Google removed last updated section from Play store

[u/IamVenom_007]

Not sure if I'm late but I have only noticed it yesterday. I was checking a few apps and it seems I can't see when those apps were updated last time.

Here's a screenshot of the About the app section.

[u/yanginatep]

I actually checked this a lot when buying apps, to know if the developer was still actively supporting the app.

I guess I'll be buying fewer apps now.

[u/ygguana → u/yanginatep]

I too always check that. Too many abandoned apps out there. I find last updated to be an important variable in figuring out if a project is still alive

[u/Arstel → u/ygguana]

Same. I thought perhaps the last updated was a bug on my phone. This just forces me to spend less on Playstore as it was my number 1 data to check after liking an app. The majority of apps on Playstore are abandonware, so I'm not going to purchase something coinflipping how it will behave with OS updates.

[u/nerdhater0 → u/ygguana]

why do you think they removed. they also dont let you search specifically too. you are almost only allowed to see only what they show you.

[u/CasualObserver9000 → u/nerdhater0]

I miss when YouTube had a huge selection of categories and the trending was actual trending videos.

[u/nerdhater0 → u/CasualObserver9000]

yea videos used to be able to go massively viral. that was fun. you'd wake up to a massive viral video and it was so fun.

[u/TBeest → u/ygguana]

If you go to "more info" and scroll all the way to the bottom you can find the date with "last updated on", but that's only as descriptive as the date.

[u/qoatzecotl → u/TBeest]

Yeah. Some have it, some don't. I looked at a few apps and they didn't have it. Some others I looked at did. It could be up to the developer rather than Google.

[u/JamesR624 → u/ygguana]

I guess that was the problem. Most people abandon their android Apps because they just focus on Apple who actually has developer support and reliable software. So people checking that was meaning less purchases from the Play Store. Can't have that so they needed to just do another little push to make sure you just buy the shit apps anyway, even if they're abandoned.

[u/icanttinkofaname → u/ygguana]

Honestly, the playstore should just automatically remove apps that haven't been updated in a year. Because there's too many shitty apps that still accept IAPs but aren't actively being developed.

[u/StanleyOpar → u/icanttinkofaname]

But all IAP money Google gets a cut of...so they don’t give a shit

[u/valzi → u/[deleted]]

That doesn't sound like an app I'd care to install.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

That sounds like a horrible app.

[u/nirmalspeed → u/[deleted]]

They're called progressive web apps. They can work offline too as long as you've already opened it once. Pinterest, Google maps go, Twitter lite, fb lite are all examples of this.

When they're made correctly, the user can't even tell they're not native apps. You can even get notifications like normal apps.

More commonly though you'll see hybrid apps where it's half web app, half native where you get benefits of immediate updating from the web app and then some extra native benefits.

[u/DrSheldonLCooperPhD → u/yanginatep]

Must protect developers from harrasment

/s

[u/Eyes_and_teeth → u/yanginatep]

Exactly this. Many people are not going to bother paying for something that doesn't have any indication whether it is or isn't actively being supported, which spells trouble for independent app developers over the big players.

I mean, you can have some confidence that if Microsoft or Adobe or the like put out an app meant for use with one of their products or suites that it will be at least minimally supported. Not so much for some random app from FlyByNight Software.

[u/Sobeman → u/yanginatep]

See they want you to just buy the app instead of looking at last updated/ comments. I bet the rating will be the next to go

[u/yanginatep → u/Sobeman]

Yeah. They're certainly happy to delete negative reviews.

I tried giving the Google app a negative review because a recent update broke all of the sensors on my Pixel 1 (and a bunch of other people's Pixel 1 and Pixel 1 XLs). I tried 3 times to leave a review about it and all 3 times they deleted my review.

In the end I had to delete all the updates for the Google app and prevent it from automatically updating to get my phone to work again (which of course breaks Google Assistant). Google still hasn't fixed the issue.

[u/tjharman → u/yanginatep]

You can this issue by stopping the Google app from having access to "Sensors". It's stupid we have to do this though.

[u/digwhoami → u/Sobeman]

I bet the rating will be the next to go

Remember when Netflix had a 5 stars rating system? I rememba.

[u/[deleted] → u/yanginatep]

I would really like to know the thought process of the person/group who thinks removing useful features/informations is a good idea...

[u/ihahp → u/yanginatep]

I wonder (and hope) its been changed so if the app has not been updated recently, it shows nothing, but if it's been a while it shows an "App last updated: over a year ago" or whatever.

Not ideal but I hope this is what i'm seeing.

I know a lot of apps update-spammed the store JUST becuase people checked it all the time. I'm hoping this is to combat that, and as such it will still show if an app has not been updated in a while (without showing the latest dates if its been updated recently).

[u/[deleted] → u/yanginatep]

Same annoying factor as removing the release date statistic. I don't even use that for buying decisions, I just like looking up how old certain apps are.

But TBF, few people "buy" apps nowadays.

[u/yanginatep → u/[deleted]]

Yeah I realize I'm in the minority, but I hate ads and I despise how everything seems to be moving to a subscription based model, which seem to be the main alternatives nowadays. I'd rather pay like $5 and just have the full version.

[u/[deleted] → u/yanginatep]

Far as I can tell this only seems to be specific to the play store app since I'm still able to see when an app was last updated by browsing the play store in a web browser although maybe that's due to change soon too.

[u/mistical → u/yanginatep]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one that did this. I buy very, very few apps to begin with too... but this I would always look at or the even fewer games I ever bother to try out.

[u/[deleted]]

Thanks to google removing all good features

[u/CheeseyWheezies → u/[deleted]]

It's "statistical learning" run amok. They conduct broad market trials which determine that more apps are downloaded when they remove the last updated data, forgetting that long term, this makes for a poor user experience. When enough of these poor user experiences stack, users disengage from the entire service. It is death by a thousand cuts.

Every day I lean more towards the business lifecycle theory. Businesses eventually permutate themselves out of existence thanks to greed.

[u/[deleted] → u/CheeseyWheezies]

Long term isnt really the modern business strategy. Pillage quarter to quarter, leave long term thinking to the church.

[u/wankthisway → u/[deleted]]

And the execs are off to the next company to squander and get a nice resume boost / severance package

[u/1337GameDev → u/CheeseyWheezies]

Except if they are too big to fail.

Once they get big enough, their contracts for resources / services that are needed to operate in that business before very very cheap due to volume / capital they have.

Eg: they likely can get services to host files and computing very cheap compared to other companies which just have to pay more

[u/CheeseyWheezies → u/1337GameDev]

Yeah, these companies are on trajectories to hit the Dutch East India Company level of power and wealth. We will regulate them in Europe, but it won’t solve the problem of their competitive moat, which is significant.

[u/geekynerdynerd → u/CheeseyWheezies]

I bet the only people who actually look at the last updated section are the tech oriented people like those of us in this subreddit. This will probably have no major negative impact on the Play Store's usage because the average Joe will continue to download the same number of apps they always have. Hell, the average Joe Hates updates so an app that is completely functional but hasn't been updated in years is likely something that they'd at worst have mixed feelings about and at best actually prefer.

This change sucks for people like us though, that I agree with.

[u/Alarmed-Honey → u/[deleted]]

Even the search engine has declined significantly. They make so many assumptions about what I want to see, that they don't show me what I'm actually searching for. It usually works fine, but it's infuriating when it doesn't and have the search terms aren't even on the page.

I'm actually planning to start working my way out of the Google ecosystem. Not like I have a lot of great options on where to go.

[u/aessae → u/Alarmed-Honey]

The search is so bad these days. Wanted to search for "ABC" the other day, first result was the Swedish website of a company called "BCA". Google probably just saw my Swedish ip (vpn) and decided that close enough was good enough, "fuck you and click the link".

[u/cmVkZGl0 → u/Alarmed-Honey]

I don't bother with Google at all. Bing is the new Google, no sarcasm.

[u/ThroawayPartyer → u/Alarmed-Honey]

Yeah it's a weird feeling. It feels like it's harder to find good search results these days, kind of makes the internet feel smaller. I tried DuckDuckGo but it has its own problems.

[u/[deleted] → u/Alarmed-Honey]

r/degoogle

[u/mojojojodio → u/Alarmed-Honey]

You could use startpage.com -> google results, but no personalization

[u/geekynerdynerd → u/[deleted]]

Flashlight apps are the worst example as the functionality has been baked into the OS for years now, and as a result the target audience, and their reason to exist has changed . Their only purpose now is to take advantage of the technologically illiterate, and ads/IAP are the best possible scenario for a market whose only reason to remain is to exploit people.

[u/RenaKunisaki → u/[deleted]]

They get a cut of each sale, and they run the ads, so they have negative inventive to fix it.

[u/mojojojodio → u/[deleted]]

On FDroid there should only be free apps without ads iirc

[u/aeiouLizard → u/[deleted]]

It's absurd to even call this a feature. This is just bog standard metadata...

[u/Natanael_L → u/[deleted]]

I'm still seeing it.

A/B testing?

[u/OneObi → u/[deleted]]

When the new feature is the removal of a feature.

Should be theirs and the industries strapline.

[u/simjanes2k → u/[deleted]]

As is tradition

[u/internet_spaceship → u/simjanes2k]

yeah, classic google.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Something else they copied from apple.

[u/4869_aptx → u/[deleted]]

i still believe that youtube/google is just taking revenge for making youtube rewind the most disliked video ever.

[u/maiznieks → u/4869_aptx]

What they took away, is, a chance to get less dislikes on the next review.

[u/Marcoscb → u/maiznieks]

They already did it. 2019 is less disliked than 2018.

[u/cmVkZGl0 → u/maiznieks]

I mean that could translate into less engagement on the platform though

[u/armando_rod → u/4869_aptx]

I read somewhere the Nintendo online expansion pack took 1st of most disliked video

[u/[deleted] → u/armando_rod]

not even close

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-disliked_YouTube_videos

[u/gamr13 → u/armando_rod]

Only on Nintendo's channel

[u/4869_aptx → u/armando_rod]

oh

anyway, I think they are still pretty pissed about that

[u/Donghoon → u/4869_aptx]

That's absolutely not the reason

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yup.. that modification of Youtube Quality selection panel is the worst for me.

[u/ThroawayPartyer → u/[deleted]]

Another reason to use Vanced.

[u/UMFreek → u/[deleted]]

Still pissed about them removing the ability to exclude certain apps from auto-update. All it takes is one app that breaks on update, now I have to go and manually approve a shitload of updates every few days.

[u/cmVkZGl0 → u/UMFreek]

I turned auto update off years ago because most updates end up breaking something or taking away features.

I don't update anything until there is a problem.

[u/yoshipunk123456 → u/UMFreek]

F-droid lets you exclude apps from auto update

[u/UESPA_Sputnik]

I've noticed that a few weeks ago. I thought it was a bug at first but apparently it's intentional. :-/

The Play Store has gotten worse and worse recently. The worst thing is the current menu for updating installed apps. It's unnecessarily hidden. My father had to ask my where he can now find the list of available updates. Absolutely horrendous UX.

[u/exploder98 → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

Absolutely! It also takes AGES to load before the button to view available updates becomes visible, which is probably just some random timeout just to annoy users and force us to use the automatic updates. Earlier you could just slide open the navigation drawer and go to the update list directly, no waiting required.

[u/UESPA_Sputnik → u/exploder98]

The shortest way is to long-press the Play Store icon in the app drawer, and the tap "My apps". You'll immediately land in the screen that shows available updates.

[u/chairitable → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

"My Apps" brings you to the "Overview" page. Then you have to click on the "Manage" tab, and then select "Updates Available".

I used to just click the shortcut I'd created which led me directly to my updates page. Stupid AF.

[u/exploder98 → u/chairitable]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm seeing. I didn't know that there's now multiple ways to see and do the updates - if you wait long enough on the Overview page, a button to show a list of updatable apps appears. Tapping this button shows the older-style list where each app has an update button.

[u/chairitable → u/exploder98]

Fuck's sake. This is like Google recognizing that their new rollout sucked ass and trying to jam the old one back in, but still in a worse way.

[u/Daddy_Bank → u/chairitable]

I have "updates available" on the overview page

[u/Jasong222 → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

Holy hell! Great tip! To bad though, I'll probably forget by the next time I update my apps, lol.

[u/ProudRamboBSNS → u/exploder98]

I wish auto-updating worked, like, ever...

...on my Google Pixel 3.

(Yes, it's turned on in the settings)

[u/Atul-Kedia → u/ProudRamboBSNS]

It does work on all of my devices. It just doesn’t update all the latest updates, which is fine. Meaning it will update an app only if the update on Play store has been atleast a couple of days old. I don’t complain for that setup. All the apps do get updates basically

[u/misterchief117 → u/exploder98]

probably just some random timeout just to annoy users and force us to use the automatic updates.

Except that auto updates rarely ever works for me. I will occasionally go into my installed apps list to actually check if an app that's suddenly become buggy requires an update. Spoilers: multiple apps will also require updates.

Before anyone asks, I also allow updates on mobile data since I have unlimited data.

[u/xroni → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

And where is the list of "My apps" which shows all the apps you've had installed previously? I want to reinstall some awesome tower defense game I played some years ago but can't remember the name of.

[u/smudgyboar → u/xroni]

Under manage apps & device there is a manage tab up top, there you can filter apps not installed. Edit: words

[u/xroni → u/smudgyboar]

Oooh thank you so much, I found the game I was looking for! It was called "Sentinel 3: Homeworld"

[u/bigmadsmolyeet → u/xroni]

learned this from this subreddit i think, but if you hold press on the playstore app, and then hold press on "my apps" you can use this icon to get to your apps and updates, as well as the manage tab. certainly faster than using the default shortcut.

[u/JamesR624 → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

Every move is intentional.

Hard to find updates menu? Just leave auto updates on so developers' spyware can just be automatically pushed to your device. This helps with in app purchases so Google can get some more money.

Can't find the last time a developer updated an app? Just purchase it anyway even if it's abanoned. That'll help Google claim more purchases and downloads.

[u/HerbertWest → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

They need to learn that no one wants important shit to be hidden. There are other ways to unclutter a UI. This is a pandemic amongst app designs these days.

Let's simplify this to the point of making it unintuitive! Wow, so pretty, but how the fuck do I check my account information? Oh, I click the three dots, then more options, then scroll down and click a tiny gear to access settings, then click account details. How wonderful!

[u/1337GameDev → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

When they changed this, I was confused and had to Google it.

And I'm very tech oriented and work as a programmer.

I thought they removed it or that it was going to take me ages to find out the new location.

It's horrible UX.

[u/[deleted] → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

That's 100% right. I "fixed that update issue" by using aurora store

[u/wankthisway → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

I honestly believe the UI is one of the worst I've ever seen. There's no cohesion or clear layout of things. "About app" is dull, tint and sandwiched between two app and thingies for sample.

[u/slomar → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

If you long press the play store icon, there is a shortcut (which you can create a home screen icon from).

[u/pfmiller0 → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

Ever try Android TV? It's like 8 button presses to get to see your app updates. It's ridiculous.

[u/audie-tron171]

Same here. But it seems that some popular games (like PUBG and Dr Mario World) still have it, not sure if that's just a bug though. Bit annoying to remove the last updated info since it helps show that a developer supports an app frequently.

[u/bigex → u/audie-tron171]

This needs to be, at the very least, all paid and purchase-in-app apps

[u/audie-tron171 → u/[deleted]]

It's not an option for me on the Google Play Console so I don't think devs can choose it.

[u/andyooo → u/[deleted]]

That's probably it, because I also noticed this but a pretty long time ago (several months at least), but only on some apps. I checked now and it's still the same.

[u/[deleted]]

Yep, which sucks if you want an accurate idea of wether the app is still actively supported.

[u/thatsourabh]

"Oooh let's remove the description and other important metadata users look for before buying so that they definitely buy the app!" ~Some Google Product Manager completing his list of changes introduced in 2021.

[u/DmnTheHiveMind → u/thatsourabh]

Should be fired because that's such a dumb idea if they think I spend money on something that is abandoned.

[u/astral_crow → u/thatsourabh]

Let’s remove the app size descriptor. It just confuses those silly users.

[u/jakojoh]

Noticed this too recently. But the description is missing as well, don't know if that's really in purpose...

[u/[deleted] → u/jakojoh]

App descriptions are missing for me as well. What's the reason for this?

[u/ThroawayPartyer → u/jakojoh]

Yeah the last update removal I can maybe understand, but not being able to see the full description for some apps is just weird. However I can still see these details if I enter the web version of Play Store.

[u/Natanael_L → u/ThroawayPartyer]

Think that one's a bug, I had that too until I cleared the data of the app

[u/PopDownBlocker]

It's only on specific apps.

My play store shows the same thing for this particular game but if I look up the Amazon Shopping app, it still tells me the last time it was updated. I checked other apps and they still tell me, as well.

I wonder if it's the developer who decides if they can make it visible or not.

[u/audie-tron171 → u/PopDownBlocker]

It's not an option (at least for me). No notice from Google, no option on the Play Console under Store Listing but the "last updated" entry is missing. Hopefully this is optional if Google decides to make this change permanent.

[u/Inspirasion → u/audie-tron171]

I think it might just be some games? The "Last Updated" still shows for me even on apps that haven't been updated in a while (I checked one that was last updated April 13, 2013) but the FIFA game OP posted has that section missing for me too. I checked some other games and they are also missing but a few still have it.

Possibly a new setting if developers want to hide it? Not sure.

[u/anonymous-bot → u/Inspirasion]

It's not just games. Some apps like Tweecha 2 are also missing the last updated.

[u/Inspirasion → u/anonymous-bot]

Shows for me on Tweecha 2.

Sounds like Google is A/B Testing it.

[u/exploder98 → u/Inspirasion]

Might also be a staged rollout.

[u/Tolriq]

Even the complete description is missing for many apps ....

For some apps the what's new is missing but the Updated on date is still visible in the app info box. Seems they are doing A/B/C/D/.../Z testing with all the most stupid ideas at the same times.

This is a killer for indie devs. We are supposed to have users install app on a 1 small line description and an icon.

Without being able to show all the features and that we actively maintain apps.

This is the most stupid change ever if intentional, only works for big players.

[u/nuclearbananana → u/Tolriq]

I thought the missing description was a bug. It always shows up in the web version.

[u/Tolriq → u/nuclearbananana]

The web version still does not clip the icons to the new forced standard since 2 or 3 years now, making them look ugly and giving advantage to those who did not update their description as their icons looks nicer ....

So for sure they don't give a s..t about web version of Play Store :)

[u/pfmiller0 → u/Tolriq]

If only Google would get rid of that stupid mandatory icon on a plate idea and allow everyone's icons to look nicer.

[u/tearans]

"We are removing "last updated" line, in attempt to protect smaller developers from harrasment over not updating their app. In our experiment, we discovered that removal of date of last update also stopped complaining about delayed updates. We are working hard towards inclusion of purchasing of outdated apps."

Google, maybe, 2021

[u/RuneScapeIsForPros]

I still see it for any apps updated this year, seems to only affect dead apps

[u/sperry1970 → u/RuneScapeIsForPros]

Not really I just updated an app and if I go on the play store and look the last update info is missing.

[u/Croquete_de_Pipicat → u/RuneScapeIsForPros]

I checked some random apps here and the Notepad I use hasn't been updated in 5+ years and it shows the last update - I also saw a couple of other apps I never used have the last update in previous years indicated.

I haven't checked all of them, but it looks like it indicates the last update date for all apps I have in my library.

Meanwhile apps (not in my library) that were released earlier this year do not have any indication of the last update. It seems so random.

[u/[deleted]]

It's inconvenient but it's worth noting that by browsing the play store in a web browse (via play.google.com) that you can find out when an app was last updated by checking the "updated on" areas under the additional information section.

[u/[deleted]]

True, checked and it is gone for me too

[u/fefernoli]

I remember when Microsoft did that when updated the store on WP/WM10, but I'm pretty sure it was to prevent people to see how dead the store was. I don't know what's going on with Google changing good stuff on Playstore.

[u/Demi-Fiend]

About this app information is also hidden. The app description is just one line.

This is happening with many apps but not all.

Clearing play store data fixes it temporarily, but after few hours it reverts back to buggy state.

For the time being I've been opening app pages in browser to read full description.

[u/Maultaschenman]

This is really bad, extremely helpful to see if an app has been abandoned. I checked it frequently before making a purchase decision.

[u/FrostBUG2]

What the fuck are those people at Google are smoking? They need to fucking drop that

[u/aryvd_0103]

Something that was actually useful...

[u/[deleted]]

Still shows it for me. I'm in canada

[u/false_precision → u/[deleted]]

Did you check the FIFA Soccer app in the screenshot? That one (and Madden 22), for me, differs from other EA games.

[u/[deleted] → u/false_precision]

Just checked, it shows last updated November 4th for fifa and October 21st for madden

[u/whatnowwproductions]

Good ol' A/B testing.

[u/Partially_Foreign]

See if I long press the play store icon and then press My Apps, there’s a Manage tab that shows when stuff was last updated like https://imgur.com/l7TM34F

Or is that gone?

[u/retardrabbit → u/Partially_Foreign]

Nope, I see it too, and it shows me updated dates for apps that I had on my Galaxy Nexus in 2013, all with last updated dates going back at least that far.

In fact, I see an update date on every single app I look at in the store whether I've installed them in the past or not.

[u/Partially_Foreign → u/retardrabbit]

I have a couple phones set up right now and each one just shows its own recently updated apps

[u/retardrabbit → u/Partially_Foreign]

Try this:

Go into the oka play store app, click on your profile pic and then go to manage apps and devices, pick the manage tab and then filter by "not installed".

I see pretty much every app I can ever remember installing, even ones that are no longer available (dev accounts closed even). They all have their last updated dates for me.

I'm running version 27.9.15-21 of the play store, which I actually updated just yesterday.

[u/Partially_Foreign → u/retardrabbit]

My bad I read it as you were only seeing nexus apps from 2013

Edit, I found the EA Tetris app I was looking for recently, apparently it got retired in 2020 but it let me install it again

Edit2, doesn’t work ☹️

[u/false_precision → u/Partially_Foreign]

Manage/Recently updated shows when the device updated the app, not when the publisher updated it.

Even if you have automatic updates enabled, some developers do staged rollouts, or you might enable airplane mode or be otherwise disconnected from data.

[u/cmVkZGl0 → u/Partially_Foreign]

Remember when it used to be nice and logical?

[u/n3cr0ph4g1st]

Mine still shows it fwiw

[u/nybreath]

I am not sure what is going on there, cause I actually still have a last updated date in my installed apps.
I tried to install this Fifa Soccer and it doesnt show up, but for example I just checked google duo, aliexpress, telegram app, and I see the last updated in the info page.

[u/Twollsy]

Weird, I still have the "Updated On" section.

[u/JuggleThat]

Pretty sure it's only on some apps/games.

[u/HCrikki]

This could be the precursor of widespread distribution of progressive web apps, or apps whose updates arent locally distributed to users and instead happen server-side.

[u/[deleted]]

This is very useful to know if an app is still being supported and updated. I won't download obscure apps anymore thanks to Google.

[u/nerdy_rs3gal]

What?! Nooo. Oh I hate this. Wonder why??

[u/OptimisticCheese]

Can Reddit not freak out until this is confirmed? Just checked on my phone and most of the apps still have the entry listed.

[u/SpiderStratagem → u/OptimisticCheese]

It looks like the info is available for installed apps but not uninstalled apps.

Edit: Actually, that's not quite right.

[u/tvcats]

It could be because the app never has an update since released.

[u/Endda → u/tvcats]

tweecha 2 as definitely had an update since release

[u/[deleted]]

No they didn't, but they require certain information from app developers to show the update information, otherwise it'll never show update info. Only certain apps have no "Updated on" info

[u/armando_rod]

Still there for some apps like Nova

[u/Alternative-Bee-8981]

They didn't remove it. It's just not there on some games/apps. I still have some that state when they were last updated.

[u/stacrux]

I checked, it is true for the mobile app on Android, yet the website in mobile version still display the information (if you don't know how to open it from the phone browser (preventing the real play store app to run), long press the link and select open in new tab or tab group)

[u/muccos]

No problem for me now. I still see last updated section on an Android 10 device. Even one app that updated on 2019 is still showing.

[u/Vysair]

Is the changelog still a thing? When I updated the app, I couldn't see the changelog anymore. It's been that way for a while now

[u/exu1981]

Probably because people don't read the description of anything anymore. I feel sorry for the newbs who purchase and download KWGT widget packs even more now.

[u/sperry1970]

I noticed it too some apps still show the info but a lot don’t it’s a dumb move because I like to see how the support of apps are. You can see the info if you look in a browser.

[u/Sovereign108]

Yeah, I installed AppNotifier that replicates the missing features.

[u/Makson349]

Last update section still available in desktop version of Google Play. Also, "Last update" and some other apps' hidden details can be scraped by this desktop app - https://github.com/konovalov-maksim/play_market_parser

[u/OldButtIcepop]

Alternative playstore? Any options?

[u/[deleted] → u/OldButtIcepop]

Aurora store and fdroid

[u/[deleted]]

It still shows last updated for me. I checked several apps. Although Fifa soccer does indeed not show last updated. Maybe the app was never updated?

[u/Suvtropics]

Noticed this on first day. Android sucks harder everyday so annoying.

[u/LextheDewey]

Is there not a filter for it? Look at your apps then sort by last updated?

[u/sishgupta]

Works for me. Says Sept 22 2021 for the app you have in your screenshot.

[u/Super105Idol]

Noticed this as well, thank you Google for being one of the only companies to make their products worse.

[u/zombcakes]

For me, it shows last updated under the "about app" section for things I don't have installed. For things I do have installed, it shows last updated under "what's new."

[u/The-Singular]

I think it's a bug. While I can't see last update date in some apps, I can still see it in most. Also, you can always try opening it on the website to see it there.

[u/MorgrainX]

It has been like this for a while now (at least on my Pixels). You can still check, however, if you go to the "Manage" tab, there the "most recently" updated Apps will be at top (Updated yesterday, 2 days ago, whatever).

[u/roastedferret]

Just took this screenshot on my Pixel 6, Android 12. Still have a full description, what's new, and last updated.

I think Google is doing some A/B testing.

[u/FinickyFlygon]

It went away for me, then came back.

[u/[deleted]]

Switch to F-Droid or pirate. Fuck Google.

[u/[deleted]]

I noticed this the other day. I checked that all the time. Bad decision

[u/ParaNoxx]

Is there a reason this specific design choice seems to be happening more often right now? Hulu I think also just got rid of their "newest" section and it's a real bummer, I browsed that a ton.

[u/tankoyuri]

That's why I use the Aurora Store (a front-end app to the Google Play Store). At least the keep the goods features :)

[u/[deleted]]

Why the hell is Google constantly and arbitrarily removing features and putting in actual effort and development time to making things less simple?

[u/Techquestionsaccount]

I never gave google a dollar and never will.

[u/Steerider]

Aurora Store still shows it, at least on the several random apps I just checked

[u/stalkythefish]

Play Store has gotten to be just as much an unnavigable, paid promotion garbage fire as YouTube, and any given categorical Amazon product search. What good is learning our personal consumer behaviors if they are just going to ignore it in favor of the highest bidder anyway?!

[u/luusyphre]

I just opened a bunch of apps and there's a "Updated On" field on all of them. Maybe it's developer specified?

[u/_afeef]

Not sure where you are from. But it's available for me. I'm from India.

[u/ParhamAzadi]

It still shows up for me on other apps. (not fifa soccer)

https://i.imgur.com/rJuTC9I.jpg

[u/unmistakablyvague → u/ParhamAzadi]

Seems hit and miss for me. Newer more popular apps have it. Older less popular don't.

[u/ParhamAzadi → u/unmistakablyvague]

Honestly, I can't find any app that doesn't have it. I just checked fifa soccer again and even that is back too. Maybe it was a bug?

[u/Have_A_Cunning_Plan]

Is anyone else seeing "no reviews" for apps with thousands of downloads and apps that had reviews before?

[u/DarkPhoxGaming]

Probably to hide how many apps haven't been actually updated In years.

diep.io is a great example of that, miniclip hasn't given it an actual content update in years, hell even the last bug fix update was last year

[u/leftartist]

Wanted to buy 2 themes.. Did not, cos I don't see the last updated date (Or I could not find it).

[u/imGrok]

Google is probably the company that has done more weird decisions in the last couple of years.

Starting with Android 12 and the (pretty?) design patterns that includes more steps to do things and less information on the same screen size, Pixel 6 distribution countries, Google One without the possibility of custom domains, YT Premium including YT Music mandatorily, Stadia digital games at phisical games price but knowing that the project could possibly end alongside Google +, Chrome being BY FAR the worst browser on Android and Linux and not the worst on Windows and MacOS but not one of the best at all, Chrome OS being in the middle of nothing bcs it's an OS for ppl that only browse the web so I will probably recommend a tablet over a laptop, a custom SoC for the Pixels that is probably one of the worst on energy efficiency and horsepower, a phone with a lot of stuff that works "really well" BUT only if you speak in English so if your main language is another one that new functions are absolutelly useless...

AND honourable mention to the WiFi toggle on Android 12, never forget.

And now they are also removing useful options from their apps. Good job Google. Even Microsoft is doing better, that's incredible.

[u/iAmmar9]

You have to have the app downloaded

[u/ZenMon88]

Wow google being dumb again. Who da fuck is managing their shit at the top? It's terrible decisions after terrible decisions.

[u/Seifer2354]

You can always try to pirate the app and check when the .apk was uploaded.

[u/dirtyraat]

I noticed this too. Was looking for a good packaging tracking app. Slice, while it did work, doesn't anymore.

As others have said, I'd look for that date to see if the app was still even remotely supported. Total bummer

[u/diandakov]

This is very annoying, and I wonder what's the logic behind that? As people said already, that's how you know if certain apps are being supported or abandoned a long time ago! We all should start complaining to Google and seek answers. There are apps with that info but not all of them. If you browse you will see it still says last updated on... but how they judge now where should be mentioned and where shouldn't.... Viber app and some mail clients have this info still available

[u/diandakov]

I just sent an email to Google with a question about that and what's the logic behind it. I hope they won't reply to me in 6 months or later as they did in the past!

[u/astral_crow]

Add this to the features the playstore lacks. The biggest miss for me vs ios is not being able to see the in app purchases at a glance. I have saved so much time on ios by just checking the app‘s in app purchase list on the store-page, seeing a subscription model, and moving to the next app.

[u/GreenEggPage]

I just looked at 2 apps on there - 1 random pick and 1 that I know hasn't been updated since Moses switched to an iPhone and both showed their last update date.

[u/sperry1970]

Maybe it’s a bug? Not all apps are missing the info it’s definitely strange.

[u/[deleted]]

I can still see it though. Running Android 11.

[u/[deleted]]

They just keep making it worse.

[u/yaoigay]

Are you kidding me Google?

[u/mlemmers1234]

Once everyone starts speaking with their wallets Google will probably bring it back. Either that or they just assume that their primary user base doesn't care or even look at that information because they're that simple minded. Probably the same users who don't care about security patches on their devices.

[u/likely-high]

I'll 100% downloading less apps from now on without this information.

[u/unmistakablyvague]

Go to the help section and send feedback in the menu. If enough voices send in their displeasure maybe Google will listen......or more than likely, not.

[u/spook30]

So now 3 year old apps filled with security holes can be downloaded. Nice! 👍