Google Play Store Gets Much Smaller
The number of apps in the Google Play store has almost halved in just over a year. Google says it's good news and a result of a crackdown on low quality apps.
The news won't necessarily be welcomed by developers as it shows the effect of a big change in policy and more subjectivity by Google.
According to Appfigures, the number of apps in Google Play fell from 3.4 million at the start of 2024 to around 1.8 million now. Over the same period, the number Apple's app store remained virtually unchanged at 1.6 million. (Source: techcrunch.com)
The average user probably won't notice that difference given both figures are far more than is really practical to find through either searches or browsing the store's various sections.
Fewer Pointless Apps
Google has confirmed the main reason for the decline in numbers is a tightening on the quality requirements. While it scans apps for security threats, Google had previously only carried out basic checks on functionality and performance. That reduced the time it took to review apps before they were published.
Previously, Google only blocked apps if they were completely unfunctional, for example if they wouldn't open or run at all. Since June last year, it has stopped accepting apps which either had almost no content (such as a phone wallpaper or background) or were simply files that had no need to be an app (such as a PDF document).
Policy Violators Blocked
Other changes include expanding its automated tools for spotting apps that violate policies. Google says it blocked around 2.36 million apps that would otherwise have been published. (Source: googleblog.com)
There's also been a change in Europe where Google must remove apps if the developers don't provide their names and addresses for the app listing. It's not clear how many apps have been removed for this reason or if this would show up in the worldwide total that Appfigures released.
What's Your Opinion?
Have you noticed any difference in app quality in the Play Store? Is it a smart idea for Google to impose tighter quality standards? Does going from 3.4 million to 1.8 million apps make any real difference to users?
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Comments
Most apps are hot garbage
There is only a handful of apps I use on my phone (WhatsApp, Signal, Google Messages, Reddit, my banking apps, etc) and those are apps I use pretty much every day and they are without advertisements.
Once in a while I need an app that does something specific, like CamScanner that is able to take a photo of a document and make it almost as good as a flatbed scanner, but it's got full screen ads that you can't stop and you have to wait for it to play all the way through. For apps like that, I usually use it once and uninstall it, or rarely ever use it.
And that there pretty much describes the millions of apps that are available on Google Play: they are complete garbage because of the full screen ads. It is beyond annoying - like I'm going to sit there for 30 seconds while an ad plays so I can continue using the app. Fuck that - I'll just uninstall and go find something else less intrusive.
Some apps are worth paying for like Call Blocker ($2) by Kitetech which blocks all calls going to the phone if they are not on your contact list (which stops 99% of spam calls), but it's few and far between that I actually need to install and pay for an app because most of the apps I have already do what I need.