Google has reduced the range of the Speelwinkel twice

In the past year, the Google Play Application Store has noticeably reduced – the number of available programs has fallen from 3.4 million to 1.8 million. The reason was not external factors, but Google’s internal policy was aimed at combating low -quality content. Earlier the site gave a relatively free publication, which was dependent on automatic checks. This led to the accumulation of “dummy” applications: simple PDF examiners, static wallpaper or text files of one page.

In the summer of 2024, the company tightened the requirements and not only broken, but also removed from few usage programs. For example, projects with minimal functionality or absence of interactive were under limitations. For the developers, mandatory tests of new applications were introduced, reinforced accounts and added manual check. Artificial intelligence began to be used more actively to look for harmful code. As a result, 2.36 million programs that were not suitable for the rules were blocked during the year and closed more than 158 thousand makers.

Despite the sharp reduction in the range, the Android community has positively observed the changes. Users note that it has become easier to find standing applications, and the developers -that competition with “copy -packed” projects has been reduced. At the same time, the activity of the authors did not fade: at the beginning of 2025, 7% more new programs were published monthly than a year ago.

It is curious that the reduction started, even before the official start of ‘cleaning’ – analysts cannot explain this phenomenon yet. It also turned out that European rules for announcing these developers had almost not influenced the situation. Experts believe that Google has deliberately reduced reduction for the long -term goals. Simplification of navigation and safety increase can return the trust of users who are tired of looking for a needle in a reign of digital hay.