There are well over 2.5 million apps in the Google Play Store and some of them are likely to be updated fairly regularly with new features or bug fix updates. Google has done a lot in recent years to hide these updates as much as possible and only a few days ago took another big step in this direction. Now comes the possibly temporary roll backward.
Android apps obtained from the Play Store are usually updated fully automatically in the background and do not require user intervention. But the fact that you can rely on it in most cases does not automatically mean that you are not interested in it as a user. That’s exactly what the Google Play Store team seems to be assuming because information about app updates has been increasingly hidden and even completely withdrawn for some users.
There are many user reports and the changes are expressed in different ways: Some have lost the list of the latest updates, others do not see any changelogs and for others, it is not even possible to see when an app was last updated. However, the latter can be an important criterion for apps for which you should pay money. Changelogs are also interesting for some apps and are unfortunately completely hidden in the Android app. On the web, they are still accessible to all users.
It has to be said that many developers – including Google – have often not maintained this update section. Such actions mean that even fewer developers take the trouble and therefore have an argument for removing this section completely. Would be a shame for a small group of users who would actually read through it.
UPDATE: Everything is back
Only a few days after the disappearance, this information has reappeared for all users. The changelog is back and the detailed info on the last update has also made a comeback from the very short break. Google has not commented on the sudden disappearance or the sudden comeback. Therefore, I assume that it was not a bug, but a test run. Probably one that was performed with a larger circle than planned.
The negative feedback could have ended this test run for now because that’s what test runs are for, but it shows the internal standing of this information. Viewed pessimistically, one has to assume that this information will soon be completely removed from all users. Perhaps not without replacement, but with less extensive information. A scale like an app distribution figures would be conceivable (frequently updated, rarely updated, recently updated or similar). App developers who have an interest in distributing changelogs could put them in the app description.
We will keep you updated on how this area is progressing.