Stop Google Play Store from deleting an app that I have installed on an Android phone

[ED the new guy]

Help. My children's favorite app (Lego Ninjago Movie app) has been removed from the Google Play Store, and, it appears that the Google Play Store has seen fit to remove it from one of my devices without my permission.

I still have one device that has the app installed that has not yet connected to the internet (we just moved) and I don't want to lose it from there either. Any thoughts on how I can prevent that removal?

Any thoughts? I am flabberghasted. I had no idea that Google Play Store could delete apps from your device after you'd installed them!

PS Supposedly the app exists on the Amazon.com Play Store but when I try to install it it's listed as incompatible with my device (even though it ran on the Samsung S5 two days ago).

 

[hallux]

I have several apps on my tablet that are no longer available for new installs.

There are several reasons the app would be forcibly removed from a device -

if Google found there was malware included
there was a copyright issue with the app (unlicensed use of figures, music or images are most likely)

There isn't much you can do if Google has pulled the app from the Play Store and flagged it for removal from devices it's installed on, once that device connects it will eventually be removed.

 

[ED the new guy]

Thank you for your helpful reply.

Facepalm. I'd made it a protected app. And promptly forgotten about it because I didn't put it in my protected apps folder on the launcher.

Something weird going on with Play Store though. When I search for Lego Ninjago Wu Cru nothing turns up. When I search using Google and access the HTML page in Chrome I get page not found. Accessing the info page for the app from the installed apps list shows the page but there are errors.

PS found it at a third party xapk site that worked. Maybe I should back up that xapk in case it ever does get pulled.

 

[Mooncatt]

I tried a link to the app from the Lego website to make sure I was going to the official listing and it also gave me an error in Play for the movie app. I didn't find any app link for the Wu-Cru app (there was one in Play, but seems it's not what it claims according to reviews).

So it looks like for whatever reason they were pulled from the Play store. Downloading from other apk sites pose big security risks, and are not recommended. So I'm leaning towards Google detecting something malicious about your app and deleting it.

 

[chanchan05]

I tried a link to the app from the Lego website to make sure I was going to the official listing and it also gave me an error in Play for the movie app. I didn't find any app link for the Wu-Cru app (there was one in Play, but seems it's not what it claims according to reviews).

So it looks like for whatever reason they were pulled from the Play store. Downloading from other apk sites pose big security risks, and are not recommended. So I'm leaning towards Google detecting something malicious about your app and deleting it.

Check Amazon?

 

[Mooncatt]

Check Amazon?

I found the movie app in Amazon, but there wasn't a direct link to it from the official Lego website, only Play and the Apple app store. Wu Cru wasn't in Amazon's app store either.

 

[chanchan05]

I found the movie app in Amazon, but there wasn't a direct link to it from the official Lego website, only Play and the Apple app store. Wu Cru wasn't in Amazon's app store either.

I think you'll have to take it up with Lego too if they pulled out the app.