According to a statement made by Google today, the company is preparing to limit the availability of outdated applications in the Play Store. Effective November 1, all app developers will need to target the API level that will target 2 years from the last Android release.
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Google will limit old Play Store apps!
The changes to be made by Google are said to be to ensure that the software available on the Play Store uses the latest privacy and security features of Android. In a blog post on the subject, Krish Vitaldevara, Director of Product Management at Google, said:
They expect to realize the full potential of all the privacy and security protections Android offers. Extending our target level API requirements will protect users from installing legacy apps that don’t have these protections.
There are some important caveats to consider in the shared article. Initially, the restrictions are said to only apply when a device is running a newer version of Android than the app’s API level. Therefore, anyone who is still using an older Android OS version will be able to continue downloading apps made with that version in mind.
In the second warning, Google says that users can re-download and install applications they previously downloaded from the Play Store. It is also stated that developers can apply for a six-month extension if their software is not ready by November 1st.
In fact, Google already has a similar policy for new and updated apps submitted to the Play Store for review. For example, currently, an API level targeting one year after the latest Android operating system version is needed for an application to be published. However, with this new decision, it will be increased from 1 year to 2 years.
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