All articles tagged with #app removal
The Lock Glimpse feature on Nothing Phone (3a) Lite, which displays lockscreen ads, cannot be fully uninstalled and causes significant battery drain when forcibly removed via ADB, as the system attempts to restart it every 3 seconds and continues to send data requests to a clickbait farm, raising privacy concerns and trade-offs between privacy and battery life.
Apple removed two popular gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, from its Chinese App Store following government orders, reflecting China's broader crackdown on LGBTQ+ content and civil society, despite the company's usual stance on following local laws.
Meta is discontinuing its Messenger desktop apps for Windows and macOS, with support ending in December, pushing users to use the web versions or other apps for messaging.
Apple removed ICEBlock and similar apps from its App Store following legal threats and pressure from U.S. law enforcement officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, who demanded their removal due to concerns over immigration enforcement and free speech issues.
Apple removed the ICEBlock app from its App Store following criticism from the Trump administration and law enforcement concerns, citing safety risks and political pressure, amid heightened tensions over immigration enforcement and protests.
Apple removed the crowdsourced app ICEBlock from its App Store after pressure from U.S. law enforcement and the Trump administration, citing safety risks, despite debates over free speech and the app's use for monitoring ICE agents.
Amazon will shut down its Appstore on August 20, 2025, requiring users to delete all apps downloaded from it to avoid security vulnerabilities, and will also discontinue the Amazon Coins program, urging users to switch to Google Play Store for app security and support.
Google has removed the Apple Watch version of its Keep note-taking app, leaving only iPhone and iPad versions, and reducing the number of Google apps available on watchOS to three. The app, introduced in 2019, was largely neglected and lacked updates, and its removal confirms reports that Google planned to deprecate it. Users will need to wait for a native Notes app from Apple in watchOS 26 this fall.
Indian startups have urged the country's antitrust watchdog to compel Google to restore over 100 apps removed for policy violations, citing anti-competitive behavior. The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) has accused Google of making a "brazen move" and causing "irreparable harm to the entire market." This escalation comes amid a dispute over Google's policy of charging a service fee for in-app payments made through methods other than its own. India's IT minister and startup executives have expressed concern and are seeking intervention to ensure the reinstatement of the apps.
India's Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw criticized Google's removal of several Indian apps from its Play Store due to non-compliance with in-app payment guidelines, stating that such de-listing cannot be permitted. The dispute stems from Indian startups' efforts to resist Google's imposition of a fee on in-app payments, despite court decisions allowing the fee or app removal. The removal has sparked criticism from affected startups, including Matrimony.com and Info Edge, with concerns about revenue impact. This ongoing conflict reflects the broader tensions between tech giants and Indian startups over app store policies and fees.
The Pokémon Company is removing the Pokémon Trading Card Game Card Dex app from app stores on September 20th, 2023, in order to focus on the development of Pokémon TCG Live. Players will need to use the Trading Card database or Pokémon TCG Live to access card information and build digital collections. The newest deck, Scarlet & Violet—151, will not be available on the app, and all data saved on the app will be lost.