Google Play’s Massive App Purge: 47% Decline in Listings Since 2024.
Google Play has experienced a significant reduction in its app inventory, with the total number of available apps dropping from approximately 3.4 million at the beginning of 2024 to around 1.8 million by April 2025—a 47% decrease, according to Appfigures.
This substantial decline is not mirrored in other app marketplaces; for instance, Apple’s iOS App Store saw a slight increase from 1.6 million to 1.64 million apps during the same period.
The reduction in Google Play’s app count is largely attributed to the company’s intensified efforts to enhance app quality and user safety. In July 2024, Google announced stricter quality requirements, targeting apps with limited functionality or content, such as static apps without specific features, text-only apps, and those offering minimal content like a single wallpaper. Additionally, Google expanded its verification processes, requiring more rigorous testing for new developer accounts and increasing human reviews to identify deceptive or harmful apps.
These measures led to the prevention of 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being published and the banning of over 158,000 developer accounts attempting to distribute harmful applications.
While these actions have significantly reduced the number of available apps, they aim to improve the overall quality of the Google Play Store, making it easier for users to find reliable and functional applications.
