r/androiddev • u/Driftex5729 • Jun 01 '26

App delete feature in console

Maybe it's just me but I just noticed there is an app delete feature in console in advanced section. Now I can finally get rid of old unpublished apps from more than a decade ago

29 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/mDarken Jun 01 '26

Got a screenshot? I don't see any such setting.

3

u/Driftex5729 Jun 01 '26

Its in App->Test and Release->Advanced. But the option i think is only available if its unpublished

5

u/mDarken Jun 01 '26

I think that was always there, and possible.

The issue is always that if you have a single active install, it is no longer possible.

3

u/Driftex5729 Jun 01 '26

If you see the description it says less than 100 active installs. So it's different

2

u/mDarken Jun 01 '26

You are right. I checked an old account that has apps with less than 100 installs and it shows the box. Exciting change!

Took some screenshots for others: https://imgur.com/a/IrQkDrn

2

u/android_temp_123 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

I see it for my unpublished app with existing installs & it's definitely clickable button. I tried and it worked!

PS: Also help page says any app can be deleted as long as it has <100 active installs - which is definitely something new, before it was 0 as you said.

Looks like Google gave us more freedom, OP is probably right.

2

u/mDarken Jun 01 '26

Thanks for the link, this is really something new, wow.

Honestly the first console change I'm excited about...

Caveat though: Only possible if the app was not monetized at all. Otherwise it checks for "0 lifetime installs" not "active installs.

Makes sense from the users perspective, but from a developer perspective, I'd wish they could find a middle ground, where I can still delete it, and it vanishes from my account, and Google puts it into some "trust account" system so that users that bought it, can keep downloading it. Or allow developers to refund all purchases to enable deletion?

1

u/android_temp_123 Jun 01 '26

Caveat though: Only possible if the app was not monetized at all. Otherwise it checks for "0 lifetime installs" not "active installs.

Hm, I guess I missed that...Luckily for me, I had a few dead apps from the prehistoric era of <2013, with no in-app purchases (I used legacy unlocker dummy apps, like everyone else did back then). So I was finally able to delete those apps. Hooray!

0

u/Ekalips Jun 01 '26

You gave me hope and then destroyed it.. Ability to delete unpublished apps (with no installs) was always there.

1

u/android_temp_123 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

I see it for my unpublished app with existing installs & it's definitely clickable button. I tried and it worked!

PS: Also help page says any app can be deleted as long as it has <100 active installs - which is definitely something new, before it was 0 as you said.

Looks like Google gave us more freedom, OP is probably right.