Why don't users update apps?

13 November 2022

This is a sketch . It might be rough, incomplete or without context.

  • They might have automatic updates switched off, and haven’t chosen to manually update yet.
  • They might know they need to update, but they don’t know how. If you ask users to update, make the UX as simple as possible.
  • Updating the app might mean that they lose access to features they use. They might have been removed from the app, or they might be behind a paywall in later versions.
  • Their device might have an OS that doesn’t support the app’s latest version. E.g., if they are an iPhone user on iOS 12 and your latest app version supports iOS 14 and above, they won’t be able to update to it. They would need to update their OS to be able to update.
  • They might be on an old version of the OS because they are using old hardware that doesn’t support the latest version. These users would need new hardware to update.