Google is preparing to limit the availability of obsolete applications in the Play Store, the company said. As of November 1, all existing apps in the store should aim to target the API level within two years of the latest major version of the Android OS. If they don’t, Google says it will restrict which users can find or install them.
The changes are intended to ensure that the software available from the Play Store uses the latest privacy and security features on Android. Device owners “expect to realize the full potential of all the privacy and security protections that Android has to offer,” Google Product Management Director Krish Vitaldevara wrote in a blog post. “Extending our API requirements to a target level will protect users from installing older applications that may not have these protections.”
Several important caveats should be noted. The first is that the restrictions will only apply when a device runs an Android version newer than the app’s API level. So anyone who still uses an older version of Android OS will still be able to download apps made with their (older) version of Android. Second, Google says users will be able to re-download and install all apps they’ve previously downloaded from the Play Store.
Developers can apply for a six-month extension if their software is not ready in time for the November 1 deadline.
Google already has a similar policy for new and updated apps that are submitted to the Play Store for review. The app currently needs to target an API level within one year of the latest major version of the Android OS to be published. What this new policy is doing is extending coverage to existing or potentially deprecated Play Store apps, not just those still receiving updates.
In the past, some surprisingly big names have continued to target old Android APIs in an apparent attempt to avoid newer and more restrictive privacy and security policies. in 2017 Ars Technique reported that the Facebook app is targeting an API that is two years old at the time, while Snapchat is targeting one that is nearly three years old.