by Appfigures, is part of Google’s strategy to enhance the quality and security of the apps offered on its platform. Google has intensified its review processes and set stricter requirements for developers, including mandatory testing of apps by at least 20 people over two weeks. The main categories affected include games, education, and business apps. Despite this large reduction, the overall number of new app releases globally has risen by 7.1 percent compared to last year. Google asserts that these efforts are aimed at protecting users and supporting developers by maintaining a trustworthy and profitable environment. Meanwhile, Apple’s App Store has seen a slight increase in its app count, rising from 1.6 million to 1.64 million apps.

📌 Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/658932/google-play-store-lost-half-apps