What Happens If My App Gets Declined by The Google Play Store?

Google Play Store is an online store where users can download apps from various developers. It has over 10 million active users daily. But what happens if your app gets declined by Google?

If your app has recently been declined by Google, do not worry! It is actually not as catastrophic as it feels and can usually be resolved fairly easily. It happens quite often. The reason behind app rejection is either that the app does not meet the publishing guidelines, or the app has performance issues. Google has made its approval process stricter in recent years allowing them to off bug-free, high-functioning apps for its users. Removing apps from the Play Store that could potentially damage our mobile devices or allow the wrong people to steal personal data benefits us all.

There are several reasons as to why an app is rejected from the Google Play Store. Your app being declined after you’ve put so much time, effort, and resources into it can be scary, but it can be fixed.

Reasons That May Lead to App Rejection:

1.  Nature of the Android mobile phone application

Among different things that are checked in an application, the Google Play store checks for the nature of the mobile phone application. Certain limitations are present in the “Google application submission guidelines”. If the Android application that is submitted for approval contains any limitations, it will straightaway get rejected by the Google play store.  If your Android application consists of any of the following material, it will surely get rejected:

• Content that shows the endangerment of children.
• Content involving different kinds of terrorism and violent acts.
• Showing dangerous products inside the application.
• Content that is sexual in nature.
• Not using decent language in the content.
• Applications that promote gambling.

Among the above-mentioned points, some exceptions are also present regarding the application content. If an application is made for educational purposes or it promotes scientific research, then there will be an exception for your application, and it will get approved by the Google Play store. Sometimes, to get your application approved by the Google play store you must do the necessary adjustments with the application. Remove the content that comes under the limitations of the Google play store and apply it again for the approval process.

2. The application is not complying with the guidelines regarding the user-generated content

In some Android applications, the users create content, and the content is further shared among the community. If the content present among the users is used for harassment and threats, then such an app will be rejected. One solution for fixing this problem is to use a moderation system inside the application that will remove threatening content automatically. Only such content should be allowed in your application that will be user-friendly. The developers of the application should ensure that no one can use the application for promoting harassment and bullying.

3. The metadata of the application must be correct and consistent

Whenever a developer publishes the application over the play store, he must follow a step-by-step procedure. This procedure includes writing the metadata of the application.  The metadata of an application is very important regarding publishing. All the information that is required for the application such as the application description, the name of the developer, application title, category of the application, icons, pictures, and screenshots of the application must be correct and consistent. All information that is included in the metadata must conform with the application itself. Follow the step-by-step procedure of writing the metadata correctly. The information represented in the metadata must be accurate and complete. Whenever the application is reviewed before publishing by the Google play store, the metadata is checked thoroughly. Desired information must be added in the format that is required. Follow the application’s admission guidelines for writing the metadata.

4. The application might be violating intellectual property

Google play store has a very strict policy regarding the intellectual property of an application. If any application violates the intellectual property rights of any other application in the form of a patent or trademark, the application will be immediately rejected by the Google Play store. In case, you have sponsorship from another application, or you are partnering up with another existing application, then proper documentation should be submitted in the form of proof that the developer is not violating the intellectual property rights of other applications. Your application will be banned from the Google play store if you show the wrong affiliation with another application.

5. Your application does not contain the desired functionality and it contains the repetitive nature of the content

One of the key factors that is required for acceptance of an application on the Google Play store is the uniqueness of the application. An application must be unique in its functionality, and it should provide something different to the users. The content of the application must be new. If your application is similar to another application and content is copied from other applications, then it will surely get rejected from the Google play store. If you are publishing multiple Android applications over the play store and applications have similar functionality, then your applications will be removed from the play store as they will be considered as spam. The most important aspect of an application is to provide value to the users. Make sure that your application provides valuable content as well as valuable functionality to the users.

6. Complying the application with the privacy and security policy of Google

The privacy and security of an application is the most important aspect that is checked by the Google Play store before publishing an application. This reason is hard to find whenever an application gets rejected by the Google play store. Google Play store’s main aim is to provide a safe and secure environment for users to download and install apps on their devices. Therefore, the Google Play store rejects any applications that have some malicious type of content and such applications that might misuse the private data of individuals. Your application might be rejected from the Google play store due to the following reasons regarding privacy and data security:

• Your application is responsible for collecting unnecessary information about the users.
• You did not mention in your privacy policy what kind of data you are gathering.
• The privacy policy is not easily shown inside the application.
• Proper action is not present in your application that shows the consent of the users that they are fine about the application using their personal information.
• The application uses different features of the user’s devices without informing them.
• You are not using a secure form of encryption inside your application.
• You did not submit a proper privacy policy on the Google console account.

What To Do If Your Application Is Rejected by Google Play Store?

Do not worry if your application gets rejected by the Google Play Store. There might be a very solid reason present behind your application rejection from the play store. This issue can be resolved very easily. Nowadays, it is very common to get the application rejected from the Google Play Store. One of the simple reasons for the application being rejected is that your application is not following the proper guidelines of the Google Play Store. Sometimes applications get rejected because they have some performance issues. The approval process of the Google Play Store is quite strict to safeguard that all the applications that are published over the Android play store are free of malicious code and the applications protect the user’s devices and privacy.

Check the following points for fixing the application and submit the application again for the approval process on the play store:

• Test your application thoroughly. make sure it does not have any glitches and it is free of crashes.
• Review the description and other assets of the application to ensure that there are no Copyright issues.
• Include privacy policies inside your application to ensure that the application is not doing any data breaches.

Summary

It is very common for applications to get rejected by the Google Play store nowadays. If an application is rejected from the Google Play store, then make sure that the nature of the application follows the guidelines of the “Google Play store submission policies”. The application should not be violating the intellectual property rights of the other applications. Applications should safeguard the privacy and security of the users. The content of the application and the functionality of the application must be unique to be published on the Play Store. The metadata of the application must be correct and consistent, and it should not violate the guidelines provided by Google.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why did Google Play reject my app?

Once Google Play rejects an app from publishing, you will get an email with a notice and the reason for rejection.

What are the reasons for Google Play Store rejects apps?

1. Content against Google Play policies;
2. Wrong meta-data;
3. User-generated content that violates rules;
4. Copyright issues;
5. Violation of privacy and security policy of Google Play;
6. Repetitive content.

What should I do if my app is rejected by Google Play?

You need to review all the possible mistakes. Test your app, and check the text and content. Once you are sure the problem is solved, you can re-upload your App to Google Play.

If you need app development services in Sheffield, don’t hesitate to contact our team for more information.