Hello guys!
I’ve got a request, from a friend who owns a site, to create a mobile application wich shows exactly like his mobile version of the site. (for simplicity reason, to skip the process of opening a browser, waiting untilll all x tabs are loaded, open a new tab, searching and clicking on a bookmark and waiting for it to load)
The easiest method for me is to create a webview/phonegap and to throw in the site. I’d also like to add a banner in there.
My problem is that I read this https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2985871?hl=en and I’m not sure if its allright with google play, so my app won’t get banned or even worse my developer account get banned, and ruin my life with it.
Why isn’t google banning those apps if they don’t respect the policies? Or do they respect them?
Is it the fact that they added 2-3 more buttons to the app, or because they changed the title of the app (mentioning that its a webview), or just because that they have permission by the site author to use the site content?
I also have permission from the author of the site, do I need to prove it? How? When? Or that statement is just for security purposes?
If I upload the app they can reject it but not ban my account right? And if they accept it everything’s gonna be alright and I can sleep well at night?
I just want to know what to do so my app or account wont get banned!
I have a lot of questions here so I’ll be happy to have them all clarified.
Hi there,
There is no one simple answer to that. I myself used to make apps that would just load the website and sure enough one day Google just outright banned my account, and it wasn’t right away ( the apps where on the play store for almost a year)
What I’m trying to say is if your account is important to you then don’t take that risk.
An idea for you.
Why don’t you have the website owner open their own Google play store account and upload the app there so if anything does happen it doesn’t effects your account.
Cheers
Hope it works out for you.
Thanks for the replies. @darknes01 i still dont understand why/how those apps were accepted on google play if they didnt respect that rule? The only logical answer is that at that moment the rule wasn’t active and when they introduced it they also started revalidating the apps and banning the bad ones. If this is true it means that if i try to upload such an app it won’t even get published and wont get accepted (not banned). So i guess my account wont suffer of anything if an app was rejected (not banned). Am i right?
@ImadeIt Does it mean that if i have permission i cand just throw in the whole mobile site? I also have permission by the author of the site. How and when should i prove it? Or this is just to warn the developer that he will get banned in case of any complain at google play from the author?
Not necessarily, there are a lot of factors that are involved here, gplay does not like web apps as a general rule and it’s understandable but technically if you have permission you should be fine.
Google doesn’t really deny/reject your application to be published. But after you publish it, when their bots/scanners found your app to be in violation it will suspend it and worse ban your account.
So if I get a banned app will my account automatically also get banned or it may suffer several banned apps untill it will get banned or there no rule at all?
Why would be my app a violation? Because it is only webview (and it doesnțt have other buttons like the apps I posted) or because they donțt think I have permission to embedd it?
If my app is banned can it be unbanned if I show google that I have permission? How do I show them the permission in the first place?
I cant reallt draw a conclusion to if and what exactly should I do?
on theory you should be fine since its you have permission but in reality Google will/might still ban it since it’s just a webview app. Then good luck filing a dispute, they all get automatically rejected like 99.9% of the time.
But if I also add a few buttons wich help the navigation or whatever in the the website it isn’t considered 100% webview right?
If I get an app banned will my account automatically also get banned or it may suffer several banned apps untill it will get banned or there no rule at all?
If my app is banned can it be unbanned if I show google that I have permission? How do I show them the permission in the first place to avoid the ban?
What about if he invites me to be partner to his developer console and the app gets banned? Will my google account also be in danger or just his account on wich the developer console is activated?
