Google sets new memory limits and sign-in rules for Android apps

In short: Google is tightening Android app requirements so apps use less memory and keep people signed in when they move to a new phone.

What happened

Google announced two new “app quality” requirements for developers who publish on the Google Play Store. One focuses on reducing how much memory an app uses. Memory is the phone’s short-term workspace, like the space on a desk where you keep things you are using right now.

Google said the mobile industry is facing limits on hardware supplies, including memory chips, partly because AI data centers are buying a lot of this equipment. As a result, some phones, especially lower-cost models, may ship with less memory. Google wants apps to run smoothly in that environment.

To do this, Google is setting new performance thresholds for things like dynamic memory use and bitmap use. A bitmap is basically how an app stores an image in memory, like keeping a full poster board version of a photo instead of a smaller print. Google is also adding code optimization requirements to help avoid slowdowns and crashes.

Google says it will provide tools that warn developers when an app goes over the new limits. It also plans to add more diagnostic tools later this year, including a “Memory Limiter” feature that can stop apps from using too much memory.

Developers have until February 2027 to meet the new memory thresholds. Separately, Google will require many apps to support “Zero Tap Sign-In” during device migrations by April 2027. That means if you switch to a new Android phone using Google’s transfer process, the app should restore your signed-in state automatically.

Why it matters

For regular phone users, this is about fewer app crashes, less freezing, and less time spent logging back into apps after upgrading to a new device. It may matter most for people with older or cheaper Android phones, where memory is more limited.

Source: TechCrunch AI