San Francisco, May 15 (IANS): Tech giant Google is preparing to purge nearly 900,000 apps, which have been abandoned or not been updated, from the Play Store.

According to Android Authority, the Google Play Store could see the number of available apps drop by nearly a third.

Google and Apple have both unveiled measures to deal with abandoned apps or apps that have not been updated in two years. In Google's case, that amounts to 869,000 apps, while Apple has some 650,000.

According to CNET, Google is preparing to hide those apps, making it impossible for users to download them until the developers update them.

The main reason both companies are taking these measures is to protect their users' security.

Older apps do not take advantage of changes in Android and iOS, new APIs, or new development methods that bring enhanced protection. As a result, older apps can have security flaws that newer apps don't have, the report said.