Google play reviewing team changed content rating of my app from everyone to low maturity by mentioning as my app includes gambling themes.
I never found such gambling themes in my app Pro Kabaddi
In this i implemented quick link to see points table, Match Fixtures and video from starsports.com
Please tell me what are the gambling themes my app includes because i don't found any thing seems to gampling.
i received mail from google play team as below..
"
This is a notification that the minimum content level of your application, Pro Kabaddi, with package ID com.smartinfolab.prokabaddi, has been changed to Low Maturity (2) by the Google Play Team after a regular review.
REASON FOR CONTENT LEVEL CHANGE: Violation of the Google Play content rating policy.
After a regular review, we have determined that your app includes gambling themes. The content rating of your app has been changed to reflect this content.
Please be advised that additional content rating modifications by the Google Play Team may result in administrative action, up to and including removal of subsequent applications in violation.
All violations are tracked. Serious or repeated violations of any nature will result in the termination of your developer account, and investigation and possible termination of related Google accounts.
We appreciate your contributions towards ensuring an accurate content rating experience for Google Play users.
"
You should contact Google Play developer support and ask them why they have reclassified your app content rating, but since your app is sports related and appears to contain advertising, I'd say it's likely that when the Google Play content team demoed your app an advert appeared for a gambling site or app. As advertising (whether third-party or not) is considered part of your app content, this would explain why it has been reclassified. Perhaps you could change the settings of your advertising to not show anything gambling related, it might affect your advertising revenue, but you should be able to get your app reclassified as suitable for everyone.
Related
I've come across a collection of android apps that utilise a questionable practice.
With the help of misleading ads user gets tricked into buying an app via SMS service (with prices up to 10 EUR). Afterwards the user then can enter an activation code in the free app distributed on Google Play store.
The entire operation is in grey-area, because it is the user itself who sends the SMS and is responsible for the cost. Due to the nature of the ads, its mostly unsuspecting older people that get tricked into this, because they assume that they must do it or they'll have problems with their device.
In app functionality being sold outside of the app store would most likely be a violation of Apple Store and the app could be reported.
I am wondering if there's similar rules for Play Store, so that this practice could be reported to Google.
The short answer is that Google allows this practice for now, but they are already working on changing it. From my experience, Google allows devs to use any payment/licensing model that their app requires. However, this is subject to change and the end results will be something similar with Apple's policy.
From their support page, it seems that from January 2021, they require that all new apps will use the GooglePlay IAP API. Existing apps have until the end of September to make the switch. As with any other policy, there are some exceptions, but please check the official page to receive the correct information.
I created a game with Admob ads, but when I uploaded it to google play, google refuse it, they sent me this email
Hi Developers at brsolab,
I reviewed Move Up, com.brsolab.MoveUp, and noticed some policy issues
that need to be corrected. If you submitted an update, the previous
version of your app is still live on Google Play.
Policy Issue: Your app was rejected for violating the ads policy. Your
app's advertisements are inappropriate for the intended audience of
your app.
These guidelines apply to all content in your app, including user
generated content, in-app products, and advertisements. Here’s how you
can submit your app for another review:
Check with your ad service provider to make sure the advertising
campaigns you selected will only show content consistent with your
app’s target audience. Sign in to your Developer Console and take the
content rating questionnaire again. Review your app to make sure it’s
in compliance with the policies listed in the Developer Program
Policies. Remember that additional enforcement could occur if there
are further policy issues with your apps. Submit your app. You can
reference this help center article for more details about the ratings
questionnaire.
If you’ve reviewed the ads policy and feel this rejection may have
been in error, please reach out to our policy support team. One of my
colleagues will get back to you within 2 business days.
Thanks for supporting Google Play!
Can you help me to find a solution for that ?
And thanks in advance
I hope this answer helps other SO users.
If your app's Content rating does not allow you to display any adult / gambling or other sensitive content then the same is applicable to the ads that are displayed in your apps.
Using Admob blocking controls, you can control the types of ads that are displayed in your application to the end user
For more read Avoid getting rejected on Google Play due to inappropriate ads in Admob
It sounds like you have declared your app to be for all age groups but have configured your ads to include those with adult content.
If your app does not contain any adult or sensitive content, try to re submit the app. This happened with me several times and my app did not contain any sensitive content. After resubmit, app was approved.
I am publishing an apk on Google Play Store. But my apk is rejected because they say my app is violating Google Impersonation Policy. But they never mentioned what is the reason. I am publishing it to production. Then I found possible violations after I have read the policy.
As you can see in the screenshots, I am using logos of Whatsapp, Facebook, Viber for social sharing purpose. I am also using Football Team and League Logos. According to the impersonation policy, that can be the only possible reason why my app is suspended. But I think that logos should be allowed to use. In the policy, it states that if I am using logo or copyright thing of others, I can use them if I can show them the permission.
For Facebook logo, Viber logo and Whatsapp Logo, where can I get that permission? Besides, it is not possible to get permission from all football teams to use their logos. Then I found this link - How to check an app violates Google's the impersonation policy or not. In the green answer, it says if I tried publishing as Alpha testing, I will get the reason of suspended. So when I tried with Alpha testing on Google Play Store, it also suspended. But it does not mention the reason of suspended as well. Here is the email I received:
What is the possible reason my app was suspended? Maybe because of the reason I mentioned? If they are, how can I solve it?
To get the Q & A into an usable answer:
Photo's and logo's have copyrights on them. As a programmer that means you cannot use them without (explicit) permission from the owner. Country flags do not fall under that. Google checks for this before release.
Note:
If you contact the owner of an image and ask for permission use, they might ask for a usage fee.
If you use images that you get from an API, check the user agreement. If not clear contact the creator of the API.
Social sharing logo's and button will have details on this, but in general it makes very little sense for them to limit their use.
Why go trough all this trouble?
Pay people for their work, don't steal.
You can get sued if you use images without permission.
I have developed and published several apps on the Play Store. Because of an old ads sdk (which had a security issue), I had to update all my apps with the new compliant ads sdk.
The problem is that once I update my apps, the update got rejected with this message :
This is a notification that your application, *, for package
ID *, has been removed from Google Play.
Please address the issue described below and submit a compliant
update. Once approved, your application will again be available with
all installs, ratings and reviews intact.
REASON FOR REMOVAL:Violation of section 4.3 of the Developer
Distribution Agreement.Please refer to the policy help article for
more information.
We classify user information including but not limited to, email
address, phone number, name, social media account information, and
contacts as private and confidential information.
An app downloaded from Google Play (or its components or derivative
elements) which transmits this information off of the device without
making this clear to the user and obtaining the user’s explicit
consent are regarded as being in violation of section 4.3 of the DDA.
All removals are tracked. Repeated removals will result in app
suspension, at which point this app will count as a strike against the
good standing of your developer account and no longer be available on
Google Play.
This notification also serves as notice for other apps in your
catalog. You can avoid future removals and/or app suspensions by
immediately ensuring that no other apps in your catalog are in
violation of (but not limited to) the above policy. Before publishing
applications, please ensure your apps’ compliance with the Developer
Distribution Agreement and Content Policy.
If you feel we have made this determination in error, you can visit
this Google Play Help Center article.
The Google Play Team
I am using several ads SDKs :
AdMob (Play services 7.5), AppBrain (10.51), Vungle(3.3.1), InMobi(4.5.5) and StartApp(3.1.1)
I also use analytics :
Google Analytics (Play services 7.5), Crashlytics (Fabric.io, 2.3)
Here are all the permissions I ask for :
CAMERA, ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE,
INTERNET, VIBRATE, WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, BILLING and CHECK_LICENSE
and the features :
android.hardware.camera, android.hardware.camera.autofocus,
android.hardware.camera.front, android.hardware.wifi-required=false
and android.hardware.touchscreen-required=false
And now, my app has been suspended.
I have absolutely no idea of what could be the cause -> is this a specific SDK issue ?
This is likely caused by one of two issues. Either you're using an SDK that is not compliant with the Google Play policy or your SDKs are adding permissions that you're not accounting for in your privacy policy.
This thread may be helpful:
http://forums.makingmoneywithandroid.com/advertising-networks/3584-google-play-developer-term-violation-4.html
I recently received an email from Google Play regarding my apps name. The app is a reader for the webcomic xkcd and it's title is "xkcd Viewer". I learned that new naming conventions state you cannot use a company name (xkcd) as the first word in the app title.
My question is, does this apply to the Play Store listing name only? Or does it also apply to the app title (the one you see when you open the app from your device)?
The email I received:
This is a notification that your application submission, xkcd Reader, for package ID ---------, has been rejected. If this submission was an update to an existing app, the version published prior to this update is still available on Google Play.
Please address the issue described below, then submit an update with your changes.
REASON FOR REJECTION: Violation of the spam provision of the Content Policy. Please refer to the keyword spam policy help article for more information.
Do not use others' branding or product names at the start of your app title without permission. This implies association and is misleading for users. Instead, use "for [ product or brandinsert name ]."
Incorrect: "Android MediaPlayer"
Correct: "MediaPlayer for Android"
All submission rejections are tracked. Repeated rejections due to policy violations will result in app suspension, at which point this app will count as a strike against the good standing of your developer account and no longer be available on Google Play.
This notification also serves as notice for other apps in your catalog. You can avoid future submission rejections and/or app suspensions by immediately ensuring that no other apps in your catalog are in violation of (but not limited to) the above policy. Before publishing applications, please ensure your apps’ compliance with the Developer Distribution Agreement and Content Policy.
If you feel we have made this determination in error, you can visit this Google Play Help Center article.
The Google Play Team
My question is, does this apply to the Play Store listing name only? Or does it also apply to the app title (the one you see when you open the app from your device)?
The policy applies to both cases.
You may change the name of your app to "Viewer for xkcd" or "Reader for xkcd" similar to that's shown in the example.
Hope this helps.