Upcoming Android and Google Play Deadlines

Our platform and policies constantly evolve to improve the user experience and create a safer ecosystem. This page is updated with the latest information about these policies, including any changes you may be required to make. Thanks for keeping your apps and games up to date.

Google Play Developer Policy Center

Timeline

Date Policy Update
Dec 2020 New and existing apps must comply with the November policy update
Jan 2021 New apps must comply with Payments policy update
New apps submitted after April 16, 2020 need approval to access background location
Mar 2021 Apps published before April 16, 2020 need approval to access background location
Aug 2021 New apps must target at least Android 11 (API level 30)
New apps and games must publish with the Android App Bundle
New apps using Play Billing must use Billing Library version 3 or newer
Sep 2021 Existing apps must comply with Payments policy update
Nov 2021 Updates to existing apps using Play Billing must use Billing Library version 3 or newer

Our updated Play Payments Policy takes effect for new apps on January 20, 2021 and existing apps on September 30, 2021. Apps that don’t comply by the deadline will be removed.

Blog Post Policybytes Video

Developers will soon require approval to access background location. Starting September 30, 2020, you can submit your apps in Google Play Console to receive feedback on your compliance with the new policy.

  • Starting January 18, 2021, all new apps submitted to Google Play after April 16, 2020 that access background location permissions will need approval before they can go live.
  • Starting March 29, 2021, all apps published prior to April 16, 2020 that access location in the background must receive approval or they will be removed from Google Play. Even if location usage is in the foreground, developers must complete the declaration in the App Content > Permissions > Location Permissions section of Play Console.
Policy page Declaration form tips

We recently announced an update to our Google Play Policies related to Package Visibility permissions and expanded use cases for SMS/Call Log. We also added clarifications to our News, Sensitive Events, Spam, and Mobile Unwanted Software policies. New and existing apps have until December 16th, 2020 to comply with these policies or they will be removed from Google Play.

Policy Center

Starting August 2, 2021, all new apps using Play Billing must use Billing Library version 3 or newer. By November 1, 2021, all updates to existing apps using Play Billing must use Billing Library version 3 or newer.

More info Migration guide

After August 2021, all new apps and games will be required to publish with the Android App Bundle format. New apps and games must use Play Asset Delivery or Play Feature Delivery to deliver assets or features that exceed a download size of 150MB. Private enterprise apps are not subject to this requirement.

More info

When you upload an app bundle or APK, it needs to meet Google Play’s target API level requirements. By August 2021, new apps must target at least Android 11 (API level 30). By November 2021, all apps that are being updated must target at least Android 11 (API level 30). Until then, new apps and app updates must target at least Android 10 (API level 29). Wear OS apps are not subject to these new requirements.

More info

Past deadlines

Starting November 1, 2020, all apps that use in-app subscriptions must support Account Hold and Restore. At the same time, all subscriptions will be automatically opted into Pause and Resubscribe unless these features are proactively turned off in Google Play Console.

Blog post