Google have updated their mobile store developer policy, making it more readable, accessible and taking transparency to the next level.

1. What’s New with the New
Google Play Developer Policy 2016?

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
The gist
Good Cop, Bad Cop, Google Cop
The policy’s site headline says it all
A Friendlier Court
The New Policies: Similar Logos
The New Policies: Ad Regulations
The New Policies: Privacy
Transparency, Transparency, Transparency

3. Google has done an Extreme Makeover Edition of their
Play Store Developer Policy (on March 1st)
THE GIST
The change to policies themselves is relatively minor. It’s the overall
attitude that changed - transparency
Policies and regulations have been made much clearer and developer
friendly.

4. GOOD COP, BAD COP, GOOGLE COP
Google has got a bad rep for being too lenient where's Apple has always
been strict
That hasn’t changed with the new policies, quite the opposite: Google
strives to be the better cop. The one who doesn’t just write you a ticket,
but also takes the time to explain why.

5. The policy’s site headline says it all – “Let’s build the world’s most trusted
store for apps and games.” It’s really what it’s all about.

6. The new policy website now provides detailed information about violations
that got your app rejected, as well as course of action and solutions.
Policies have become much more detailed and clear:
A FRIENDLIER COURT
 The policy is broken down into categories and
subcategories.
 It includes possible violations, accompanied by
detailed imaged examples.
 You also get a list of best practices when
Google has some to offer.

7. When you are rejected, you get referenced to the policy which you violated.
When that policy is clear and accessible, the rejection is much softer.
The highlight of this renovation
is lowering developer’s frustration upon
rejection of their app and offering more
information to help them overcome these
issues.

8. If an app’s name or logo looks too
similar to that of an official app, it will
get rejected.
THE NEW POLICIES
Copycatting of other apps is strictly forbidden:

9. Ad Regulations:
THE NEW POLICIES
Ads cannot attempt to look like official device notifications
Ads must always provide a way to easily dismiss them.
Anything that forces the user to click on the ad in order to dismiss it is
completely prohibited.
Remember:
Ads are part of your app and you are responsible for their behavior!

10. Any app accessing user data must provide a privacy policy, detailing
which information it collects and with whom that information is shared.
THE NEW POLICIES
Privacy Regulations:

11. SafeDK’s In-App Protection will tell you if an SDK is accessing the list of
installed apps, as well as provide you with the option to remotely
deactivate the SDK from accessing this list without releasing a new
version to the store! Your users are safe!

12. TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY
Google’s change to the developer policy is about making life easier for
both developers and end users.
Google improved developer experience by:
 Adding categories and subcategories and
providing clear examples
 Making policies more readable
 explaining the review process and making it
rejections clearer

13. By introducing the review process and setting a
threshold for which apps get through, it has took
a step forward in protecting users and giving
them a selection of higher quality apps.
TRANSPARENCY, … - CONT.

14. THANK YOU!
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