A new report finds that 1.5 million apps in both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store haven't been updated in two years or more, so under recent policy changes they will be removed.
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Both Apple and Google have announced plans to remove apps that have been left unattended in their respective app stores for a long time, CNET reported. Specifically, both companies have said they will remove apps that have not been updated in the past two years. According to an estimate by analyst firm Pixalate, the number of apps that will be removed from Google Play is about 869,000 and from the Apple App Store is 650,000.
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That's a significant number, easily summing up a third of the total app selection of any app store. Once the process of removing abandoned apps is complete, the Google Play Store will be reduced to 1.7 million apps from the current 2.6 million apps. For the App Store, the total number of apps will be reduced to 1.3 million from the current 1.95 million apps.
Interestingly, while Google has set a two-year cutoff point for app removal, Apple has not specified any such cutoff point for developers to follow . Instead, the company said it has sent out emails to developers informing them of its plans to remove all apps that haven't been updated in a while.
Both Apple and Google justified the move by saying that older apps that aren't updated are prone to hacking. They also tend to offer a lower level of user experience. However, not all developers seem happy with the move and have expressed their displeasure, saying that not all apps to be updated every year. Developers also rejected the idea that old apps will break down over time if they aren't updated.
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However, the move could be particularly detrimental to Apple users, as the company does not allow sideloading of apps . However, Android users will have an easier time getting around the restriction, as they can always sideload apps or source them from alternative app stores.
Information source: goodereader.com
