Starting in November 2022, some out-of-date apps will be unavailable to new users of devices that run newer versions of Android.

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Every new Android version introduces changes that enhance the user experience, security, and performance of the Android platform overall. Each app specifies a targetSdkVersion (also known as the target API level) in the manifest file. The target API level indicates how your app is meant to run on different Android versions.

Configuring your app to target a recent API level ensures that users benefit from security, privacy, and performance improvements, while still allowing an app to run on older Android versions (down to the specified minSdkVersion).

To provide Android and Google Play users with a safe experience, Google Play requires all apps to meet target API level.

If your app doesn’t meet the required target API level, your apps are impacted in the following ways:

App	Impact of not meeting target API level requirement
New App	You will not be able to upload app bundles that do not meet the target API level requirement in Play Console.
Updated App	You will not be able to upload app bundles or APKs that do not meet the target API level requirement in Play Console.
Existing App	Your app will not be available on Google Play to new users with devices running Android OS versions newer than your app’s target API level. This means that new users will not be able to discover or install your app from Google Play. Users who have previously installed your app from Google Play will continue to be able to discover, re-install, and use your app. They will still have access to your app even if they move to a new Android device.

At OpenSource Technologies (OST) we are here to help you. Contact us for free consultancy.