More Android Apps Were Abandoned Than Updated in the Last Six Months

WebProNews
More Android Apps Were Abandoned Than Updated in the Last Six Months

The Google Plays Store has a problem, with more Android apps abandoned in the last six months than those updated.

New research by Pixalate paints a grim picture for the Play Store, with a whopping 32% of Android apps abandoned by their developers, while only 30% were updated in Q2 2022. While Apple’s App Store also has a problem with abandoned apps, it’s not nearly as big a problem.

In fact, the App store had 200,000 fewer abandoned apps compared to Q1 2022, while the Play Store had 150,000 more over Q1. What’s more, while the App Store has 500,000 abandoned apps, the Play Store has more than double that number, coming in at 1.1 million.

The same trend holds true for “Super-Abandoned” apps, the term Pixalate uses for apps that have received no updates for at least five years. The App Store has 141,000 such apps, but the Plays store has more than 166,000.

Beyond potential disappointment for users whose favorite app is abandoned, there are also serious security and privacy considerations. Pixalate found that 23% of abandoned apps have no known privacy policy. Abandoned apps can also pose risks because they use older and outdated libraries and don’t have the latest security patches.

The research is a mixed bag for Android, its users, and developers. On the one hand, mainstream Android apps are more likely to be maintained long-term. On the other hand, users may be less likely to give new independent apps a chance for fear the developer(s) may eventually abandon them.

More Android Apps Were Abandoned Than Updated in the Last Six Months
Staff

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