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[whitedavidp]

This app is still one of my long-time favourites, which I've been using every day since I purchased it years ago!

However, Google will remove apps from the Play Store that haven't been updated in two years, even if they're still fully functional.

As this app was last updated 26 November 2019, it means that it will be removed.

So, please would you update this app, even if the only thing that you do is to update its version number, and make a note to do this every two years?

Thank you!

Paddy, I am NOT the app's developer. But I am (or at least have been) a developer of apps on Play Store. I cannot speak for this app/developer, but over time Google has made it increasingly onerous to keep an app on Play Store. It is NOT just a version update. Google keeps adding more and more "requirements" for apps to be updated on Play Store. Some of it MAY indeed be good ideas. But many are simply what I call "security theater" in that, for example, being forced to include a "privacy policy statement" for an app does absolutely nothing to ensure privacy. I, for one, have gotten sick and tired of all of the foolishness that is required. And now Google says it will remove apps just because they have not been updated. It is rather a Catch-22 and it means that perfectly good apps, that do not need updating for any reason (like bug fixes), will potentially be removed for all. Google has decided to call an app "abandoned" based on their own criteria and will remove it simply because they choose to define "abandoned" this way and because they have decided that an older app is no longer a useful app. In my opinion this stinks and makes no real sense. And I, for one, have stopped being willing to abide by this and my apps will likely be (some have already been) removed.

 

[Paddy Landau]

Paddy, I am NOT the app's developer. But I am (or at least have been) a developer of apps on Play Store. I cannot speak for this app/developer, but over time Google has made it increasingly onerous to keep an app on Play Store. It is NOT just a version update. Google keeps adding more and more "requirements" for apps to be updated on Play Store. Some of it MAY indeed be good ideas. But many are simply what I call "security theater" in that, for example, being forced to include a "privacy policy statement" for an app does absolutely nothing to ensure privacy. I, for one, have gotten sick and tired of all of the foolishness that is required. And now Google says it will remove apps just because they have not been updated. It is rather a Catch-22 and it means that perfectly good apps, that do not need updating for any reason (like bug fixes), will potentially be removed for all. Google has decided to call an app "abandoned" based on their own criteria and will remove it simply because they choose to define "abandoned" this way and because they have decided that an older app is no longer a useful app. In my opinion this stinks and makes no real sense. And I, for one, have stopped being willing to abide by this and my apps will likely be (some have already been) removed.

Thanks for the reply. The privacy policy stuff was forced on Google by the European Union's data protection laws. Google was faced with the choice of removing the Play Store from the entire EU, or enforcing the privacy laws, so you can't blame Google for that.

But removing old apps because of an arbitrary deadline, I agree with you. It's uncalled for. I understand why Google wants to do this, but they need to be more circumspect.

 

[whitedavidp]

Thanks for the reply. The privacy policy stuff was forced on Google by the European Union's data protection laws. Google was faced with the choice of removing the Play Store from the entire EU, or enforcing the privacy laws, so you can't blame Google for that.

But removing old apps because of an arbitrary deadline, I agree with you. It's uncalled for. I understand why Google wants to do this, but they need to be more circumspect.

That may be true for privacy policy stuff, I don't know. If so, I feel oh so sorry for Google. But as I said, this was only one example. To update any app in Play Store, you must modify it so that it targets the latest Android version - even if there is no reason or desire to do so. This often imposes radical re-writing of the app to "conform". Again, if the app is working fine - as is the case with this app - this presents a huge effort for no reason - other than to prevent Google from removing it on a rather arbitrary basis.