Old apps that haven’t been updated posing a big security risk to billions of people.

According to a new study, approximately a third of apps for both smartphone platforms are two years old or older.

In total, 1.5 million apps have been downloaded.

Many are popular with children, which makes it even more concerning.

Because of the potential threats they pose, Apple and Google may remove or hide such programmes.

Both businesses have tightened their policies on ageing apps.

Developers who haven’t updated their iPhones have been given 30 days to get their act together or fear being dropped by Apple.

Meanwhile, Google filters out old apps from its search results.

Because they don’t plaster up bug fixes that are discovered over time, outdated software is far more vulnerable to attack.

The tech companies can only delete them from their app stores, of course.

They won’t be able to remove them off your phone if they’ve already been downloaded, so check your apps to see when they were last updated.

The Google Play store, according to Pixalate specialists, has the most, with 869,000 uninstalled apps.

Apple is believed to have 650,000 employees.

The worst offenders were educational, reference, and gaming apps, all of which are popular with kids.

On the plus side, the most popular apps are more likely to get updated.

According to research, 84% of apps are downloaded.