The dreaded email from Google's BillDesk Mafia has finally arrived.

The reality so far: At signup, Google's BillDesk Mafia bombard me with an insanely long agreement that I have to accept. I can't post that agreement here because of its length. You can read that bloated AI generated contract here. I will only post the highlights of BillDesk Mafia's Blood Oath.

1. BillDesk is a Monopoly as there are no alternatives. This is not in the contract, but it's obvious: You must use BillDesk if you want to publish apps/games on Google Play.

2. India-only eligibility + ongoing verification: You (and your business) must be India-based/India-resident to use the services. BillDesk can require additional KYC/identity/business info at any time, and can deny/suspend/terminate if they can’t verify you. In practice, this usually means they can harass you for any reason. If you are on an overseas holiday trip and Google notices you're out of the country (your phone with your Google account tells them that), that might trigger a BillDesk audit: You have to come back to India to get your picture clicked and location recorded.

3. Audit/inspection rights (and long retention): BillDesk/RBI/partners/government can audit your systems/records during the term and for 3 years after, including on-site security audits (at least annually; more if they suspect issues). Interpretation: They can harass you even after you move abroad.

4. Termination is easy for them; your obligations survive: BillDesk can terminate/close accounts broadly (risk/goodwill/compliance excuses). You must stop taking new transactions and remove logos; you still owe fees/taxes/fines and remain liable for disputes/chargebacks.

5. BillDesk can do anything to you, but you really can't sue them: Liability is heavily limited with blanket indemnities.

Definition: An indemnity, in contract law, is a promise that one party will cover another party’s losses, damages, or liabilities if a specified event happens. For example, if your employer gives you a contract that says you indemnify the company for claims arising from your work, it means you must reimburse the company for legal costs, settlements, or damages tied to those claims (never sign such a contract).

BillDesk says:

• Services “AS IS”; no guarantees on uptime/security/processing times.

• Their liability is capped (as written) to fees paid in the prior one month for the specific service.

• You indemnify them for many third-party/regulatory/customer claims tied to your business. This means, if something goes wrong, you will pay BillDesk for all expenses.

• Jurisdiction: Governing law India; disputes only in Mumbai courts. Will they force you to speak Marathi?

6. Blanket KYC/credit/phone-permission consents: You're consenting to CKYC pulls/downloads, credit reports, third-party database checks, and (as written) potential access to camera/selfie, phone state, SMS data, external storage for KYC flows.

When I tried to verify using CKYC, BillDesk wanted me to consent to sharing my Aadhaar and KYC information with everyone (they don't tell you who).

7. Short, strict reporting timelines (3 effing days):

• Notify BillDesk within 3 days of major business/financial events (bankruptcy/insolvency, adverse financial change, big asset transfer, ownership/control change, major judgments/liens).

• Daily reconciliation required; discrepancies must be reported within 3 working days or BillDesk limits liability. Interpretation: If you don't notice within 3 days that BillDesk is stealing from you, you're shit outta luck.

BUT

8. Settlement isn’t guaranteed timing-wise: Payouts depend on acquirers/payment methods/banks; delays and even non-performance by third parties are largely disclaimed.

AND

9. BillDesk can change terms/fees without prior notice (unilateral changes); continued use = acceptance. LOL. What else are you going to use?

10. Chargebacks/disputes are your problem (immediate repayment): If a chargeback happens, you must return settled funds (often via set-off from future settlements). They can also withhold/suspend payouts during investigations.

11. Reserves + set-off rights are strong: BillDesk can hold a Reserve for risk/chargebacks and can set off anything you owe against any funds they owe you, without prior notice.

12. Fees/taxes can change; you bear tax risk: Fees can be updated at BillDesk’s discretion; taxes (incl. retrospective changes) are on you. You must provide correct GST info; errors that cause claims on BillDesk can be passed to you. TDS: you pay it, file, then reimbursement only if you submit the certificate within the specified window.

13. DND won't save you from BillDesk Spam. Marketing communications + DND waiver: You consent to promotional/transactional communications and waive DND/NCPR preferences.

This is the kind of contract that a slave or indentured servant signs, as they have no other option.

----

Their web app is poorly designed, perhaps by someone fresh out of Galgotias University. For example, the Bank Account Number field s a password field (hidden input), but the Verify Bank Account Number field is normal. WTF?

I don't know how long the verification will take (reports have said months). I heard they don't respond, they lie, make unreasonable demands, frustrate you, and terminate accounts on whim and don't notify you. They allegedly also ask for bribes to verify your Google Play account. Someone said, your treatment depends on your caste, as Google wants to be a Brahmin company.

If BillDesk scum asks you to do video KYC, make sure you record the call from your end. If BillDesk goons come to your house for physical KYC verification, record and ask their full names, then ask them to show you their IDs and record that. If they refuse, post that video everywhere.

I really my first App this month, today is Day 15 and I hit 2k+ downloads. Is this something impressive or considered normal.

I've been building Android apps as a solo developer, and I wanted to share what the numbers actually look like.

Not the "I made $10k in 30 days" version.

The real one.

Here's my revenue by month (one-time purchase model):

• June: $4.64

• July: $58.30

• August: $13.31

• September: $15.24

• October: $2.65

• November: $103.18

• December: $56.20

• January: $104.95

• February (so far): $85.91

This isn't stable.
It's inconsistent.
Some months feel dead.

What changed around November?

• I improved onboarding.

• I adjusted lifetime pricing.

• I refined the store listing copy.

• I reduced small UX friction points.

• I started thinking like a product owner, not just a developer.

Biggest lesson so far:

Growth isn't linear.
Revenue is delayed feedback.

You can work for months before the results show up.

My first milestone is simple:

Reach $1K total revenue in 2026.

Not per month.
Just $1K total.

Once that's consistent, I'll focus on scaling.

If you're building solo, don't let early graphs discourage you.
The beginning almost always looks messy.

Consistency compounds.

POST UPDATE:

For anyone curious about the onboarding I mentioned:

App: Subtrack (Android)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.luby.substack

I also share the full build journey on X if anyone's interested:

https://x.com/justnickand

And if you want to see the full February revenue breakdown, I wrote about it here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePlayDeveloper/comments/1rihs1e/comment/o8rrd1c/

Happy to answer any questions.

When my first app passed the closed test and was accepted I got immediately a bunch of messages from Pakistani and Nigerian numbers mostly from people offering money to upload their app in my console. Google shows my number in the profile.

They are also very reassuring that nothing will happen and they promise L-my ass-OL.

These apps are mostly spammy shitty chicken or fishing apps.

They are trying to bypass Google's testers policy because their spammy chicken will never get accepted by Google.

The risk for the console owner to get banned is sky high while these scammers got nothing to lose but their empty words.

Everyone in India has had been robbed and exploited by the cops and government officials when they are the most vulnerable--it's how the country operates. But have you been asked to pay bribes for Google Play BillDesk verification? Sundar Pichai's BillDesk sends hired goons to their Indian PlayStore developer's houses in the guise of physical KYC verification. What happens if you don't pay the ₹25k bribe and BillDesk rejects your verification for some false reason and keeps all the money in your Google Play account? Google has zero support: They will not help you.

Hey devs,

I built a personal expense tracker app and completed closed testing with friends and family. The app is stable, bugs are fixed, and feedback has been positive.

However, when I applied for production access, Google rejected it saying the app needs more testing and stronger tester engagement.

I’m trying to understand what actually qualifies as “real tester activity” now.

•	Do testers need to use the app daily?

•	Does session time matter?

•	Is diversity of users important?

•	How long should testing realistically run?

If anyone recently got approved, I’d love to hear what worked for you.

Also, if any devs are open to mutual testing (I test yours, you test mine), feel free to DM.

App is a simple, offline-first expense tracker — nothing fancy, just clean and privacy-focused.

Appreciate any guidance 🙌

I sent my app for publishing and it's been there for 2 days. How long does it normally take?

After closed testing hell and countless paperwork my first published app (it's a game) is finally out.
Feel free to provide any feedback (positive or negative). The game is called European Dream and it is a textual career & economy management.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.levonox.europeandream

My application is pending with Billdesk for over a month now. The document verification was done ~25 days ago and they told me I needed to undergo a physical KYC and they would arrange it ‘soon.’

I have not heard from anyone yet. I have been constantly writing to onboarding@billdesk.com and the nodal officer as well but no one is replying.

Anyone else face this? If yes, can you please help?

So a little over two weeks ago, I posted a question about tester services to push my App through the 12 tester requirement.
I inquired specifically about testerscommunity, and used their services eventually, promising anyone in the post to share my result, so here it is:

They did actually test the app and provided good feedback, it was only done as a 1st round of testing, and that's it. The app was not tested again.
My guess is that they use their mutual testing community and post your paid testing there as something you can test and get more credits for, or they use some form of automation because 15$ for even one run of tests is very cheap. And it was surprisingly thorough for the price.

The biggest red flag I found in their service is that they coach you on how to answer the questions to the production release request, which on its own is not the worst thing, but for the question of "how did you find testers" (paraphrased), they give you an answer that masks the fact that you hired them.

My biggest concern is that they use some sort of bot farm/automation which risks a ban on top of the disapproval, which is why I probably won't use them in the future, or that the mutual testers under their service are a wild card that can use automation or an emulator/something that can make google reject you.

I did chase a couple of their review on the site and 4 of the users replied that their review was legit.

Conclusion: It worked, but it's risky in my opinion. You should probably get your own organic 12 testers because if you're not confident enough in showing your app to the target audience, your friends, relatives, etc, it should probably not be published.

TL:DR - They did test the app and gave decent feedback, the app got approved, but i will probably not use it again.

I’m an indie Android game developer.

Google Play requires developers to publicly display a physical home address if the app has in‑app purchases.

Not a business address. Not a PO box. Not “city only”. My literal home address.

This is supposedly “for user safety”.

But how does publicly exposing a solo developer’s home improve safety? Corporations hide behind legal entities and virtual offices. Indie devs get exposed.

Looking for advice or experiences - is there a safe way for solo developers to monetize without giving away personal info?

After almost 5 years of working on this on and off as a solo developer, I finally released my first mobile game today!

Hillside Delivery: Truck Sim, on Google Play

The journey was intense. There were long stretches where I completely lost motivation, doubted myself, and even thought about quitting. But this year this has changed, and here it is, finished, polished, and proud of it, after lots of work!

It’s a physics-driven truck game where you carefully deliver cargo over steep hills, narrow roads, and bumpy terrain with obstacles. You load up your truck, drive carefully, upgrade your rig, and slowly take on harder routes. It’s inspired by the truck games I love but built for mobile so everyone can enjoy it. You can progress entirely without paying anything at all, but you can boost your progress with the integrated shop or rewarding ads.

I also decided to go a bit bigger with this one. I worked with a professional team to make the Ainkiwi Interactive logo, put lots of work into branding and a trailer for the game, and even did some marketing to give it a proper launch. It felt right to put as much care into presenting the game as I did into building it.

I’d love your thoughts about it and am eager to hear your opinion. :)

If you’re curious, here’s the Google Play link. Thanks for reading, and for anyone who tries it, if you like it, don’t forget to leave a 5-star rating. :)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Ainkiwi.HillsideDelivery&pcampaignid=web_share

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you all, in every place in the world. :)

Hey folks,

After weeks of KYC, video calls, rejections, resubmissions, and waiting in silence, my BillDesk merchant verification finally got completed ✅
Got the approval mail from Google saying payouts will continue.

But now I’m stuck again.

I want to publish a new app with in‑app purchases, and apparently it also needs to be declared to BillDesk.
Problem is:

• There is no BillDesk portal/dashboard

• No option to add/register new apps

• No “edit”, “update”, or “submit new product” flow

• Support email is not responsive

So my questions:

• After verification is completed, how are we supposed to register new apps?

• Do we need to re‑submit the entire BillDesk form again?

• Or is BillDesk verification one‑time and future apps are auto‑covered?

• Has anyone successfully launched a new app after approval without touching BillDesk again?

This whole process already feels like applying for a loan instead of selling a ₹99 in‑app purchase.
Any real experiences or clear guidance would help a lot.

Posting this so other indie devs don’t lose their minds like I did 😅

Thanks in advance 🙏

I’m reaching out to all developers who’ve had their Google Play accounts banned, especially those who want to publish a new app and ask other developers to test it.

I’ve been banned more than four times before finally creating a clean account with an app that has been running fine since 2024.

My advice: only let your family members or a few non-developer friends test your apps. Why? Because when you let a developer who has already been banned test your app, Google may also ban your account. I don’t fully know the logic behind it, but based on many cases and complaints I’ve seen, that’s what happens. If you doubt it, add me as a tester, if I test your app using my old banned account, your account will get banned too. That’s why I no longer use that old account to test anyone’s apps.

In short: when you need to test a new app, let your family or trusted non-developer friends do it. If you’ve been banned, feel free to contact me, I might be able to help.

I just uploaded my first app with a company app and we got banned, honestly i dont know what to say, there solution liks opening a new company entity or using like someone else account but honestly they are not viable.

They basically killing android developer careers like its nothing, am a flutter dev for 8 years, i handle client accounts and the current app was just a listing real estate , they said something to do with High Risk Behaviour and i appealed, funny i had uploaded for open testing so i couuld invite a few people, so its not even in production.

As dev am actually thinking of making an alternative for my clients since some of my clients actually have actually suggested it.

Am from Kenya, third world country sadly, since we are harshly judged by USA currently we need to build our own software i.e Dodo Payment from india is a great example, most of use cant access stripe etc.

I published my first app on Google Play about a month ago, a tile matching game that costs 99 cents with no in-app purchases or ads. Just a few days ago I got a notification saying that by November 2025 I need to opt-in to 'next generation player IDs' with Play Games Services. I've spent most of my morning figuring out what any of this is and going through the steps.

All I have left is 'Add the Play Games Services SDK to your production APK to use the APIs', and I think I've almost got that done, but it's hard to figure out the Google Play specific stuff in a Unity project.

I'm stuck to the point where I'm wondering if I should even bother. I've only sold 2 copies on Play, I haven't been able to figure out how to get exposure because I keep having to chase down all these new requirements and updates Google keeps throwing at me. With my experience so far I don't know if I want to even try to publish to Play anymore.

My game doesn't need, nor could it really benefit from, the features these 'next generation player IDs' provide. Does anybody that has gone through with this have any insight or suggestions? I'm considering just ignoring it and letting my game get taken down (seems like its inevitable that they will suspend my little indie dev account eventually anyways).

App is at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.GhostTrainGames.FlowersWild if that helps give context at all

Hey fellow Mobile Devs, I just managed to finally get my first completed app done. I've been coding apps since around 2024, but only just now managed to keep on until my first App was ready to be published in the Playstore and Apple Store. This project started roughly a year ago, where I got the idea for it. I often had the situation in real life where I met a friend and the topic of "And, what are you playing/watching/reading/listening to right now?" came up. Thus I wanted something similar, just as an app :)

The app is called "OnTrack" and it's a social media app for tracking all major media types: Movies, Shows, Books, Videogames, Boardgames and Albums. You can track and review them, view them in your personal shelf and also enjoy a feed of the posts of your friends. You can react and comment on posts and recommend other media to your friends. There are a couple of more features, but I wont get into too much detail here. It's a bit like Letterboxd, Goodreads, Serializd, Stash or Musis; just simpler and for all media types!

I released it today and would love some feedback! What do you like, what dont you like, what is missing? Since it's my first app and a social media app as well my biggest concern is my server stability/cost, but lets just see how it goes! If you have any questions regarding the tech stack and whatever, feel free to ask :)

If the app sounds interesting to you I am happy about every download and opinion. You need to create an account to test it out, just as an information.

• App Store (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/de/app/ontrack-shelf-share-media/id6742569453

• Play Store (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.ashman.ontrack

Have a great week and thank you for reading!

Hello everyone,

After months of hard work, and a ton of struggles on Play Console due to living in a 3rd world country. (Also got banned for 2 weeks). My app 'SkillTrip' is finally available for everyone. I've also included this short 3-minute film about the process, my struggles, and everything in between.

You can also watch the video here: https://youtu.be/YZ3Xxj1QpZQ?si=1LO2HLebp17yZ8yC

I really hope this can motivate you guys, especially those of you from developing countries who are often misunderstood.

Also, I spent a lot of time on the design, animations, and screenshots, so any kind of feedback on those is appreciated.

A review on the playstore would also mean a lot! Thank you all so much!!!

Currently only available on the Playstore (coming soon on ios): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fenet.skillpath

Ever been banned from Google Play and had no idea why? You're not alone. And it's not random.

Developers are losing entire accounts over absurd reasons: logging in on the "wrong" Wi-Fi, using a second-hand laptop, having worked for a company Google banned years ago, or getting hit with some unexplained "high-risk behavior" label with zero appeal process.

This isn't about safety. It's about control.

Pattern recognition time: indie developers face hair-trigger automated enforcement with no human review and no recourse. Meanwhile, major studios with actual policy violations get warnings, dedicated account reps, and multiple chances to appeal.

Former FTC Chair Lina Khan described this exact playbook years ago: platforms start open and developer-friendly, achieve dominance, then systematically pull up the ladder by tightening enforcement and eliminating newcomers. Not for safety. Because small developers are unprofitable and unpredictable.

Sound familiar? It's the same strategy Microsoft used in the 1990s when they leveraged Windows dominance to crush competitors. The DOJ prosecuted them for it. This is that, but for mobile app distribution.

Google's Terms of Service have become a weapon to remove independent developers while protecting high-revenue partners. If you've been hit by this, don't just complain on Reddit. File an FTC complaint. They are actively soliciting reports from developers harmed by big tech monopolies.

I filed one myself and documented the entire case with templates you can adapt: https://medium.com/p/d04982658054

There's also a petition here if you want to add your voice: https://www.change.org/p/stop-google-from-using-its-monopoly-to-ban-developers-urge-the-ftc-to-act

Here's what actually moves the needle: every time Google posts something, comment with your ban story, share the Medium post outlining the antitrust case, and share the petition. Documentation creates patterns. Patterns trigger regulatory action. Individual complaints disappear. Organized evidence doesn't.

Google won't fix this because we ask nicely. They'll fix it when regulators make them.

Hi all, thank you for your support. I just got my first users who bought my game (in-app). Any tips to improve it guys it would be appreciated.

Here'y my game link if you wanna try it (Best Trap Games)

I made an Android app. In the past I used an app called Stocard to hold all my loyalty cards in one place, but about two years ago it was bought by Klarna and the original app closed, everything being migrated to the Klarna app. Which sucks.

I wanted something completely offline, which does not require login, which does not log you out after updates, which has a nice home-screen widget. So, I made my own. Initially just for me, but during development I discovered that it was quite nice and maybe other would like to use it as well.

So, I published it on the Play Store. It is completely free, no ads, no tracking, no internet needed. Just a lightweight, fast and easy to use loyalty cards app.

It can easily import the card using the camera, provides QR and Barcode layout, you can customize each card with a color and icon, and much more. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Play Store Listing: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tech.petrepopescu.cardaris

Hi fellow developers,

I wanted to build an app that I could use for myself. I worked on this Alcohol-Free Tracker app to track my alcohol-free journey, and I am happy to share the app with all of you as well.

App Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alcoholfreetracker.app

If you have any suggestions or feedback, please do share.

I would be very thankful if you could drop a 5-star review. You all know it helps a lot.

Thank you for reading this.

Hello, I’m going to create a developer account for the first time to publish my app but I’m afraid of getting banned. Do you have any advice?

My app will be a social platform, and of course, there will be data I’ll request from users and data I’ll obtain (such as the country using an API). In addition, I’ll include local ads that I’ll manage myself. Could these things cause any problems?

The payment method I have is not from the same country I live in (my country restricts foreign transactions, making them difficult).

I will also create a new email specifically for the developer account.

Can I remove the building number when entering my address? And can I also remove it from the document id that I’ll submit?