Action Required: Your app is not compliant with Google Play Policies.

Tips on how to resolve this Android app issue.

Being an Android dev for almost half a decade, I observed the significant and drastic change in Android open-source technology. I also noticed the compliance and listing terms of Google Play, its main app listing platform.

Lately, I saw one of my listed apps which does not entirely collect user data online, had this issue:

So for this article, I will cover how to fix this specific issue: Google Play’s Data Safety Form. Also, make sure your app does not entirely collect user data. Or else, you might need to re-evaluate and check the Data Safety Form further and fill out the form accordingly on what fits your app.

Without further ado, here’s how you can resolve it in simple steps:

1. Go to your Google Play Console on the concerned app’s dashboard.
2. Scroll down to the bottom-most part of the left sidebar, and click on App content under the Policy section.
3. Scroll on the App content page, look for Data safety and click on Manage.
4. The first step of the Data safety page will be the Overview. Here you will be briefed about the form, data to be collected, and things you will disclose to your user. They also provided links for further explanations. After reading, click on Next.
5. It will bring you to the second step of Data safety: Data collection and security. Here you click Yes on the three radio button inputs:
   - Does your app collect or share any required user data types?
   - Is all of the user data collected by your app encrypted in transit?
   - Do you provide a way that users can request to delete their data?
6. Then you proceed to the third step of Data safety: the Data types. Here you will disclose what data types you collect from your users. So in this section, scroll down to the bottom-most part, and look for Device or other IDs. Click on Show on the right-most part of its panel, mark the checkbox, and click Next.
7. You are now on the fourth step of the Data safety page: the Data usage and handling. You will disclose how you handle the data types you collect from your users. So click on Start on the right-most panel of the Device or other IDs. Here are the answers to the following set of checkbox forms provided. Afterward, click on Save.
   - Is this data collected, shared, or both? Collected
   - Is this data processed ephemerally? Yes
   - Is this data required for your app, or can users choose whether it’s collected? Users can choose whether this data is collected
   - Why is this user data collected? App functionality
8. Finally, click Next and then Save. The app will be reviewed and approved by the Google Play team.

I hope this finally fixes your issue. Note that this may vary depending on how your app collects and handles user data. Have a good day, and keep coding!

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