Among the very apps that have made a permanent abode right since the inception of Android, Play Store has been every user’s go-to choice when it comes to downloading and installing apps. And the reason for the same is hardly a secret either. When you are able to get hold of all your preferred apps and games in just a few clicks and carry out the desired app purchases in a secure manner, well, there’s not much left to ask. However, in recent years, it seems to be going through a rough patch.
The likes of the Install button not working and payment/transaction errors have become a regular phenomenon. And the degradation of UI/UX ofPlay Store is an altogether different chapter in itself (just accessing a menu through which you could manually update apps would take ages to find). While the dust about all these issues was about to finally settle down, there’s an addition of a new and rather much more concerning issue.
Google Removes App Last Updated Section From Play Store
At the time of writing, Google has removed the app’s Last Updated section from Play Store. So what’s concerning about this and does anyone even refer to it? Well, it is among the most important data that one usually refers to before trying out an app as it gives us a hint of whether the developer is still maintaining that app or not. Moreover, if you are about to purchase an app, then it becomes all the more important to check out the last updated section to know if the project is still alive or not.
As of now, Madden 22 and FIFA Soccer are some of the most popular apps where the Last Updated section seems to have been removed from the Play Store (see below images). On the flips side though, there are quite a few apps that still have this information retained. So all this points out to A/B testing from the Silicon Valley giants. But doing so with such a large sample size doesn’t really make sense (well, neither did removing the Dislike numbers from YouTube videos, but we all know how it went).
Let’s just hope that the testing results don’t spell out success for Google and hence they decide against implementing this ‘feature’ (chances of which are relatively slim though). Some of you might be thinking about the Manage Apps and Devices section of the Play Store: could you check the app last updated from that section? Well, it shows when the device updated the app and not when the publisher updated it. So those are two completely different things and hence the Manage Apps menu wouldn’t be of much use to us in the current scenario.
While we are focusing on Play Store issues, quite a few users are also reporting that apps are now also missing the complete description. Seems like this is another one of those scary A/B testing currently going on. If this trend continues then the time isn’t far when might have to look for Play Store alternatives or even consider sideloading APKs onto our device.
Concluding Remarks
On that note, we round off this post about Google’s decision to remove the app’s Last Updated section from Play Store. This is a developing story and we will be updating it in a regular manner as and when we get to hear more about the same. In the meantime, do drop in your valuable opinions in the comments section below about this rather intriguing and weird happenings surrounding the Play Store.
