Action Required: Your app is not compliant with Google Play Policies - android

i'm having some problem on sending my app to production in play store
See, the first time i tried to send my app to production i received an email 3 days later with this:
After a recent review, we found that your app --- (---) is not
compliant with one or more of our Developer Program Policies. See
below for more information about your app’s status and how to correct
the issue.
Issue with your app
Issues with submitted video
We were unable to view the video you provided in your declaration.
Your video should show the in-app feature’s functionality showing
usage of location in the background, and how a user would trigger the
prominent disclosure, runtime permission (with user consent), and
feature in action.
Please check that your video is accessible, and/or modify your video
to demonstrate the declared feature that requires access to location
in the background, then resubmit your declaration form via the Play
Console. Affected APK(s): APK:7, APK:1
And i noticed this:
Your video should show the in-app feature’s functionality showing
usage of location in the background
Note: i created my app using react native and expo
So i realized that expo, by default, includes a lot of permissions in my app, hence, i decided to create a new build including only the permissions my app really needs. (Removing the background location)
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
Then uploaded my app to play store and sent it to production on monday and today i received the same email saying my app was rejected by the same reason mentioned above.
After reviewing the email i read this: "Affected APK(s): APK:7, APK:1"
And my current app version is APK: 8 which means that i must edit all these versions
So the thing here is that i don't know how to change the code of the previous versions of my app.
What can i do to solve this? any suggestions

I think your video is not accessible or it is in private mode,
Google says for videos you can save it either you drive or youtube but when you put the video from your google drive you need to make it public other vises it will not able to access and then google will not allow to process it. your video should not have any copyright issues and also make the video that explains everything in a clear manner so that it would not creating any problem.
in my case I also got this type of alert then I follow the steps that google listed and make proper explainer video.

Related

Problems with location permission on android [EXPO| REACT NATIVE]

I'm trying to update an app that has already been published on the PlayStore but is now being refused because GOOGLE informs that the app does not respect usage policies. I receive the following message:
- The app does not comply with the Location Permissions policy
Email with details send by google
After receiving this response from Google, I have already corrected my code, but the app continues to be refused.
Below are the actions I have already taken to try to resolve the issue:
When I received the lock for the first time, I made the requested corrections in the application code. The app currently requests the following permissions:
permissions on code
Below is the print of the permissions after uploading the .aab to the playstore:
enter image description here
Accessing the play store policy menu, I noticed that the privacy policy setting is linked to build number 29 but I'm already trying to send build 35.
This build 29 uses background localization, but I can't unlink it from the policy configuration tab or add another app version.
app settings in play store
wrong permissions in build 29
I've also reviewed the features that use localization in the code and everything is fine. Below screenshots of the code:
code snippet 1
code snippet 2
code snippet 3
I would like to know if anyone has had similar problems and can give me some guidance on how to solve it?
First thing, I noticed that you wrote "ACCCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" (with 3 C). I don't know if this is the error, but better spell it right.
Second thing, be sure that you declared that you DON'T use background location. To do that, go to your Google Play Console, select your app, then go to
App Content (it should be the last section on the left) -> API and sensitive authorizations -> Manage
then set "No" to the question regarding background location.
This is the screen you should see after these steps

Automatic update without play store

I wonder if there's a way to update whole app without Play Store SDK(but download from my server).(Not only XML, but also all of code and configs)And without any pop ups to touch.
As far as I know, it's prohibited. One method that I know about update without play store is like this: Automatically install Android application
However, I guess Xiomi Applications achieved this feature(auto update).
I found this page
And it has Github Repository
It has SlientAutoUpdate Class and it's experimental. And it seems the device must be rooted to use command codes such as su.
Is there any way without rooting?
I want the users not to touch anything to update the app.
in THIS topic you have multiple samples for auto-update, but these still need some user interaction (at least "Install"/"Update" button click on some system screen)
but there is also another method for changing source code without reinstalling APK, so-called hot-fixing. check out these libs:
Tinker
AndFix
Amigo
worth noting: Google is forbidding using these hot-fix libs/ways. note that developer can release some APK and some day it may add some extra code only from its server side, users just runs again app. then dev may trick user to grant some new permission or turn on some feature (users trusts this app, is using it for a while) allowing to execute some not-friendly code (e.g. some virus, malware, ads etc.), which wasn't present at the moment of uploading APK to Google Play Store console (which is scanning all APKs uploaded as update, may refuse publishing)

Managing app updates in play store (Flutter)

hello there i want to ask about updating flutter app in play store
for example if i have a flutter app already published in play store and i have done some changes on it and now i have uploaded it to play store as an update.
so the question is :
1 - how may i notify the user that there is an update for my app ?
2 - and if i have unpublished app and i want to add links like rate my app and links related to my app in play store (it is unpublished yet) how can i get these links so that i may put them in my application before releasing it in play store
Generally speaking, you have to implement a custom solution for each case you asking about.
For example, to notify users you can:
Send push notifications to app users with information about an update being available. Clicking on such notification should lead to Play Market page with your application presented.
Or you can implement one more API route to your backend from which your app will request information about updates, e.g. a text file with the latest version of your app available. That version can be compared to the version of the application installed. If the new version is higher - show a popup notifying a user about the new update.
What relates to having links in your app that lead to the store page of your app - I think the second option I described above will also handle this issue. Custom API that returns a link in simple text format that if not empty could be opened. If you are just trying to avoid additional update - this solution will work.
Use the flutter package upgrader. will serve you well

Internal app sharing show downloading error | Error retrieving information from server. DF-DFERH-01

I published my app in internal app sharing. After I shared link to download to myself, but to another account. I turn on internal app sharing in Google Play on my phone. When I click downloading, I catch error -> Error retrieving information from server. DF-DFERH-01
I tried to test in two phones, but with same google account.
There is a step I missed - testers have to opt in to the test program before they can use the shared link, and until they do they get the opaque DF-DFERH-01 error. On the Play Console under Release Management, select App releases. In Internal test track, click Manage. Under Manage Testers click the drop arrow. This opens up a panel, and near the bottom is an opt-in URL. Copy this and send it to testers. They have to click on this link and agree to opt in to the test program. They can then download the current version. After this they can also use internal app sharing links for new builds.
In my case, I was trying to access the internally shared debug app not a production testing app. For this, I was using Internal App Sharing feature. To be able to install and use such apps one's email needs to be added to an email-list(as per the settings we had) otherwise, anyone with the link can install.
Problem
The problem is despite having my email in the list, and email representing a google account I was not able to install it. I faced this error.
Click here to see the Screenshot
Cause
I maintain about 8 google accounts on my mobile and I was logged in to all of them. I realized having multiple accounts is causing the issue.
Solution
Instead of logging out from all the google accounts, I simply created a new user in my mobile and set it up. Then I opted-in to Internal App Sharing in the App store. Then shared the app link via google-keep. Voila, I was able to install it.
In my case I just had to wait ~48 hours and it Just Worked with no other changes.
A few more silly things to consider if you are new to Google Play Console.
You need to make sure to enable Internal App Sharing on Google Play Settings, here is a tutorial for that.
Do not forget to publish your modifications by clicking on publication overview (sorry for the Portuguese language on the pic, but you can find through the icon):
And then publishing it by clicking on the blue button (publish modifications or something like that):
After doing this, try to clean the cache of your play store and remove all updates from play store (after doing this you'll need to enable Internal App Sharing again).
I was able to get rid of the error by clearing the storage of the google play store app then open the play store app again and enabling the internal app feature then opening the internal app sharing link again.
sometimes if that didn't work , restarting the device does the trick!

Has anyone gotten Google Play's "Tracked Channels (UTM)" campaign tracking to work?

The Google Play Developer Console offers the Tracked Channels (UTM) view under User Acquisition → Performance which should be able to show a breakdown of which tagged links users clicked to get to the store listing, etc.
I have generated several different links to my app using the Google Play URL Builder, e.g.:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vandenmars.colortrek&referrer=utm_source%3Dso%26utm_medium%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dlink%26utm_content%3DTBk
I did a couple of tests last week where I opened the Play Store using these links and installed the app on new devices immediately from there. Still, the Tracked Channels (UTM) list shows no entries.
A bit more background that may be relevant:
My app itself does not use the Google Analytics SDK and does not register a receiver for the INSTALL_REFERRER intentI would assume that the Play Store handles the links directly without requiring app interaction, especially since it can track store listing views that don't lead to installs, but maybe this is incorrect? Or maybe the store disables tracking based on the app manifest?
I opened the links in Chrome on my PC and clicked "Install" thereMaybe the links only get tracked if they are opened in the Play Store App on the actual device? Seems strange, but I am running a test on that right now, the data just hasn't updated yet.
The tagged installations I did were on days that have been processed alreadyIt sometimes takes Google a long time to update the "Performance" data, but the data I can see already includes this Sunday and the tests were done on Friday. So, unless the UTM tracking data takes even longer to get processed, it should already show up.
Do I need to enable something somewhere for this to work? Or am I doing something else wrong?
UPDATE 1:
Meanwhile, one entry has started showing up in the Tracked Channels (UTM) list. Unfortunately, as the help-text states, "UTM-tagged links that have a single store listing visitor [...] are included in the “Other” category." So I have no idea which of my test links it is, if any. The entry is only showing as a Store Listing Visitor, but not as an Installer.
The last day included in the stats is Wednesday (supposedly), which is also the day when I did the test of opening the link directly in the Play Store app on a device for the first time. I did install the app during that visit, but it was after I had uninstalled a previous installation.
So, here's what I learned from this:
It doesn't look like there is some on/off switch for UTM tagging that I need to enable.
Including the Analytics SDK and registering an INSTALL_REFERRER is not strictly needed for just the tracking of Store Listing Visitors, but it might be needed to track Installers/Buyers.
There may be a difference between visits to tagged links from a PC vs. from the Play Store app on a device.
This leaves the following questions:
Are UTM links only tracked by the Play Store app, or also by visits to http://play.google.com/...?
Does an app need to use the Analytics SDK to forward information about installs and purchases to the Play Store, or do these get tracked independently of the app like the store listing visitors?
Is only the first installation of an app on a specific device counted under Installers, or is a fresh install after an uninstall also counted? How about after a factory reset of the device?
Bonus question: Is there a way to expand the "Other" category? :)
UPDATE 2:
Now I'm back to square one: 3 days ago, I opened more test-links on different devices (including the one that I thought was the one that showed up last time), directly in the app store, installing the app immediately. The data shown includes everything up to and including two days ago, so these visits and installs should be tracked by now. Yet, the list does not show any additional entries beyond the one from update 1 above.
So, either I have absolutely no clue what should be going on, or this whole tracking system is one giant buggy mess... Some things I've read in random forums suggest the latter, but maybe I am missing something, too?
UPDATE 3:
This is getting stranger and stranger. Now, all of a sudden, I see an entry showing 14 store visits and 10 installs for "zedge/android"! Why would someone make their own utm tagged link for my app?!? On top of that, none of my other tests have ever shown up (still just the original entry under "Other") and I don't even see the 10 installs in the statistics... Looks like this whole thing is just plain broken... Correction welcome.
We're in the same situation too now. No Google Analytics set up, need to run some ads this weekend, so I'm going to try to use UTM tags to track the app installs.
There may be a difference between visits to tagged links from a PC vs.
from the Play Store app on a device.
Found this in their documentation
"Note: Over-the-air and web (play.google.com) impressions aren’t
tracked on your app’s User Acquisition page at this time."
If you want, send the link over and I can test it out.
Before direct user to Google Play app page, send GET request with UTM params to your own site. Register this site to Google Analitics. It will count page visits only.
I am going through the same problem. I wanted to test if the UTM source and UTM campaign from the new Dashboard required some SDK or API installed in the app itself. So I contacted Google Play Devs, I asked specifically if we needed Google Analytics and their response was:
this not the case and also there is nothing further that you can add to the app itself.
I did try downloading my own app and sent the link over to a couple of dozen people (bare in mind that the app does have a Google Analytics setup, but it is from 2016, so old version) with the following link
Power my Robot with UTM links setup
I put random words, and all the visits and downloads on both UTM Campaign and UTM Source showed under "Other" and not the words I put. I managed to get around 20 downloads from this link.
However, after questioning Google why it was showing under "Other" and not the word I put in the link, they said it is because of a minimum threshold, which they don't know the amount.
As mentioned above, I used this form to get the Google Play with the UTM tags.
And also, I agree with a comment above, that Apple simply works. From the campaign section in the dashboard, you can open the "Link Generator" and they specifically say that the minimum amount in order to show the number is at least 5 installs using the link in order to protect users' privacy. Google Play can learn something from Apple in this case.
I will try to keep this updated if anything changes on my stats. And feel free to click on the link above and install the app, open and then de-install, just to build up the numbers and see if I can cross the threshold and discover what is the minimum amount they require.
I confirm that the Google Play Store UTM tracking doesn't work with your configuration, as I have the same (no Google Analytics SDK, but firebase-core) and I can't see any installation listed in the Acquisition view of the Play Store.
I note that the Play Store documentation part about UTM tag has a link to an url builder on the Google Analytics Guide, so may be the solution in to install GA SDK.
Have found google page that suggest how to build url with utms: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/android/v4/campaigns?hl=es#google-play-url-builder
This is an example:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id={application_id}&referrer=utm_source%3D{source_id}%26utm_medium%3D{medium}%26utm_term%3D{term}

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