60,000 apps zapped from Google Play in suspected anti-spam move

Almost 60,000 apps have been removed from Google Play, reports TechCrunch, in a move believed to be in response to the number of apps falling foul of the store’s anti-spam policies.

To be clear, not all of these apps were deleted by Google. Some … were likely pulled by the publishers themselves. But with a number as high as 60,000, it’s clear that many of these were pulled by Google directly.

Unlike Apple, which manually vets all apps before they are accepted into its App Store, Google relies primarily on automated checks conducted after apps are made available for download. This is, however, the highest number of apps it has removed in a single month, suggesting a closer focus on apps which contravene its terms & conditions.