Google may soon alert Android users about apps that no longer receive updates
Follow UsAndroid users could receive notifications when installed apps are delisted and no longer supported by developers.
The feature was spotted in Play Store code and aims to help users identify potentially outdated or abandoned apps.
Google says unsupported apps can become security risks as they stop receiving bug fixes and security patches.
Google seems to be working on a new Play Store feature which will inform the Android users when apps installed on their devices have been removed from the marketplace and no longer being maintained by developers. The change, spotted in a recent version, can help users identify outdated apps that may pose security and privacy risks.
SurveyAs per Android Authority, the code strings found in version 51.4.19 of the Google Play Store suggest that users may soon receive notifications when one or more installed apps have been delisted. It will reportedly inform users that those apps are no longer available on the marketplace.
At present, Google Play Protect only offers warnings when an app is considered harmful or has been removed due to security concerns. However, users are not notified when developers voluntarily pull an app from the Play Store or stop supporting it. As a result, many people may continue using apps that have effectively been abandoned without realising it.
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The code hints that Google may notify the users and allow them to review and remove unsupported apps if they choose. However, the company has not officially announced the feature.
This comes at a time when the risks about the outdated apps have been surfacing all over the internet. Many security researchers have warned that these unsupported apps can become vulnerable over time as they do not get bug fixes or security patches. And in some cases, the abandoned apps were found with critical vulnerabilities that can allow attackers to access personal data, install malware or execute malicious code.
For the unversed, if an app gets delisted from the Play Store, it can still work on the devices (on which it was installed). And this can be dangerous. But if Google introduces this feature, it can become an important security tool for Android.
