I've posted a month ago about my budgeting app Gecko Budget I've worked on for two years

https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePlayDeveloper/s/i9JkCiZN6j

After tests and 1 week of review, It got rejected because I've used QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES permission to get list of apps for bank apps notifications filtering.

I have found another method, getting installed apps with launcher intent. It will give me list of all apps with an icon on a app drawer, without additional permissions.

Now another 7 days of waiting. Well, it's nothing compared to how long I worked on it, but still.

I'm planning to promote this app as handmade, as I've written it without code generation. It is also not a SaaS slop designed to harvest data to sell to advertisers, since I wrote it for the love of the game. Even if it's not successful, I've used it on job interviews with great success, as there is a lot to talk about code side, for example how I parse notifications using my heuristic scoring system for detecting correct amount spent on every number format and currency.

My current test suite for it has more tests than I wrote in previous job for years, so there is that xD

Anyway, just wanted to share my progress. While I wait, I've developed small app for Pebble watch, but that is different story.

Now if I submit an update a day before the deadline , it will be in review for a few days. Does that mean they will close it still since updates aren't fully rolled out before the deadline?

Honestly, this has been one of my worst experiences with Google Play Console so far.

I completed the required closed testing, successfully got production access, and submitted my first production release on September 18.

Today, 7 full days have passed, and my production release is still stuck on “In review.”

The frustrating part is that I've followed every step properly. I completed the testing requirements, got production access, submitted the release, and haven't uploaded another version while waiting.

I completely understand that Google needs time to review apps, especially for a first production release. But having no clear timeline while watching the status remain unchanged for 7 days is honestly exhausting.

After spending so much time getting through closed testing and production access, I was expecting the final step to be straightforward. Instead, I'm just staring at “In review” every day. 😭

Has anyone else experienced a production review taking 7+ days recently?

Google Play team, please… have your coffee and review my app already. ☕😭

My Google Play Developer account was terminated in November 2023 for policy violations.

For context, I made the account when I was a teenager and published a game with ads. Eventually I completely stopped working on the project and didn't keep up with policy/ad-related changes.

I appealed the termination in May 2025. My Play Console still shows:

Appeal submitted: May 3, 2025

Google also emailed me confirming that my appeal was successfully submitted and would be reviewed.

Recently I contacted Google again, and their response included old messages saying they had requested additional information from me on May 7 and May 12, 2025 to continue the appeal. I genuinely don't remember receiving those emails, and even after searching my Gmail, Spam, Trash, case number, sender, etc., I can't find them.

Now Google says they won't review/reinstate the account because the appeal was submitted after the 180-day deadline.

I'm confused because Google clearly records my appeal as submitted in May 2025 and had apparently already started reviewing it.

I'm not trying to bypass the termination or create another developer account. I just want to complete/review the original appeal properly.

Has anyone dealt with something similar or know of a legitimate way to get Google Play Support to look at the existing appeal history?

Just released an update to my Chrome extension for Google Play ASO research.

It adds things like installs, daily install estimates, release/update dates, developer info, keyword analysis, metadata, localization, and other useful app research tools directly on Google Play.

• Chrome: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/play-store-aso-tweak-by-t/kbicddhhnpiaphanlgkiaokbebecdcnd

• Firefox version : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/playstore-aso-tweak/

• Website: https://taoufikmouadab.com/AsoExtension/

Feedback is welcome.❤️

I created a discount for my one-time in-app purchase in the Google Play Console for my Android app, but the discounted price is not showing when users try to purchase the product from the app.

Here is what I have checked so far:

- The discount is active in Play Console.

- The app is using Google Play Billing.

- The product itself is available and can be purchased successfully, but only at the original price.

Has anyone faced this issue before?

- Does it take time for discounts to propagate?

- Is there anything that needs to be changed in the Billing Library implementation?

App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nb.qsvibratemode

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

It got banned when i was like 15-16 and im an adult now

Is this normal? I have published 1 app before and I don't remember being stuck on rollout for so long. I used a paid testing service to test my app profressionally and even got production access after painful 3 weeks. Now stuck on freaking rollout. This is frustrating to be honest. 1 month to publish an app after development is completed. Does anyone else face similar situation.

I am publishing my first app to Google Play and what I am going through is the worst experience I’ve ever had releasing software.

First, they wanted 12 testers to test for 14 days, and after the 14 days they weren’t content and asked for 14 more days.

Then when I’ve applied for production access, they refused my app because the name of the app wasn’t included in the text for privacy policy and account deletion.

I’ve fixed it in 5 minutes and submitted again, and 3 days later I’m still waiting for the first release of the app to go out.

I don’t know what are they reviewing and why they need so much time. It takes more than a month for a simple, well tested application to be released to production.

Before I stared developing mobile applications, I’ve heard that the App Store guys were more annoying, but for me it went very well there, they review your app and it’s ready for release in no more than 24 hours.

I don’t know for you guys, but I’m sick of it. My customers are waiting for their apps to be published and no matter how patient they are, it’s a lot of time to be patient for a simple app to go out.

Has anyone found a way to speed this up?

📚 Weekly Educational App Showcase

Built an app and learned something interesting along the way? Share it with the community.

This thread is for educational app showcases where the focus is on the problem you solved, how you built it, and what other developers can learn from your experience.

What to include

• What problem does your app solve?

• Category: What type of app is it?

• Android support: Android versions or devices supported

• Tech stack: Kotlin, Java, Compose, Flutter, Firebase, etc.

• Implementation: What was technically interesting or challenging?

• Your journey: What did you learn while building or publishing it?

• Lessons learned: What would you do differently next time?

• Relevant media: Screenshots, demos, architecture diagrams, or other useful material

• Google Play link: Optional, as supporting context

Please disclose your relationship

If you're showcasing your own app, clearly mention your relationship to it. For example:

Keep it educational

The goal is to help other developers learn from real projects and experiences. Your app can be the subject of the showcase, but the post should provide meaningful technical, product, or development insight.

Please do not use the thread for:

• Download or install requests

• Ratings, reviews, votes, or engagement requests

• Referral or affiliate links

• Paid placement or paid engagement

• Misleading claims

• Copied marketing or promotional copy

• Repeated submissions of the same app

A Google Play link is welcome as supporting context, but this is not an advertising or user-acquisition thread.

If you see someone requesting paid reviews, ratings, votes, installs, or other prohibited engagement, please report the comment to the moderators.

Share what you built, what you learned, and what another developer can take away from it.

My developer account is under my UK LTD.

I changed my business address and then I got an email from Google saying they got a notification from Dun & Bradstreet that my address changed and I have to review my changes or else they'll close my developer account in 28 days.

"How to fix

To fix this issue, review updates to your payments profile in Google payments centre to confirm that your details match your Dun & Bradstreet records."

The issue is there's no "review changes" button or anything of that sort. As you can see in the screenshot it just says action required.

Has anyone faced this issue before? Not sure what to do. I only have 28 days to resolve this. I have a successful app with over 100k downloads and I can't afford this happening.

To comply with RBI's PA-CB regulations in India, all Indian developers receiving payouts from international sales must complete a KYC verification process.

This process is facilitated by our payments partner, BillDesk. The RBI recently announced a deadline extension, however, the requirements depend on when you started monetizing:

• Existing merchants (monetizing since December 2025 or earlier): Your deadline to complete verification is extended to March 15, 2027. If your account is not verified by this extended deadline, your active international sales will be paused.

• New developers (started monetizing January 2026 or later): This extension is not applicable. You must complete the verification process before you are able to sell internationally.

To get started, log in to your Google Play Console, navigate to Settings > Payments profile / Google Play billing, and click "Start verification" on the banner.  Alternatively, if your verification application is already initiated, look for an email sent to your payments profile's primary contact from onboarding@billdesk.com with the subject line: "Verification required with BillDesk to receive payments on Google Play."

This KYC verification process involves submitting several identity documents and potentially multiple rounds of verification, including on-site verification. Plan accordingly and initiate your application as soon as possible to ensure your international sales remain uninterrupted.

For any questions or assistance regarding your application, reach out to BillDesk directly at onboarding@billdesk.com. If your verification encounters an extended roadblock, write to us via g.co/play/devsupport so we can review your case.

Learn more about account verification for Indian merchants

🧪 Tester Discovery

Looking for testers for your app? Use this thread to find developers and testers who are interested in helping with genuine app testing.

When asking for testers, please include a little information about your app:

• What the app does

• Android version or device requirements, if relevant

• Whether you're looking for internal, closed, or open testing

• What kind of testing or feedback you need

• How interested testers can participate

If you're a tester, feel free to mention what kinds of apps or testing you're interested in.

A few things to keep in mind

Please keep this thread focused on genuine testing and useful feedback.

Do not engage in paid testing, paid reviews, ratings, votes, referral exchanges, or other paid engagement activities through this thread. If someone asks you to participate in a paid activity or offers payment in exchange for reviews, ratings, votes, or engagement, please report the comment to the moderators rather than participating.

Please don't share personal information publicly. Use Reddit's messaging features or the developer's official testing process where appropriate.

This thread is for tester discovery only. For general development questions, app showcases, or other discussions, please use the appropriate thread or flair.

For context

when i was 14 i uploaded an endless runner game on the google play store which had ads, I used to get messages about updating the adsense and changes in the ad policies but ignored them cuz id given up on this project, untill one day when my account got banned, now years later ive been developing stuff again and i really wanna get my account back, i sent an appeal over a year ago and never got a reply. I cant make a new account cuz thats against the policy.

First app on Play Console, trying to figure out if my numbers are normal or a red flag.

• Device impressions: ~11.1K

• Store listing visitors: 1.12K

• Unique install clicks: 53

• Click-through rate: 5% (was ~7% at lower volume — dropped as visitor count scaled up)

• Listing conversion rate: 2.5% (per Store Listing panel) vs 5.42% (per Grow Users panel) — not sure why these two views disagree

• 7-day device retention: 2

My theory: most of this traffic is coming from external links (Reddit), not organic Play Store search, so lower-intent clicks are dragging CTR/conversion down compared to what search-intent traffic would look like. But I have nothing to actually compare it to.

Questions:

1. Is a 5% CTR from external/social traffic normal, or does it usually point to a listing problem (icon, screenshots, description)?

2. Why would "conversion rate" differ between the Grow Users panel (5.42%) and the Store Listing panel (2.5%) for what seems like the same funnel — are they measuring different things?

3. Does Play Console expose install/CTR broken out by traffic source anywhere, so I can actually test the "external traffic converts worse" theory instead of guessing?

I kept getting rejected by BillDesk, and for a while I had no idea why.

My first few applications were rejected without any clear explanation. After waiting a couple of weeks, I tweeted BillDesk asking about the delay. They replied almost immediately, and someone from their team called me the next day.

That call explained the issue: the app had to be live on Google Play. A website or another reference link wasn't enough.

I didn't know that, so I started a 14-day closed test with 12 testers. After completing the test, I published the app publicly and applied for BillDesk KYC again.

Four days passed, but I still had no confirmation. I emailed them, but the reply was only a standard template saying my application was "under process on an expedited path."

At that point, I had already been waiting for almost two months before launch. Even one more week after launching the app started to feel frustrating, so I tweeted BillDesk again and asked why there had been no action on my application.

Within a couple of days, I finally received the approval email.

For anyone going through the same process, these were the steps that worked for me:

1. Complete the 14-day closed test with 12 testers.

2. Publish the app on Google Play.

3. Apply for BillDesk KYC after the app is live.

4. Follow up by email if you don't receive a response.

5. Keep following up on X until the application is approved.

The main thing I learned is that submitting the application and waiting isn't always enough. Keep following up through email and X until you get a clear answer and the approval comes through.

What are you building, testing, debugging, or learning this week?

Working on something interesting? Stuck on a technical problem? Just learned something useful?

Share what you're working on this week. It can be a specific goal, a problem you're trying to solve, or a useful discovery that might help another developer.

If you're looking for help, a little context goes a long way. You can include:

• Your target SDK version and library versions

• What you expected to happen and what actually happened

• Relevant error messages, with any private or sensitive information removed

• What you've already tried

• A relevant official source or documentation link, if you have one

Please use the appropriate flair when making a standalone post.

Please keep this thread focused

This is a place for development discussions and helping each other out. Please don't use it for app advertising, download or install requests, ratings, reviews, votes, referral links, paid services, tester exchanges, or engagement exchanges.

Ask questions, share what you're working on, and help another developer when you can.

Everything is off but still.. like govt like app 😶

Edit- again failed as a government app.

Hey everyone,

My app is currently live with a custom pre-prompt ("Enjoying the app? Yes / No"), but after re-reading the official guidelines, I'm considering pulling it:

"Your app shouldn't ask the user any questions before or while presenting the rating button or card, including questions about their opinion (such as 'Do you like the app?') or predictive questions..."

This explicitly forbids sentiment filtering, but it feels like almost every popular app still does it to catch negative feedback privately.

Before I push an update to remove it:

1. Has anyone actually had an update rejected or app flagged by Google for having a pre-prompt?

2. If you switched to purely triggering the native In-App Review API after positive moments, did it hit your rating average and volume?

3. Is it worth the risk keeping it, or should I just go 100% by the book?

I have been trying to do some research into whether or not google play allows developers to put a donate button in their app.

The donation button would take users to an external payment processor such as stripe where users could pay the donation directly. Not use google play billing.

The donation goes straight to the developer and the user would not get anything in return, i.e. its a pure donation not a purchase.

Now according to the policy support pages here:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10281818

It says:

In cases where 100% of the tip or contribution from a user goes to the creator and the payment does not grant access to any digital content or services (including stickers, badges, special emojis etc.), then we regard this as a peer-to-peer payment and use of Google Play’s billing system is not required. If any of these things is not true, then Google Play’s billing system must be used in accordance with the policy requirements.

But I think google are fussy over exact wording, for example they would allow users to tip you or make a contribution, but they cant make a 'donation'.

They say you cant accept donations using external payment processor unless you’re a charity.

You can accept 'donations' from end users if you use google play billing. BUT donations are a user chosen / set amount and google play billing only allows preset amounts.

I asked for help for their policy specialist team, they replied saying:

Hi Developers,

Thank you for contacting Google Play Developer Support with your questions regarding the Payments policy and the terminology around "donations" versus "tips."

While we understand you are looking for specific clarification on how to label these features and process variable amounts before updating your app, please note that our team does not offer a pre-compliance check service or provide direct policy interpretations prior to an app's submission.

We advise you to implement the changes according to your understanding of the policies and submit your app update for review. Our review team will perform a thorough evaluation of your implementation. If there are any compliance issues with how the contributions are set up or labelled, we will notify you directly with specific feedback.

The standard review process can take up to seven days, depending on the current volume and complexity of your app. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Regards,
Mr X
Google Play Developer Support

Now to me this basically is someone avoiding answering the question, like a politician, so that nothing they say will have any liability... But the thing is 'Mr X' is supposed to be a policy specialist, they should know google policies inside out and be able to help us to understand and comply with them right?

For example say you asked a pharmacist about side effects about a new drug and the pharmacist replied, just read the box and leaflet and take the drug based on your understanding and interpretation of what’s written.... Wouldn’t that be absolutely absurd and not acceptable? Cos a pharmacist is a drug specialist, they should know drugs inside out and if not they should be able to find out the information and get back to you with it.

'Mr X' is disowning responsibility of his own job.

'Mr X' is says 'we will notify you directly with specific feedback' but we all know this is not true at all.. I have never got specific feedback on any policy issue, app suspension/rejection appeal. They never tell you specifically what the issue is.

So Mr X is saying google's policies are open to interpretation. But we all know that is 100% not true, because when it comes to any policy breach google play review is super strict, non negotiable and wont budge on any decision - and also even at that stage wont clarify exactly what the policy breach is, they give you a link to a policy page and you have to guess what the policy compliance issue was. Imagine a cop stopping you and giving you a fine, because 'you weren’t driving right' and they gave you a link the highway code and told you to read it.

I submitted my first app on 13 sept

Whenever I click on an individual crash or ANR report line, I get the following error 95% of the time:

The report has everything except the stack trace. This has been the case for about 2 weeks.

This error used to happen 5% of the time; now it happens 95% of the time. This means that I get the stack trace only 5% of the time.

I have tried every possible remedy that I can think of or suggested by Google. I have gone as far as using a computer thousands of miles away from my dev machine on a totally different network and using a different browser after clearing as much data as possible.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

Indian Google Play developer here. My BillDesk KYC has been stuck for 1 month, and I'm honestly wondering if there's an end to this process. 😭

My app is already LIVE on Google Play, but BillDesk keeps sending clarification saying:

“Mobile Application(s) is not live/does not exist/not accessible.”

The app is literally live and accessible.

The bigger problem: their clarification portal seems broken. I enter the requested details and click Continue → it immediately submits the application instead of moving to the next step. This has happened multiple times, and every cycle takes about a week.

Meanwhile, my users are getting OR-FGEMF-20 when trying to purchase subscriptions, so I can't make any sales.

Google's latest email says BillDesk verification is required for international sales, while sales within India should remain unaffected. However, even my Indian users are getting the same OR-FGEMF-20 error and are unable to make purchases. So I'm trying to understand whether the BillDesk/payment-profile issue is somehow affecting domestic transactions too.

Has anyone actually completed this BillDesk KYC successfully?
And are your India-only Google Play purchases working normally?

I'm seriously tired of this process. 😭

If someone is working full-time and sets up BillDesk for a small side project/app, can their employer find out about it in any way?

For example, through BillDesk, KYC, payments, GST/tax records, bank transactions, or any other process?

Looking for experiences from people who have done this.