Do I need to check if Google Play Services if up to date even if I son't use AdMob?

Hi there, hope you are all doing great.

I am currently reading documentation to integrate Vungle video ads: https://github.com/Vungle/vungle-resources/blob/master/Android-resources/android-dev-guide.md
At the end of paragraph 3 they mention I need to integrate Google Play Services + make sure the device that will install my app has an up to date version.
I just wanted to ask you if I have missed something or if this is really true.

If this is true, I am really really pissed at Google, forcing developers to do extra work for them although I don’t give a **** about their **** lame google play services that I don’t want to use. Will they give me money do to this work for them? No. And I still need to give them my cut of 30% for any generated revenue. So it’s like you do this work for us, distribute our **** service, and on the top of it we take 30% of your revenue. How ridiculous is that.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, please let me know if I have misunderstood something and long live to this forum.

Google Play Services are required for Advertising ID. Any app not using Advertising ID is not Google Play compliant according to Google Play Developer Program Policies.

Learn more about Advertising ID
https://developer.android.com/google/play-services/id.html

  1. Usage of Android advertising ID
    https://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html

Thanks for your help Emma, this is what I feared… So any developers has to bend over and eat Google’s ****
Does it mean everyone has his apps checking GPlay Services for every user? What a disgrace

Sometimes SDKs have integrated classes from play services. E.g. StartApp does not require play services imported and they still have advertising ID.

I think following is the your Answer.

Yes I agree with you however it depends on developer of SDK. If you don’t want to include Google Play Services then use ad network like StartApp

Exactly! But if you want to get 15$ bonus while registering in Startapp - use this link StartApp - Developer Register

Thanks for your feedbacks guys.
Could you also confirm that each developer has to check if user has an up to date version of Google Play on his device?

As far as I know, you do not have to check every user. If they are using an older version of Android and/or Google Play Services, then the Ad ID will not be present on their device and older identifiers (like the Android ID) will be used instead.

The Ad ID is for the user’s benefit so that they can opt-out of targeted advertising. The Ad ID is now mandatory for Google Play developers so that your app’s will be compliant if the end-user has decided to opt-out of the ads. If the end-user doesn’t have access to the Ad ID feature (android version lower than 2.2), then they can’t opt in or out, so developers don’t need to worry about being compliant.

-Cassidy

Thx for your opinion Cassidy, I am also having a hard time believing developers must check that. But it is explicitely mentioned here for example:
Setting Up Google Play Services | Android Developers
Really confused about all this mess :frowning:

Mac,

It seems like I misunderstood as well. After reading through your linked article, it seems that you only need to check Google Play Services version if your app utilizes Google Play Services. So, unfortunately, if Vungle requires Google Play services, you will have to perform the version check on your users :frowning:

What a nightmare! And what a shame Google to force devs to do such things. Thanks for your input, it’s good when company representatives participate in these kind of topics and not just promo stuff.
If anybody else want to share their own approach to this “lick the ***** of Google and help them distribute their product for free” or if they found a way to avoid it please share!

I think integration of advertising id is on ad-network’s part.
Advertising ID | Android Developers says
Apps making use of the advertising ID must check for and respect the user’s ad tracking preference. Also please note that any use of the advertising ID must abide by the terms of the Google Play Developer Content Policies”

If your app don’t use ad-id for any purpose,you don’t need to implement any code. But your ad-network must incorporate that properly as they normally use them for ad serving.

Thanks for your help simplecdsb, I think you are right is most cases but in some cases, the ad network specifically requires the dev to check himself for up to date version of play services, like Vungle: https://github.com/Vungle/vungle-resources/blob/master/Android-resources/android-dev-guide.md
I have nothing against these guys, I just regret they would require me to do this extra work and as a result I will probably not be using their network.

I don’t know about the other networks though it looks like a case by case check.

Hey @Mac, ad networks should handle Google play Services presence within their own SDKs and they should not require the developers to make this work.

Generally speaking the use of Advertising ID is a good thing for your users and for the quality of your app. Your app’s users are your clients and you should treat them this way. Giving them the option to opt-out of interest-based advertising provides something that can benefit you in the long run through retention. This is not a Google madness :slight_smile: Apple has forced this a year now, and it has been around in the web through cookies for years!!

Hi Andreas, you speak with wisdom :)I know you are right, at the end of the day it’s good for the users. I just don’t like how Google uses developers to distribute and update their own product (checking if user has up to date play services).

Thanks a lot for confirming ad networks should handle it themselves, this makes sense to me.

Hey @Mac, I couldn’t agree more, however have in mind that Google does this from time to time with software just to bring better quality with bug fixes in an open world. On the other side of the river, Apple force this in a close ecosystem not only in software but also in hardware forcing you to buy all gadgets from them.

True :slight_smile: I guess until now I was not surprise by Apple when they do did things although I was by Google. From now on I won’t be surprised by Google doing such things.

“Don’t be evil” <– lol Google

The main thing disturbing developers is the all the changes happening in short span of time (with deadlines):stuck_out_tongue: Migration to new admob, use of new pub-id, new payment methods, google play services integration, advertising-id, graphics for play store etc etc:cool: Lots of work ! And above all, lower earnings from admob:(