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Is it possible to 'block/prevent' users from using an old Android app?

I mean - I've already unpublished app from Play. This means that app is not available anymore for downloading.

But I'd like to restrict users to carry on using current installed app (which has been unpublished from Play).

Is it somehow possible?

Regards,

Luís Palma
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    I am quite confident this is impossible since it doesn't seem like it would be very fair to the user. However if this is something that you would like to have in a future app, what you can do is have a server that the app must talk to in order to run. Then take that server down so the app is useless. But it isn't fair to a user for the developer to say "give me this app back" considering it is a store where many apps cost money. – Luple Apr 11 '18 at 17:18

3 Answers3

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There isn't a way to check if the app is currently published to the Play Store, however you can check if there is a new version available.

From the link above:

String response = SendNetworkUpdateAppRequest(); // Your code to do the network request
                                             // should send the current version
                                             // to server
if(response.equals("YES")) // Start Intent to download the app user has to manually install it by clicking on the notification
    startActivity(new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("URL TO LATEST APK")));
Treyten Carey
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Unfortunately, it is not possible to rollback to an earlier version. You would have to upload a new app bundle with a higher version code.

If your release is on a staged rollout and not yet at 100%, you will be able to halt the rollout to prevent users who haven't updated yet to get the new version.

Ramya Garapati
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Treating your users like this is not something you should do. Users have an expectation that once they have acquired an app they can keep using it, and you should respect that expectation.

But let's suppose there was a seriously good reason for doing it. Suppose your signing key and developer account had been compromised by an ex-employee, and you wanted to make sure users moved from the compromised app to a new app with a new package name.

You could then issue an update to the app which when loaded did nothing except display a message saying something like "This app is out of date and will no longer be updated. Please move to this app" and have a link to the new app in the Play store. Existing users would get the update, and while the old app is available to them, most users would not be able to get it.

As I said, this is very disrespectful behavior to your users in most situations, and I'd only recommend doing it if critical for user security.

Nick Fortescue
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  • I'm not sure I would call this answer productive. There are certainly cases that you would want to do this in a mobile application. Otherwise, I can appreciate the answer to a question being that the person is asking the wrong question. However, in this case I would not agree that is an appropriate response. You make a point about security at the end of your answer. And that is what applying "Version Lockout" could help to achieve. This user may be trying to do that exact thing. – aaiezza Jun 23 '22 at 19:53