Billions of Android users urged to beware of new Google alert – it means apps ‘will stop working’ on your device
THERE'S a new way to avoid the mobile nightmare of downloading a Google Play app only to find it barely works on your Android.
The pace at which our devices advance is a miracle – there's constantly an upgrade to download, or new model to purchase.
Sadly, this has a big downside.
Sometimes developers don't develop apps at the same rate.
Maybe you're browsing games on the Google Play store, and you spot one with rave reviews from other players.
But here's the kicker: It was developed a decade or so ago.
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If you keep with the times and are using a device that's relatively new and operating a recent software update like Android 13.0, the app may be glitchy or simply malfunction altogether.
Meanwhile, it's sapping megabytes from your memory and you've wasted time.
Well, good news - Google Play will now warn you if an app may not work on your device, based on data from users with similar models to your own.
Android users from across the world have shared this observation on Twitter, Reddit, and various tech forums.
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A message stating "Recent data from similar devices indicates that this app may stop working on your device," will appear in red below the Install button.
And it looks like the new alert system extends beyond just games, as users have found it popping up for the installation of Instagram and NOW TV, too.
But users noticing the warning system have voiced frustration that their devices are outpacing the apps that are integral to their phone experience.
"Feels like android are slowly losing everything!," one user wrote.
"Nokia C31 is good but what is my phone without Instagram?," another added.
Why has Google introduced the alert?
Google made plans to introduce this new alert system back in October.
Google's quality bar per phone model was introduced due to some apps working perfectly fine on some Android models but not on others, according to an Android Developers Blog post.
This created a "bad behavior threshold" that Google hopes developers will keep their apps under.
The threshold was set at eight percent for the user-perceived crash rate and user-perceived App Not Responsive rate.
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Anything above this will trigger the warning about the app on the Play Store - which is the warning some users have started to spot.
Not only will this improve the user experience, but incentives for apps to fix issues with their app, as the developers will be granted access to the data about users experiencing issues.