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- Google Play: Takedowns Are Easing, But Still There
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- App Store: Slight Uptick in Removals
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- “If removals are down, why was my app still banned?”
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- About ROIBest PWA
In early 2024, Google Play’s strict policy enforcement turned “app removal” and “account bans” into a daily nightmare for developers.
For teams targeting global markets, especially indie studios and growth-stage companies, it was a tough time to stay afloat. But since the second half of 2024, we’ve started to see some real changes.
The pace of app removals on Google Play has clearly slowed down. From a peak of 1.1 million apps removed in Q2 2024, the number dropped to just 160,000 in Q2 2025—an 85.59% year-over-year decline. It’s a strong signal that the platform is returning to more stable, less aggressive enforcement.
That said, app takedowns are far from over. According to the latest removal report from global security platform Pixalate, over 90,000 apps were pulled from Google Play and the App Store in June 2025 alone. The biggest culprits? Still violations of platform rules—especially around ad fraud, malware, and permissions abuse.
Google Play: Takedowns Are Easing, But Still There
In June 2025, Google Play removed about 46,000 apps, down 7% compared to May (50,000 apps). This marks the second straight month of decline, suggesting that review processes are stabilizing.
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28% of these apps had ads
Of the apps removed, around 13,000 were monetized with ads (as identified viaapp-ads.txt), making up 28% of all takedowns.
🛠️ The most affected categories? Tools and games—the usual suspects when it comes to enforcement.
App Store: Slight Uptick in Removals
Meanwhile, Apple removed around 46,000 apps in June, up 17% from May (39,000 apps). While not as volatile as Google Play, the App Store is clearly still tightening controls too.
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8% of the removed apps had ads
Around 3,800 of the taken-down apps were running ads, or 8% of the total.
Just like on Android, tools and games made up most of the removed titles.
“If removals are down, why was my app still banned?”
Even though large-scale removals are slowing, individual developers are still getting hit—often without warning, with limited chances to appeal or recover.
We recently had our own app taken down, with no explanation we could act on. And that’s the reality: if you’re relying purely on store approvals, you’re always at risk.
About ROIBest PWA
