We're expanding our Families Policy Requirements policy to prohibit developers of anonymous chat apps from targeting children.

We're expanding our Age-Restricted Content and Functionality policy to apply to anonymous chat and random chat apps.

We're removing geofencing as an approved foreground services use case. Developers can instead use the Geofence API for this use case.

Android developer verification goes into effect. Apps from participating stores in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand must be registered by a verified developer to be installed on certified Android devices.

We're also updating Play Console requirements to meet Android developer verification requirements. While 99% of apps on Play have been registered automatically, you should check your Play Console Home page to register any remaining apps to avoid global removal from Google Play and ensure a seamless user installation experience.

We're expanding our Child Safety Standards policy to apply to anonymous chat and random chat apps.

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 better protect user privacy, we're updating the 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.

Our SMS and Call Log Permissions policy will no longer permit account verification via phone call as a use case for the READ_CALL_LOG permission. To securely verify accounts without requiring sensitive app permissions, use the Digital Credentials API instead, either directly or through a verification provider built upon it, or the SMS Retriever API. Please refer to this page for additional alternative APIs.