There is a rather important change coming to the Play Store, with Google announcing that out of date apps will be hidden or inaccessible on the Android marketplace come 1st November.

More specifically Google will be looking at apps that don’t target an Android API within two years of the latest major Android release version.

“We currently require new apps and app updates to target an Android API level within one year of the latest major Android OS version release. New apps and app updates that don’t meet this requirement cannot be published on Google Play,” it explained in a developer blog post.

“As new Android OS versions launch in the future, the requirement window will adjust accordingly,” it adds.

This means that Android device users who have the latest version of the OS or have purchase a newly minted phone, won’t be able to see out of date apps in the Play Store after 1st November later this year.

It also means the developers that may not be giving their application as much attention as it deserves, will need to now make sure it falls in line with this newly shared policy.

While this move will likely prove polarising among developers, Google argues that the decision is based around giving its Android users the best app experience possible.

“The rationale behind this is simple. Users with the latest devices or those who are fully caught up on Android updates expect to realize the full potential of all the privacy and security protections Android has to offer. Expanding our target level API requirements will protect users from installing older apps that may not have these protections in place,” the company noted.

Developers are encouraged to check whether their applications meet the new guidelines ahead of the 1st November date, here.