Google Play Store Drops Nearly Half Its Apps to Improve Quality and Safety
The Google Play Store saw a dramatic reduction in app count, shedding 1.8 million apps since early 2024. According to analytics firm Appfigures—and as reported by TechCrunch—this drop represents a 47 percent decline from the 3.4 million apps the store started the year with.
A Google spokesperson, Dan Jackson, explained the move, saying it reflects Google's commitment to 'delivering high-quality apps' and 'continuous improvements for user safety.'
In recent years, Google has intensified efforts to combat spammy or low-quality applications. In 2023, the company introduced stricter review processes and mandated that developers test their apps with at least 20 users over two weeks before launch. Apps deemed to have 'limited functionality and content' began to be removed during this period, and in January, Google reported blocking 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being published.
The data shows that the most heavily affected category was games, with around 200,000 apps removed, followed by education (160,700 apps) and business (115,400 apps). Despite the removals, Appfigures also reported a 7.1 percent global increase in new app releases year-over-year.https://platform.theverge.com/ wp-content/uploads/sites/2/ 2025/04/appfigures-data.png? Google Play Store Data from Appfigures
Jackson emphasised, 'Every year, we continue to invest in more ways to protect our community and fight bad actors, so users can trust the apps they download from Google Play and developers can build thriving businesses.'
Interestingly, while Google's app numbers dropped, Apple's App Store saw a modest increase—rising from 1.6 million to 1.64 million apps over the same period, as shown in Appfigures' report.
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