The Google Play Store has experienced a wholesale exodus of applications. From the beginning of 2024, the data reflects a crushing 47% drop. This decline is attributed to Google’s announcement of stricter quality requirements for apps, set to take effect in July 2024. At the peak, the Android marketplace counted around 3.4 million applications. Now, it offers a mere ~1.8 million, a steep drop of user choices.
This fundamental shift in the Google Play Store’s landscape has made a nervous climate for developers and industry watchdogs. According to Appfigures, an app intelligence company, the drop started long before the apocalyptic purge went into official gear last summer. This trend represents a profound change in the app economy. The firm was the source of 10.4K of those releases on Google Play slated for 2024. That’s a 7.1% increase over this time last year—even faster growth than by the end of April, indexed at 100. Yet, this increase is dwarfed by the net decrease in apps at the tree level.
Google is raising the bar even higher. This step is just the latest in a broader attempt to raise the quality of applications on its platform. The company is pouring money into artificial intelligence to improve threat detection and develop more robust privacy policies. Realizing this promise extends to enhancing developer tools, all in the name of providing a safer, more reliable user experience. In February, the European Union adopted a new European Union foreign trader status rule that further muddies the waters for developers. Now, as a result, they have to make very personal information such as their names and home addresses public on the app store listings.
Sarah, a seasoned reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011, brings a wealth of experience to the discussion surrounding these changes. Prior to ReadWriteWeb, she spent over three years as a consultant for various industries including banking, retail and software, acquiring deep knowledge of IT. Today, she provides her perspective on the meaning of these appointments.
The sudden drop in app availability on Google Play is a result of its prior permissive review systems. These processes opened the door to a flood of much lower-quality apps to inundate the marketplace. As Google moves to enforce a bad situation, the burden on developers is being felt more and more. All of them are still dealing with the new enforcement eye of harsher regulations and increased scrutiny resulting in even more app listing removals.
The ramifications of these changes are far more reaching than merely how many apps can be found in an app store. With the rollout of mobile-first indexing, Google is increasing the quality bar. To succeed among this new competition, developers who were used to following shallower guidelines need to pivot fast. As a result, many are struggling to comply with the new rules without losing their user base.
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