Google Finally Purging Android of Crap Apps

After years of developer and Android user complaints, Google is finally getting their Google Play store in order. According to an article by Apple Insider, Google recently undertook a considerable spring cleaning effort in its Play Store, sweeping away nearly 10 percent of the apps in the Android app repository in order to cut down on the number of “spammy” apps.

Many Android app developers believe this house cleaning move by Google to signal a more Apple iTunes-like approach to handling the second largest app store marketplace. Since February of this year more than 60,000 Android applications have been removed from the Google Play store. Unlike Apple, Google doesn’t have a formal approval process for apps to enter their marketplace. Instead the company chooses to delete apps that violate their terms of service.

As a mobile app developer in Los Angeles its been apparent for a long time that Google Play requires more serious quality control standards than they currently have in place. Any iPhone app developer that you speak to will complain about Apple’s lengthy approval process for apps to go live in the iTunes App Store, but at the end of the day iPhone and iPad apps are generally developed to much higher quality standard. Quality controls to remove spammy apps from the Google Play store benefits the Android app development community, Android users, and help drive growth for the entire mobile app ecosystem.