Android: Outdated apps are about to be partially obscured

Google is preparing to limit the availability of outdated apps on the Play Store di Android: from 1 November, all existing apps in the store not updated with API Android published for two years now will be partially hidden by the operating system, in favor of other software more in step with the times.

Google is preparing to obscure outdated apps on Android

The changes are intended to ensure that the software available from the Play Store uses the latest Android privacy and security features. Device owners “expect to realize the full potential of all the privacy and security protections Android has to offer,” writes Google’s director of product management Krish Vitaldevara in a blog post. “Expanding our target-level API requirements will protect users from installing older apps that may not have these protections.”

There are a couple of important things to note though: the first is that the restrictions will only apply when a device is running a newer version of Android than the app’s API level. So anyone who still uses an older version of the Android operating system will still be able to download apps made with that version of Android in mind.

Second, Google says that users will be able to re-download and install any apps they previously downloaded from the Play Store. Developers can request a six-month extension if their software is not ready in time for the November 1st deadline.

Google has already adopted a similar rule for new and updated apps that are submitted to the Play Store for review, so it’s not particularly surprising to see this policy extended further.