Google Play store can be considered as the best platform for Android apps. Millions of apps are present over the Google play store. Every day, hundreds of new apps are published for Android users. Google Play store follows very strict policies regarding the publication of app over it. Guidelines are present for every app that is to be published over the play store. If your application does not conform with the standards and guidelines provided by Google play store then it will be straight away banned from the marketplace.
Imagine that you have created an awesome app from a great idea. After investing a lot of resources and time, your application gets banned from the Google play store for not complying with the standards. This situation is pretty bad, right? If you are a new developer, and your app gets banned from the Google play store in the first attempt, it can become a great setback for an Android developer.
If you want to publish your app on Google play store in the first attempt, you must follow certain terms and conditions that are provided by Google play store for the developers. The terms and conditions defined by the Google play store can be considered as the ground rules that should be followed for the publishing of the app. Keep reading this article for understanding the terms and conditions provided by Google play store for the Android apps:
Reasons why your Android app can be banned by Google Play store
Check your Android app for the below-mentioned points and remove anything that can lead to rejection of your application from the Google play store:
- Pornography
Make sure that your app does not contain any kind of pornography in it. Your application should not provide links to pornographic web sites. Displaying pornography within the apps to get a lot of users is strictly prohibited by the Google play store. Pornography is not allowed in any form in Android apps. Also, if you cross certain limitations such as if you display child pornography within the application it will result in serious consequences and your Google developer account will be banned from the play store. You could also face worst consequences such as if your account is reported to the authorities, your entire career as an app developer will be doomed. Therefore, to prevent users from the effects of pornography ensure that your app is free of pornography of all kinds.
- Your app should not support violence in any form
Google Play store has very strict content guidelines for the apps to be published over the play store. Make sure that your application is free of any kind of acts of violence or bullying. The app should not promote violence in any form such as graphics, content, or features. The users of your app should not promote violent behavior by using the application. One simple solution to avoid violence from the content of your app is to use a moderator’s help. The moderator will automatically remove the content that can promote violence in an app.
- Your app should not impersonate anything that it does not support
Impersonation of any form is strictly prohibited by the Google play store. Your application should never impersonate any other application or the things that it does not describe. Do not mislead other people into using your app by providing false information. If your app contains false information it will be immediately banned from the Google play store.
- Never provide personal information in your Android app
If you are creating an Android app, make sure it does not provide your personal information to the users. Providing personal information in the form of phone numbers, email addresses, and other financial information is strictly prohibited by the Google play store. The main reason behind the restriction of personal information is to prohibit any illegal activity by the users from your information. Therefore, create app without providing any personal information about yourself and your identity. You cannot publish personal information in your Android application if you want it to be published swiftly over the play store in the first attempt. However, the personal information that you provided to Google while creating the Google developer account can be used by Google for processing different kinds of transactions in the play store. This information is related to your Google developer account and not with your application.
- Beware of the infringement of the copyrights
If you want to publish an app on the Google play store, the application must be unique and it should not violate the copyrights of other apps or businesses. Google Play store ensures that the copyrights of all the other applications and businesses are maintained properly and no one can use infringement in the form of copyrights. If you are using the copyrights of other people in any form such as content, graphics, or even functionality of other applications then your app will be restricted and banned from the play store for the violation of copyrights.
- Your app should not perform any illegal actions on the play store
As Google Play store is the leading marketplace of the Android apps, therefore it ensures that they work swiftly and perform their actions as desired. If the published app is performing some illegal actions over the play store, then it will be immediately banned from the play store. Some actions that are illegal over the play store are collecting information of the users without informing them, information that is in the form of passwords, financial information, and personal information of the individuals. Describe your application carefully in the Android play store listing and make sure that your application performs only the tasks it specifies. Never use your app for doing illegal tasks on the play store.
- The Android app should be free from malware
Your Android app must be free from viruses and malware. Sometimes, applications can contain viruses, malware, and trojan horses. Such apps can damage the devices of the users. An Android application that is to be published over the play store must not contain any harmful piece of code. Before publishing an application over the play store, the play store reviews the it and if any malware or viruses are found in the application. In this case the app will not be approved for publishing on the Play Store. Moreover, It can also result in the ban of your Google developer account by which the request of the application review was processed.
- Following the age restriction guidelines for publishing an app or play store
Certain age restrictions are present on the Google play store for creating the Google developer account. A developer should be 18 years old before creating an Android developer account. If you are a minor, then you should provide parent permission before using the Google play store developer account.
- The updates required for any app must comply with the Google play store standards
Whenever an app is published on the Google play store, it should comply with the regulations that are present with the updates for an application. The updates of an app must contain Google Play support libraries and content that is supported by Google play store. The updates to an app must correct different kinds of bugs in the app and it should also remove different security vulnerabilities that can be present in an application.
- Payment, pricing, and Taxes for an Android app
For a paid version of an Android app, Payment information must be included in the application description. When publishing the Android application within the play store, you will provide the payment information, pricing information, and amount of tax that will be charged on the Android app in the play store. All this information is provided at the beginning of publishing a paid version of an app. By providing this information, you agree to the payment policies and pricing policies set by the Google play store. Google notifies any change in the payment, pricing, or text information of an Android application. Â
Wrapping Up
One of the most famous platforms for distributing and publishing Android apps is the Google play store. Google Play store has proper guidelines and policies regarding the apps that are to be published over the play store. Apps that are published over the play store can be banned at any time if they do not follow the necessary guidelines regarding the content of an application. An application should not contain pornography, it should not violate the copyrights of other apps, an application should not promote violence, it should not perform illegal actions, an application should be free from all kinds of malware, viruses and trojan horses. All the updates that are released for a published application must comply with the app update standards set by Google. Age restriction guidelines must be followed before creating a developer account. An Android developer must follow the