We will first cover how to hide old phones from the drop-down selection offered when installing an app using a browser, and later cover how to properly remove a phone from your Google Account.
Table of Contents
Hide a phone or tablet from the Google Play Store
If you frequently install apps using the web pages at the Google Play Store—maybe by following our app selections?—and used the same Google Account on many phones and tablets, the device selection menu can get quite cluttered. To hide a phone or tablet on the Play Store installation screen just follow these steps:
- Open the Devices page on the Play Store while logged.
- Simply uncheck the box under the Show in menus column for the device to hide.
With that, the phone or tablet won’t be offered whenever you try to install an app next time. To undo the change, just check the box again on the same page.
Remove an Android phone from the Google Account
To properly remove the device from the Google Account we have to go a bit deeper:
- Open the Your devices page on the Google Account’s settings.
- Select the device to be removed.
- Choose the Sign out option.
Some may feel attached to their old backlog of devices, but if you want to declutter your Google Account—and potentially reduce the risk of privacy and security issues—, that will do. Just remember to back up any important information and always keep your account recovery options updated.
- Couldn’t find the Play Store? Check how to reinstall the Android app store!
Are you attached to the list of old Android phones on your account? Do you frequently use the Play Store page to remotely install apps? Share your tips (and long-forgotten phones found) in the comments below!
Article updated in October 2024 with instructions for removing devices both on the Google Play Store and the Google Account. Comments prior to the date may seem out of context.
A very helpful person at Google Play store support told me to go to myaccount(dot)google(dot)com. log in. Select "device activity & notifications" on the left then select "Review Devices" in the Recently Used devices block on the Right hand side.
Click on the concerned device to be Deleted from your account and select Remove. After Confirmation….. gone 😀
Worked like a charm!
America has surrendered its right to privacy to the $0.99 app. Dig behind the scenes and look at the default access rights these applications have. Why should any app have the right to autostart without permission or make a user jump through an impossible maze of places and settings to remove it only to find the app reinstalled 2 days later? It’s the vast majority of developers that are sniffing your shorts and not just Google. Some developers are leading the way with apps that allow users to place controls and limitations. But how many grandmas and grandpas are walking around with lives that are effectively an open book and don’t know. Be it Google or abc software; developers now dictate to the consumer (their client) what can and cannot be done to their clients hardware. This serves no other purpose that preserving their data mining ability. Having visions of the puppy rolling over and showing the jewels just for a belly scratch.
Very interesting
Anybody know how to remove devices not used in 28 days? I lost a phone around Xmas, now Wickr insists it’s installed on there – but no way to remove it 🙁
Any and all suggestions welcome!
TO REMOVE, NOT TO UPDATE. CLICKBAIT
While this article does NOT tell you how to remove a device, here’s what you do:
1. Open your Google Account settings by clicking on your account photo on almost any Google application screen, and click the "My Account" button.
2. Click the "Device activity & security events" link.
3. Click the "Review Devices" link.
4. Click on any listed device, then click the "Remove" button.
5. Confirm the removal.
Done.
Fast Forward 2018:
just go to :
1. play.google.com/settings/
2. uncheck "show in menus"
Fast Forward 2018:
1. Still no way to actually ‘remove’ the devices.
A new device that I do not own has recently shown up on my "Choose a Device" list when I tried to download new Google Play Apps. I have never owned such a device. Plus One Japan Limited FTU18A00 registered August 2018. If I accept the permissions and download the apps, won’t my data, photos, etc. go to this Ghost Device? Is this a way to steal my data? It is not enough to hide this device. I need to get it out of the list of devices that can access my data. How do I do that? What else should I do to protect any data already compromised? Will James Barr’s comment below work to solve this problem?Jim Barr 4 months ago Link to comment
While this article does NOT tell you how to remove a device, here’s what you do:
1. Open your Google Account settings by clicking on your account photo on almost any Google application screen, and click the "My Account" button.
2. Click the "Device activity & security events" link.
3. Click the "Review Devices" link.
4. Click on any listed device, then click the "Remove" button.
5. Confirm the removal.
Done.
While that will remove the device from your account, it has no impact on the list of devices on the Google Play store. The Google Play store and Google account settings show two completely different lists of devices.
Update. The device turns out to be a Cricket phone I bought for my child to use while grounded from his iPhone (for using earbuds and playing games in class at school). However, the procedure recommended by James Barr removed the phone from my devise list and when it was removed a Google popup told me what could be done to protect my data on any lost phone. Thanks a million and Stay Awsome.
So, for anyone else who is falling for this tip here is the break down.
If you want the devices from showing up on the Google Play devices….this is the WRONG BLOG to follow, this ONLY hides it but does not delete it.
The other tip on removing it by going to myaccountDOTgoogleDOTcom is to actually delete it from THAT page only. It has no effect on the google play page.
When I find a way of actually removing from the GP page then I will come back here and give you the steps.
Spongebob Narrator Voice: 6 years later….
Still no update? hahaha They REALLY don’t want us to do it.
We cannot remove devices from the "Google Play devices" page; apparently they vanish automatically after a few years of dormancy. E.g. my oldest phone is no longer there, but the Chromebook I sold many months ago is still there, even though I removed it from the "myaccount google device-activity" page.
The devices can not be removed for a buggy page. or maybe they didnt on purpose. Google take cares a sh*t about privacy
The devices on google play store cant be removed (2019)
For those looking for a way to block out those phones, the only working solution is to change your password, increase security by adding 2-step authentication, and then follow these steps to not see the device. Personally I would keep the devices showing, just in case and come back to the page after a few weeks or months to see if it’s still signing in. If not signed in from the time you changed your password, then you’re good to go, I would hide them, and then they disappear on their own.
my phone got stolen and had two google accounts on it. However it is not showing up on one account or on the samsung acvount connected to that same Google account. It is not in my device list at all.
How is this possible? Even the samsung account?
Google Play Devices has do nothing with your account’s security, if you want to sign-out of old devices or unknown devices, go to myaccount[dot]google[dot]com/device-activity yes you will still see old Devices on Google Play Devices list but don’t worry it has do nothing with your account’s security
[HELP] there is an unknown device that shows recently logged in, on Google play, but when I go to Google Account, and look under devices, it is not shown there. How is it that the device can log into Google play, but not into Google account?