Policy announcement: April 15, 2026

You'll have at least 30 days from April 15, 2026 to update your app to comply with the new and updated policy changes below. For more details, go to the Policy Deadlines page.

New policies

• We're introducing the Contacts Permissions policy to govern broad access of users' contacts. Apps that don't need broad access must use the Android Contact Picker, a more secure, easy-to-integrate alternative that minimizes data collection and improves user safety.
• To ensure a safe and trusted ecosystem, we're introducing the Account Transfer policy to require developers to use the official "Transfer ownership" workflow within the Play Console. If eligible, use this process to transfer your developer account.

Updated policies

• To better protect user privacy, we're updating our Location Permissions policy. We're introducing the location button as the recommended minimum scope for precise location in line with our user data and sensitive permissions requirements.
• We're removing geofencing as an approved foreground services use case. Developers can instead use the Geofence API for this use case.

Clarifications

Additionally, we’ve added clarifications to some of our existing policies. Because these changes aren’t new or updated, our enforcement standards and practices remain the same.

• We're clarifying our Photo and Video Permissions policy for developer ease.
• We're clarifying our Age-Restricted Content and Functionality policy so that apps with dating/matchmaking as an incidental feature will not be required to implement Restrict Minor Access in the Play Console, provided they implement and maintain effective alternative age-gating mechanisms to prevent minors from accessing the dating features.

• We're updating our Health and Fitness data guidelines to support granular permissions in Android 16 and newly supported Health Connect data types, including high-sensitivity categories like Menstrual Cycle Phases, Alcohol Consumption, and Symptoms. Additionally, we clarified prohibited use cases to forbid the use of sensitive health data for determining employment or insurance eligibility, or for unauthorized social sharing.

• We're launching a global pilot program for apps incorporating prediction market functions that allow for real-money transactions. Apps that wish to provide real-money functionalities for prediction markets must enroll in this pilot and meet its requirements by June 1, 2026, or will be subject to standard enforcement actions, including potential removal from Google Play.
• All news and magazine apps are reminded to complete the self-declaration in Play Console by May 27, 2026. In-scope apps without this declaration will be removed from Google Play. This policy requirement was announced in April 2025.
• We've introduced a direct help option for policy and other support questions. You can access this new, integrated experience directly within the Help section of Play Console.