Google Play Policy Update Reminder and Key Interpretation | August 2021

This article introduces some important recent updates to the Google Play Developer Policy, and you can also review them through the online training camp videos.

☟Online training camp video☟

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Uf4y1A7Pn/?aid=377850331&cid=401233092&page=1

July 2021 policy update

Data privacy and security

• We will use the details on Google Play in new "Security" section , you can tell the user to protect your privacy and security measures in this section.
• In this section, you can give an overview of what data the app collects or share, and highlight details about privacy and security, such as whether the app has a data encryption mechanism.

△ New security part of Google Play

We have also made several updates to the "User Data" policy in order to strengthen privacy protection and security:

• All apps must express their privacy policies in the Google Play Management Center and within the app.

  • The privacy policy must include information such as data retention and deletion policies.
  • Even if the app does not obtain any personal and sensitive user data, it must submit a privacy policy.
• Developers must provide clear and accurate information about what personal or sensitive user data the application collects or shares.
• If your app targets children, the SDK you use must be approved before it can be used in child-oriented services.

Advertising ID

Starting in the second half of 2021, we will make a technical change. At that time, when a user chooses to opt-out of interest-based advertising or advertising personalization, the system will remove the corresponding advertising ID and replace it with a string of zeros. The Google Play service update will be rolled out in phases: starting from the end of 2021, the corresponding update will affect applications running on Android 12; by the beginning of 2022, its scope of influence will be expanded to all applications running on devices that support Google Play.

With the launch of Android 12 later this year, we will update the "Ad Settings" page of Android devices to allow users to delete their advertising ID. If the user wishes, he can obtain a new advertising ID at any time later.

△ Option to delete advertising ID

To help developers and advertising/analysis service providers comply with regulations and respect user choices, the system can send a notification to users when they choose to deactivate the ID.

In addition, if the target operating environment of the application is Android 12, the developer needs to declare the permissions of Google Play services in their manifest file before they can use the advertising ID.

Application group ID

For purposes such as analysis or fraud prevention, we provide an alternative method that more attention to privacy protection, that is, 161399be236853 application group ID . This ID is a unique identifier used to identify all applications belonging to the same developer on the device. You cannot use this ID for ad personalization or ad effectiveness measurement. If the user does not use any application of the corresponding developer on the device within a year, the application group ID will be automatically reset.

Permanent device identifier

To protect user privacy, we prohibit the permanent device identifier with personal and sensitive user data, or with resettable device identifiers. The following pre-approved use cases can be exceptions:

• Phone services associated with SIM card identity information, such as Wi-Fi calling services associated with an operator’s account
• Enterprise device management application running in device owner mode

Family Policy

We will impose more restrictions on child-oriented apps. We prohibit these apps from acquiring or using identifiers that may be used to deliver personalized ads:

• Do not ask for and collect Android Advertising ID (AAID), SIM card serial number, version serial number, BSSID, MAC, SSID, IMEI, and/or IMSI from children or users of uncertain age.
• Nor can such identifiers be used or transmitted.

Metadata

We will have stricter specifications for metadata such as app name, app icon, and developer name:

• The length of the application name must not exceed 30 characters.
• Don’t use emoji or re-use special characters in metadata elements.
• Misleading symbols must not appear in the app icon, such as: displaying a dot sign indicating that there is a new message when there is no new message, and displaying download or installation symbols in apps that are not related to downloading.
• Unless it is in the brand name, avoid using all capital letters.

Product details and promotion

We’ve added a new rule that prohibits the use of incentives to obtain installs, reviews, and ratings. This includes the use of text or images containing prices or other promotional information in the app name, app icon, and developer name. Developers are not allowed to add text or images related to in-store performance/ranking or implying related to existing Play programs in the app name, app icon, or developer name.

dormant account

The Play Developer Account is for active developers who publish and actively maintain applications. To prevent abuse, we will close inactive accounts and abandoned developer accounts that have been idle for more than 1 year, and delete all data associated with them. These accounts include developer accounts that have never uploaded an app or have not visited the Google Play Console in a year. We will send a warning notification every 60 days, 30 days, and 7 days before closing the dormant account.

Apps with more than 1,000 installs or in-app purchases in the past 90 days are not restricted.

If your account is closed because it is dormant, you can create a new account when you want to publish apps on Google Play in the future. However, you cannot reactivate a closed account, and all previous applications and data will not appear in the new account.

Application promotion

• No advertising, deceptive or harmful promotional activities
• Do not use prohibited advertisements or inducing methods to guide users to download apps

Financial Services

• The category of personal loan application must be set to "Finance"
• We clarified the definition of the total cost of the loan, which should include the principal and all applicable fees
• Personal loan applications targeting India or Indonesia need to meet additional requirements

Demo account

For applications with login walls, you need to submit the application before:

• Accurately provide all application-related information and metadata
• Make sure your contact information is up to date
• Upload the application privacy policy and fill in the security module requirements
• Provide an active demo account, login information, and all other resources (such as login credentials, QR codes, etc.) required for application review

The figure below is the policy implementation timetable for 2021 and 2022:

△ Google Play policy implementation timeline

Above the timeline is the deadline for our recent policy updates. In order to give developers more time to adjust to the changes, we have extended the grace period; below the timeline are some time points related to previous policy updates.

View update details .

Important update reminder

developers succeed on Google Play

As we announced before, starting in July this year, in order to help developers build sustainable businesses, for each developer selling digital goods or services, we will charge the service fee corresponding to the first $1 million in their annual revenue. The rate is reduced to 15%.

payment policy update

For all existing applications that currently use other settlement systems, please policy compliance period , or apply for an extension through the help center.

Play Media Experience Program

We also launched the Play Media Experience Program to help developers gain more cross-device exposure and interaction opportunities, while reducing service rates for all applicable revenues to 15%. If you think your application is perfect for adding a section Media Play Experience Program, please contact us indicate your intention .

Android 11, App Bundle and settlement library v3

From August 2021, new applications require:

• Target operating environment with API level 30 (Android 11) or higher, and make adjustments to adapt to changes in system behavior.
• Use the Android App Bundle format to publish, and use the Play Asset Delivery or Play Feature Delivery function to deliver resources or functions with a download size of more than 150MB. Please note that for new applications, expansion files (also known as OBB) will no longer be supported.
• The new application must use the settlement library version 3 or higher, which provides a new user payment method, subscription promotion function, game purchase transaction attribution function, and higher shopping reliability and security.

Starting from November 2021, the updated version of the application must target API level 30 or higher, adjust it to adapt to changes in behavior in Android 11, and use settlement library version 3 or higher. Existing apps that have not been updated will not be affected, and users can continue to download them from the Play Store.

package visibility

For applications whose target operating environment is Android 11 and higher (SDK 30):

• The QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES permission is required to view all other installed applications:
• Use the declaration form in the Play Control Center to declare the use of this permission.
• The applications installed on the device belong to personal/sensitive user data, please obtain the appropriate scope of visibility permissions.

We understand that it may take some time to update the app, so we will notify you 60 days before the deadline.

Common violations

Spam

Web view and affiliate marketing spam

We prohibit apps whose main purpose is to attract affiliate traffic to a website or provide a web view of a website.

△ Violation legend

repetitive content

We also found many spam apps with duplicate content that purely provide the same experience as other apps already on Google Play. Applications should provide unique content or services to bring value to users. If the content of each application is small, developers should consider building an application that integrates all the content.

for the purpose of advertising

We prohibit apps whose main purpose is to serve ads, or to display interstitial ads after every user action.

Intellectual Property

Application content must not infringe the intellectual property rights of others, such as trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. If you find an app violation of the "Developer Distribution Agreement", such as the presence of copyright or trademark infringement, please inform us .

If you have an upcoming app or product listing event, you can notify the app review team in advance. In order to prevent the application from being dealt with in violation of the intellectual property policy, please be sure to use the advance notification function provided by the Play Management Center when publishing the application, and submit a license certificate.

Eye-catching Disclosure Statement

If your application will access, collect, use, or share personal or sensitive user data (including any functions or data subject to dangerous permissions or runtime permissions), the application must meet the relevant requirements of a prominent disclosure statement and user consent. To start collecting or processing personal or sensitive user data. Please note when disclosing this information:

• The prominent disclosure statement must be displayed in the app, not just in the app description or website.
• It must be displayed when the user normally uses the application, and can be viewed without the user opening any menus or settings.
• The type of data that will be accessed or collected must be stated.
• Must explain how the data is used and/or shared.
• The statement must not only be listed in the privacy policy or terms of service.
• Must not be included in other disclosure statements not related to personal or sensitive data collection.

Don't forget to go to Application Developer Academy get free training resources:

• Google Play Developer Policy Center
• Android and Google Play latest developments
• Google Play Management Center Help

Thank you again for your attention to the Google Play policy update, and we look forward to your success in Google Play! cv