How to fix a faulty Google Play Store app recommendation algorithm.
The Google Play Store is great for finding apps – until the algorithm gets it wrong. Kids are adept at hijacking phones, quickly turning your recommendations into a chaotic mess of makeup and rainbow images. You need to use the following methods to eliminate unwanted activity and regain control of your recommendations.
Block specific activities that affect recommendations on the Play Store.
By default, Google learns from your activity on the Play Store, including searches and apps opened. All of this is recorded in Google My Activity along with other data stored by Google. If you want to delete a specific activity, simply remove it from My Activity.
In the Play Store app, tap your profile icon and select Personalization in Play . Tap Play History here, and you'll see all your activity. Each activity has an X button next to it that you can tap to permanently delete. Once deleted, Google will forget that it happened, so it won't affect your recommendations.
Deleting activities one by one is a bit cumbersome. Therefore, you should only delete all activities that occurred on that day that are not related. To do this, click the Delete drop-down menu to select the option to delete activities based on a specific time period.
Alternatively, you can also access myactivity.google.com and switch to Play History to manage your Play Store activity.
Blocking specific apps affects Play Store recommendations.
The Google Play Store also uses apps you've installed and previously installed to generate recommendations. This means your past activity—even from years ago—can influence the Play Store's recommendation algorithm. If you don't want installed apps to affect your recommendations, follow the steps below to disable them:
Open Personalization in Play and tap on the Other Play Personalization options . Here, tap on Manage under Your Play content , and you will see all the apps/games you have ever installed.
Simply tap the toggle switch next to the app you don't want to use for personalization, and that app will not be included in app suggestions.
Completely reset the Google Play Store recommendation algorithm.
If you're tired of the Google Play Store's terrible suggestions and believe it's broken beyond repair, you can also perform a complete reset. This should be a last resort, as it will erase all your Play Store data with no way to undo the changes. This involves several steps, so follow them in order:
Delete your Google Play Store activity history.
First, delete all activity history that directly affects your real-time recommendations. Reopen Play History , as you did above, and select Delete → Delete all time . Make sure both Google Play Store and Google Play Games are selected and press Next . Then you can preview your data and press Delete to remove it.
Delete history of uninstalled apps.
Because Google keeps records of all the apps you've ever owned, you'll need to clear your uninstalled app history to prevent personalization through them. Tap your profile icon and select Manage apps & device . Here, go to the Manage tab and select This device → Not installed .
You will see all the uninstalled apps. Select the checkbox next to each item here and then tap the Delete icon in the upper right corner to remove them all.
Uninstall installed apps and games.
In the "For You" section of the Play Store, Google sometimes directly asks you about your game and app preferences. If Google has already asked you about them and you've provided your preferences, you'll need to delete them to completely reset your settings.
Tap your profile icon and select Settings . In the General section , open Interests and tap both Remove game interests and Remove app interests to delete them.
While this step is sufficient to reset Google Play Store's personalization algorithm, you should also clear your Play Store data and uninstall any updates. This ensures your changes are applied immediately and no local data affects your recommendations.
These steps will ensure the Google Play Store displays apps and games relevant to you and make it easier for you to discover new apps. If you're still having trouble finding suitable apps and games on the Play Store, try these Google Play search tips .
