New Google Polices & Guidelines

Hello Google Play Developer,

We are constantly striving to make Google Play a great community for developers and consumers. This requires us to update our policies in accordance with current practices as the ecosystem evolves. This email is to notify you that we’ve made some changes to our policies which are highlighted below.

We've updated our content policies to further clarify our stance on sexually explicit material and provide a better experience for our users, including minors
We’re introducing the App Promotion policy, which provides guidance on what app promotion tactics are disallowed when promoting your app on Play
We’ve introduced a provision that requires you to clearly disclose when an advertised feature in your app’s description requires in-app payment
We’ve clarified the System Interference policy to prohibit any browser modifications on behalf of third-parties or advertisements
We’ve re-emphasized in the Ads Policy that all advertising behavior must be properly attributed to, or clearly presented in context with the app it came along with

We’ve also updated the Spyware section of our Policy Guidelines Help Site to address surveillance or tracking apps. Please take a look at the Google Play Developer Program Policy to see all the changes and make sure your app complies with our updated policies.

Any new apps or app updates published after this notification will be immediately subject to the latest version of the Program Policy. If you find any existing apps in your catalog that don’t comply, we ask you to unpublish the app, or fix and republish the app within 15 calendar days of receiving this email. After this period, existing apps discovered to be in violation may be subject to warning or removal from Google Play.

Regards,
Google Play Team

lets talk about this so we can all understand what exactly they mean cause their always vague .:mad::mad:

They are saying that we all should now start using admob :smiley:

I think what they are saying is “Use any network you want as long as it doesn’t offer anything other than what adMob does”. Meaning banners&interstitials.

“Promotion or install tactics which cause redirection to Google Play or the download of the app without informed user action.”
So, button “more apps” or “view my other apps” is prohibited from now? Am i right?

Have you guys noticed the “Advertiser id” requirement ? They have written that it will be enforced for all apps post August 1st 2014.

Which SDK’s are using the advertiser id feature ?

So, I guess I have to remove AirPush Bundled SDK? I just hate these neverending changes from Google…

And how to make a business when your partner is changing his rules every month… I will not be surprised when Samsung will take Google’s audience… They have more strictly rules, but they are stable and they don’t make such surprises…

I don’t think so. Those buttons are clearly informing the user… The same goes for “rate this app” buttons.

" …without informing the user" if the user has pressed a button as “more app” or “free game”, he will be informed, no?

Google change their rules every month, how it’s possible to make business with this “company”? It’s clear that they want to force all developers to use AdMob. We (all developers) filled the market with apps and now they do whatever they want. Soon expect new update: “Usage of ad networks different from AdMob are prohibited”.

P.S.

“We don’t allow unauthorized publishing or disclosure of people’s private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, government identification numbers, driver’s and other license numbers, non-public contacts, or any other information that is not publicly accessible.”

I agree with this, but why Google steal and sell users private information to NSA?!

I guess airpush bundled, startapp bundled sdk and widdit all out of market?

Is not allowed to take user data without telling him, but now the user “knows it” accepting the eula, no?

I think it’s time for the reps from StartApp,airpush, appwiz etc to come up here and tell us what they think. it probably will be the “we are 100% compliant” crap or maybe something else?

None of them can rightfully say that now. Any out-of-app feature that comes with an app can have no advertising based intentions.

I do not see the problem with respect to such startapp, the updating of policies yesterday in my language, Spanish, is clear. For me still the same as he had, as I see ONLY differences in applications that have internal payment files.
For the rest, I still understood to be equal. The search of startApp, no changes to the user’s browser. Just use a shaped flange WITHIN own browser (in app) of the application, the user also has to accept the EULA permission. the truth that has confused me, and do not quite understand whether it is compatible then. Although I see it as hitherto.
What if I have clear, increasingly, is that google wants to end its only use admob advertising network and remove all others, so slowly is doing. And the other or get batteries, join denounce the slaughter and the inability to take out the competition or out of business, but time to time.

I just don’t know what to do now. I am using Airpush Bundled SDK for a while and its doing well, but I don’t want to loose my apps because of it. I hope that someone from Airpush tells us what is up.

basically Google messed it up in their August 2013 policy update. Didn’t cover browser homepage at that time as banned ads.

wtf are you guys all whining about. All this means that all the crappy apps with deceptive crappy ads will be gone from the market, and no where it says that admob is the only network you can use, there is appnext, mobilecore, chartboost and other great networks out there.

I have a question, I have an app for wall paper of girls in bikini, do you think this falls under sexual material? there is no nudity and the description says many times there is no nudity or porn, it also has many many downloads.
What do you think? maybe google ment apps that has real porn or naked people or something as explicitly sexual? thanks!!

Hey everyone,

The new policy changes are mostly dealing with the content of apps and how they are promoted. These policy updates are not as game changing as others in the past.
However, we are reviewing the new policy, and any updates will be minor. Our SDKs and solutions have always been 100% Google Play compliant, and will continue as such.

Anyone can PM me if you have any additional questions, concerns or just want to chat.

Cheers,

Airpush Nick