Apple app store, Google removed over 8 lakh applications over 'privacy policy': Report

Over 8 lakh applications have been removed from both Apple's App Store and Google Play Store in the first half of 2021. The cause of removal varies from asking for dangerous permissions to the absence of a user privacy policy. Before being removed from the online application stores, the apps were downloaded over nine billion times from Play Store and have over 21 million user reviews on Apple's App Store. 

According to the Delisted Mobile Apps report by Pixalate, the apps that have been delisted from both application stores can still be downloaded on a device, which is a cause of concern for smartphone users. From the total number of applications that were removed, about 25% of those on the Play Store and 59% of those on the App Store had no privacy policy. Pixalate is a California-based digital protection platform for mobile apps and websites. 

Image: Pixalate Delisted Mobile Apps Report 2021

Delisted applications asked for dangerous permissions

The report mentions that about 66% of the applications that were delisted from both Google Play Store and Apple App Store asked for one dangerous permission. Dangerous permissions are also known as runtime permissions and allow an application to access confidential data. By accessing such information, applications can perform actions that can harm the system and other applications on the device. Adding to it, the report also mentions that about 27% of the delisted applications had permission to access the GPS coordinates of the device. 

Image: Pixalate Delisted Mobile Apps Report 2021

The analysis by Pixalate was performed on more than five million applications and it was found that more than 15% of applications were either removed by app stores or withdrawn by the developers. A major point of corner that was highlighted in the report states that the applications can remain installed on user's devices even after being removed from the app stores. In such a situation, applications are more harmful as both Google and Apple application stores provide a preliminary front of security to the smartphones. Such applications pose major threats to user's privacy and safety and brand safety for advertisers. 

Image: Unsplash