Almost 7000 mobile apps removed from App Store in Russia since February 24
As the exodus of tech companies from Russia continues, global developers continue to suspend their operations in accordance with sanctions and in support of Ukraine. Almost 7000 apps have already been removed from the country’s App Store.
- Sensor Tower shared new data with TechCrunch, saying that a total of 6,982 mobile apps have been removed between February 24 and March 14.
- This represents a 105% increase in the number of removed apps when compared with the first two weeks of February 2022.
- For example, Apple pulled “only” 3404 iOS apps in Russia from February 1-14. This number goes in line with the company’s standard cleanup policy as it removed 3422 outdated or abandoned apps from the App Store in the US during the same period.
- According to Sensor Tower, those apps removed between February 24 and March 14 generated around 218 million downloads in Russia. It accounts for 3% of their 6.6 billion global installs.
- Belarus is another country to experience this exodus, with 5900 iOS apps removed since February 24 (up 73% compared to the first two weeks of February).
- A lot of global apps are still available in Russia’s App Store. However, the country’s top charts are now filled with different VPN apps, as the government continues to ban independent media and foreign social media platforms.
A lot of mobile game developers have already suspended their sales and operations in Russia. The list includes Supercell (Clash Royale, Brawl Stars), Rovio (Angry Birds), Plarium (RAID: Shadow Legends), Zynga (FarmVille), and Niantic (Pokémon Go).
