How to remove an app from the App Store and Google Play

In App Store Connect, open the app, click Pricing and Availability, scroll to the bottom and click Remove App From Sale, then confirm. Apple says the app is removed from the App Store in all countries or regions within 24 hours. To pull it from only some of the 175 countries or regions, use Manage Availability in the same section and deselect them; changes take effect immediately but may take up to 24 hours to be visible to all users. In both cases, people who downloaded the app keep receiving updates, and it can be redownloaded from a customer’s purchase history as long as the necessary contract remains active. The Account Holder, an Admin or an App Manager can do this.

Removing an app clears it from your main view in App Store Connect. First remove it from sale in all countries or regions, even if it was never released, and remove its In-App Purchases from sale. Apple blocks removal while the app is Ready for Review, Waiting for Review, In Review, Metadata Rejected or Rejected, while it is being transferred, or while it is in an app bundle. Then the Account Holder or an Admin opens App Information and clicks Remove App under Additional Information. Apple’s warning matters: you lose ownership of the app name, the SKU cannot be reused in the same organization, and if you uploaded a build, the bundle ID cannot be reused. Restore App brings it back only if no other developer account uses the name.

Unpublishing hides the app from new users: existing users can still use it and receive updates, but new users will not find it or download it on Google Play. Before you can unpublish, you must have accepted the latest Developer Distribution Agreement, the app must have no outstanding errors, such as a missing content rating questionnaire or target audience details, and managed publishing must be off. Then open the app in Play Console, go to Test and release, Setup, Advanced settings, and on the App Availability tab select Unpublish. If you only need to stop an update rather than the app, a staged rollout can be halted instead.

Self-service deletion is limited. The account owner can delete an app only if it is unpublished, has no changes in review, is not rejected, blocked or suspended, and is installed on fewer than 1000 active devices, meaning devices turned on at least once in the past 30 days. Paid apps and apps with in-app purchases or subscriptions qualify only with zero lifetime installs; otherwise you contact support. On the App availability tab, click Delete app and enter the package name and your account’s registration transaction ID. You lose access to all user data and metrics, you can recover the app within seven days, and a deleted app cannot be transferred. A package name with zero lifetime installs is freed for anyone; with any installs, it can never be reused. If you would rather hand the app over, see how to transfer an app.

Removing an app ends one chapter; for the next app, getting people to it comes first. Censuus ranks apps by the real visit traffic they draw, and adding your app is free on the submit page. Sponsorship raises placement and adds a followed link to your website; details are on the sponsor page. For the full plan, see how to market an app. We do not promise downloads or store rankings.