Help! My app is being pulled from the Google Play Store

A quick heads up for founders and product teams: if you haven't updated your Android app in the Google Play Store for a while, you might see this message in the Google Play Console. If you want your app to remain available, you need to take action.

What happens if you do nothing?

• People won't be able to download your app any more. This applies to new users, and people who previously had it but deleted it, or who changed devices.
• Users who already have your app on their device will continue to be able to use it.

What does this apply to?

• Android apps in the Google Play Store that were built with an older version of Android - in practice, this means they were last updated over two years ago.
• It doesn't matter how the app was built - it could be native, or built using a framework such as React Native or Flutter.
• Log in to the Google Play Console to check if your app is affected.
• It DOESN'T affect iOS apps.

How do you keep your app in the store?

• Update your code base to support the latest version of Android (not trivial).
• Thoroughly test the changes - something could have broken.

Should you update your app?

• If you haven't updated your app in 2+ years, weigh up whether the cost is worth it.
• Are new people still downloading and using the app?
• Is the app still valuable (to you or users)?
• Is it worth your effort to update, and to keep it updated in the coming years?

Could this happen again?

• Yes, the minimum Android version increases every year.

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