Google Play Developer Program Policy Update

Please review Google Play Developer policy updates. View as webpage DEVELOPER UPDATE Hello Google Play Developer, We regularly update our policies as part of our commitment to making Google Play the safest and most trusted experience possible. You can find all the details of the latest changes to our policies, including their deadlines and additional resources, in our Policy Center. You'll have at least 30 days from today to update your app to comply with the policy changes below. For more details, go to the Policy Deadlines page. New Policy To help protect children, the new Age-Restricted Content and Functionality policy requires apps with features that include matchmaking, dating, or real money gambling / games / contests to use Play Console features to block minors. Updated Policies For personal loan apps in India, we're updating the country requirements to align with a newly published government list of approved digital lending apps. Apps must be on this list and meet Play policy requirements in order to be available on Google Play in India. We're updating our Health and Medical Functionalities policy to incorporate elements of the Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) guidance for medical device apps targeting users in the EU. Additionally, we're providing information for developers of medical device apps targeting users in the EU, and adding a "Medical Device" label to clearly identify EU certified medical device apps on Google Play. To help ensure user safety and transparency, we are updating our Accessibility API policy to clarify and reinforce our existing rules that any use of this API that enables an app to autonomously initiate, plan, and execute actions is prohibited. Such behavior can change user settings without permission, circumvent Android's privacy controls, and leverage the user interface in a deceptive manner by executing actions without the user's knowledge or consent. Clarifications Additionally, we're clarifying some existing policies. Because these changes aren't new or updated, our enforcement standards and practices remain the same. To better align with industry terminology, the Maskware category in our Malware policy will be changed to Riskware. We're clarifying our Subscriptions policy with clearer guidelines on how to disclose material information about the subscription. We have also updated the non-compliant examples to help developers avoid common issues. Reminders and Additional Information We're introducing a 180-day appeal window for account terminations to discourage fraudulent activity. This change allows us to give you faster, more efficient reviews by focusing resources on genuine cases. Most developers who get their suspensions overturned appeal well within 180 days. Learn more here. The Financial features declaration must be completed for every app on your account, even if it does not have any financial features. As of October 30, you will not be able to make any updates to your app(s) until you complete this declaration. Completing this form will help you avoid disruptions to your app update plans. As an extra layer of security, Android is requiring all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed on certified Android devices. Most Play developers likely already completed these steps and will be able to register additional apps in Play Console. Sign up for early access. Apps now have until 01/28/26 to comply with the new Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Software Wallets policy. For details, visit this page. Please review these policy updates carefully in case any of your apps are impacted. To learn more about how to comply with these changes: Watch this PolicyBytes video, which can also be found on our new PolicyBytes Hub. Register for a Policy Webinar, available for multiple regions. Send in your questions in advance. Ask questions or share best practices with fellow developers in the Google Play Developer Help Community. REVIEW UPDATES We are committed to improving your policy experience, built directly with your feedback, by offering clearer guidance and proactive tools. Recently, we've launched Play Policy Insights in Android Studio to everyone. This feature gives you real-time guidance directly where you code, so you can spot critical policy requirements early and get a smoother app review. And we're also helping you quickly grasp the essential points of our policies by adding key summaries and "Do's & Dont's." We're continuing to roll this out to all policies, like Target API Level and Permissions and APIs that Access Sensitive Information. Remember to always review the full policy to ensure compliance. Thank you, Your Google Play team Connect with us © 2025 Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google Play Developer account.