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Millions of Android apps have disappeared from the Play Store this year, and for good reason
Finding a decent app on the Google Play Store might get a little easier.
Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
- Google Play Store has lost nearly half of its apps since early 2024, dropping from 3.4 million to around 1.8 million.
- The sharp decline follows stricter quality policies that removed low-functionality, spammy, or deceptive apps.
- Despite fewer overall titles, app development activity remains strong with over 10,000 new releases this year.
If you feel like the Google Play Store looks a little less crowded these days, you are not imagining it. A major cleanup over the past year has cut nearly half the apps from the Android marketplace, according to new data shared by app intelligence firm Appfigures. (h/t: TechCrunch)
At the start of 2024, Google Play hosted roughly 3.4 million apps worldwide. Fast forward to today, and that number has dropped to about 1.8 million, representing a 47% decline. Appfigures pointed out that this isn’t part of a broader industry trend, either. Apple’s App Store, for instance, saw a slight uptick in apps during the same period, growing from 1.6 million to 1.64 million apps.
