You seem to be misinformed about what's actually happening here. If there is a super old app you need you can still install it via adb.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the play store and its requirements. This is about preventing malware (which is typically written to target super old API levels to exploit things that weren't patched yet) from being installed unknowingly by the user.
The design here is good. If you are tech savvy enough to use adb you can install anything you want. But this protects somebody that mistakenly thinks they are installing something safe from accidentally infecting their device.
This also means I cannot find any old app/game on play store. So even with adb (which I do not think is a good solution because it excludes 99,9% of the users, not only tech-savvy users want or need older apps) I can only install apps I know of and that I can find their apk on the internet. I cannot browse the play store for them. I cannot search for something I need, because I will never find them. And if it is a paid app/game? Well, tough luck, I have to go find a cracked apk in shady marketplaces.... So much so for security.
If they really do this for security, it could have been a switch in the developer settings or anything like that. Not a hard ban on older apps
Again, this has literally nothing to do with the play store. This is API 22 and below we are talking about here... you can't even find apps that target API levels below 30 on the play store today afaik lol.
Keep in mind this isn't the minimum supported version, it's the target/compile version which is typically pretty trivial to update. 99.9% of users in 2024 will never need to install an app that targets a version of Android released 10 years ago.
Of course you can find them! They are not deleted. You cannot upload a NEW app or an update to one not targeting API 31 or newer
Here is an extremely useful app for Athens' transportation system with no other similar, and I can't use it because "it is old". Last app update in 2014 with a target of 5.1 iirc
If we go to Games, we can find hundreds of great older games that we lost access to for no reason. And as I said before but you skipped it, we now lose access to ALL of our bought apps and games that stopped updating for whatever reason...
Again, you appear to be misinformed...
Currently, existing apps (across mobile, Android Auto, Android TV) must target API level 31 or above by August 31, 2023 (target API 30 or up API level 33 for Wear OS). Otherwise, they will stop being discoverable to all Google Play users whose devices run Android OS versions newer than your app’s target API level, as your app wasn’t built to meet the safety and quality standard that these users expect from newer Android OS versions.
Apps with a target level of Android 11 (API level 30)* or lower will not be available to new users running the Android OS higher than apps’ target API after August 31, 2023.
Apps with a target level of Android 10 (API level 29) or lower have not been available to new users running the Android OS higher than apps’ target API after November 1, 2022, or May 1, 2023, if your app had an extension.
most normal people have no idea how to activate the developer settings. And chances are, it's these people that are exploited the most by this type of malware
it could have been a switch in the developer settings or anything like that
This could be applied on so many new "features" google introduces in every version and would really help a lot.. But they have other motives.
You seem to be misinformed about what's actually happening here. If there is a super old app you need you can still install it via adb.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the play store and its requirements. This is about preventing malware (which is typically written to target super old API levels to exploit things that weren't patched yet) from being installed unknowingly by the user.
The design here is good. If you are tech savvy enough to use adb you can install anything you want. But this protects somebody that mistakenly thinks they are installing something safe from accidentally infecting their device.
This also means I cannot find any old app/game on play store. So even with adb (which I do not think is a good solution because it excludes 99,9% of the users, not only tech-savvy users want or need older apps) I can only install apps I know of and that I can find their apk on the internet. I cannot browse the play store for them. I cannot search for something I need, because I will never find them. And if it is a paid app/game? Well, tough luck, I have to go find a cracked apk in shady marketplaces.... So much so for security.
If they really do this for security, it could have been a switch in the developer settings or anything like that. Not a hard ban on older apps
Again, this has literally nothing to do with the play store. This is API 22 and below we are talking about here... you can't even find apps that target API levels below 30 on the play store today afaik lol.
Keep in mind this isn't the minimum supported version, it's the target/compile version which is typically pretty trivial to update. 99.9% of users in 2024 will never need to install an app that targets a version of Android released 10 years ago.
Of course you can find them! They are not deleted. You cannot upload a NEW app or an update to one not targeting API 31 or newer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.melato.bus.android
Here is an extremely useful app for Athens' transportation system with no other similar, and I can't use it because "it is old". Last app update in 2014 with a target of 5.1 iirc
If we go to Games, we can find hundreds of great older games that we lost access to for no reason. And as I said before but you skipped it, we now lose access to ALL of our bought apps and games that stopped updating for whatever reason...
Again, you appear to be misinformed...
Source
most normal people have no idea how to activate the developer settings. And chances are, it's these people that are exploited the most by this type of malware
This could be applied on so many new "features" google introduces in every version and would really help a lot.. But they have other motives.