UPDATE, June 25 3:45 p.m. PT: Google confirmed to Mashable Thursday that apps with the Confederate flag had been removed from the Play Store. The post below has been updated to reflect those changes.

UPDATE, June 25 11:15 a.m. PT: Apple has pulled several apps depicting the Confederate flag, including those mentioned below, from its App Store. The company has also removed several Civil War-themed games. The post below has been updated to reflect the App Store changes. —

Despite new efforts from companies like eBay, Amazon, Walmart and Etsy to remove items that promote the Confederate flag from their stores, the symbol was, until recently, alive and well in Google Play and the App Store.

At the time of this writing on Wednesday, both companies' app stores had several apps with the Confederate flag prominently displayed in the app icon. Many of the apps are wallpaper apps, though there are also games, keyboards and educational apps. The latter category, to be fair, includes Jefferson Davis' history of the Confederacy, which probably wouldn't be complete without such an image. The vast majority, however, are simply Confederate flag wallpaper apps.

By Thursday morning, Apple had pulled all of the Confederate flag wallpaper apps and games with the Confederate flag in the app icon, along with several other Civil War-themed games.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed to Mashable Thursday that several apps using the Confederate flag had been removed. "We have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines," the spokesperson said. "We are not removing apps that display the Confederate flag for educational or historical uses."

The spokesperson said the company is working with game developers whose apps had been removed to try to get the games back in the App Store.

Google later confirmed Thursday it too had removed apps that depicted the Confederate flag. “We announced on Tuesday that we will remove content containing the Confederate flag from Google Shopping and Ads," a spokesperson said in a statement. "We can confirm that this applies to apps in Google Play.”

Of the two companies, Google Play seemed to have more apps that featured the flag — which was not particularly surprising given the company's history of less restrictive developer policies. Though the company introduced an app approval process for developers earlier this year, Google previously only reviewed apps that had been reported as offensive.

Though many of the apps seem to predate the new developer policies, at least one app, 3D Rebel Flag Live Wallpaper (pictured below), which has since been removed, had been recently updated, according to a Play Store listing.

Two Android apps that promote the Confederate flag: Rebel Flag Keyboard (left) and 3D Rebel Flag Live Wallpaper (right). Image: Google Play

As of Thursday afternoon, the Confederate flag wallpaper and keyboard apps had been removed from the Play Store. It appears Google was Civil War-themed games, educational apps and other games that show the flag, including Redneck Shooting Range, remain available. The same game however, has been removed from the App Store. Google apparently zeroed in on apps whose primary purpose was promoting the flag during its update.

Apple's App Store had similar offerings, with more than half a dozen apps whose icons featured the Confederate flag, though many of these appeared to be from the same developer, Stafford Signs. The company, which specializes in vinyl graphics and decals, has apps like Southern Pride (Rebel Flag) Wallpaper and a game called Redneck Shooting Range, which also depict guns in the app icons (pictured below). These apps were all removed Thursday.

App icons for apps that as of this writing, on Wednesday, were available in iTunes. Apple confirmed it removed the apps Thursday. Image: iTunes

While Apple has not publicly commented on its stance on the Confederate flag, earlier in the week CEO Tim Cook called for the removal of "the symbols and words" that feed racism. He has not spoken specifically about the flag, however.

My thoughts are with the victim's families in SC.Let us honor their lives by eradicating racism & removing the symbols & words that feed it. — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 21, 2015

Both companies are known to remove apps that violate their internal developer policies. Google removed apps that simulated bombing Gaza last summer, citing the company's policy against apps that promote violence and bullying and hate speech. Apple has also removed its share of apps, including a "gay cure" app.