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Privacy policy link for Google Play
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Solved androidgoogle-playprivacy-policy
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I am having trouble here, this is my first app and there is so much involved, I did not think it was this hard, currently I am stuck on adding a link to my app's PRIVACY POLICY my app is very simple.

It does not share any data but I do use Google Analytics, one more thing is that I do not have a website, so supposedly I had the privacy policy link where would I put it apart from a site I own?

Thanks.

Fanchie answered 7/7, 2016 at 18:37 Comment(1)
Check this out: https://mcmap.net/q/169100/-warning-of-google-play-developer-policy-violation-action-required – Danger
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You might not need one. You could inform the user in-app that you're using Analytics. Otherwise, you can check out free sites like Google Sites to easily create a web-page with its own URL that you can link to.

Panier answered 7/7, 2016 at 18:46 Comment(6)
i wanted to skip it but unfortunately its a mandate, the publish app feature is highlighted. – Fanchie
@Fanchie isn't there a checkbox right beneath it where you can check off for "Not submitting a privacy policy URL at this time" ? – Panier
yes there is, but after i check it, the publish app option is hightlighted, when I click on the Why cant I publish app it says a privacy policy link is needed, it seems google reviewed its regulations, its now a mandate. – Fanchie
From Google Support pages: "Adding a privacy policy to your app's store listing helps users evaluate which apps to download. You're not required to post a privacy policy unless your app is part of Designed for Families." What if you chech it, then press "Save Draft", do you then get the option to publish it? – Panier
Nobody should ever think of following such advice, which is basically asking you to breach both Google's T&C and the law. – Wilke
@AndreaGiannangelo just for clarification, you mean by "such advice" the part where he said "You could inform the user in-app that you're using Analytics.", not the part which says you can use Google Sites to host your pp, right? – Cruciform
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website hosting

checkout GitHub's GitHub Pages services. they host a simple static website for you for free! basic instructions:

  1. create a public repository on GitHub named [username].github.io (replace "[username]")
  2. commit an index.html file to the root of the repo.
  3. you can see your site online at http://[username].github.io/.

privacy policy

update 2023.07.23:

as per comments, the below link for privacy policy template no longer works 😔

old answer

basic privacy policy template here....it'll give you a template that you can simply copy and paste and modify to fit your needs. unlike most other places that are after your money and/or personal information!!! 😠😠😠

Cockoftherock answered 2/5, 2017 at 6:39 Comment(1)
The Docracy product is no longer available to use :( – Inconsistency
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This is a simple guide from google itself. you can host your site in google sites no need to host github sites

Yatzeck answered 28/6, 2020 at 16:35 Comment(0)
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Simplest steps to resolve Google Play Console privacy policy link issue:

  1. Create your own app privacy policy.
  2. After created, hosted in any website hosting (In my case, I hosted in GitHub Pages) and copy the privacy policy url.
  3. Pasted the privacy policy url in the Google Play Console Privacy Policy section.
  4. Save and wait for review.
  5. Done!
Schargel answered 14/2, 2021 at 3:52 Comment(0)
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You might not need one. You could inform the user in-app that you're using Analytics. Otherwise, you can check out free sites like Google Sites to easily create a web-page with its own URL that you can link to.

Panier answered 7/7, 2016 at 18:46 Comment(6)
i wanted to skip it but unfortunately its a mandate, the publish app feature is highlighted. – Fanchie
@Fanchie isn't there a checkbox right beneath it where you can check off for "Not submitting a privacy policy URL at this time" ? – Panier
yes there is, but after i check it, the publish app option is hightlighted, when I click on the Why cant I publish app it says a privacy policy link is needed, it seems google reviewed its regulations, its now a mandate. – Fanchie
From Google Support pages: "Adding a privacy policy to your app's store listing helps users evaluate which apps to download. You're not required to post a privacy policy unless your app is part of Designed for Families." What if you chech it, then press "Save Draft", do you then get the option to publish it? – Panier
Nobody should ever think of following such advice, which is basically asking you to breach both Google's T&C and the law. – Wilke
@AndreaGiannangelo just for clarification, you mean by "such advice" the part where he said "You could inform the user in-app that you're using Analytics.", not the part which says you can use Google Sites to host your pp, right? – Cruciform
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I had massive problems with my privacy policy getting rejected, no matter what I wrote in it. But in the end it turned out that there was nothing wrong with the actual contents of my policy, the problem was instead that I hosted it on my web page using a client-rendered Vue application. I guess that this prevented Google's system from properly crawling the URL that I supplied to them. When pasted the same privacy policy in a Google Docs and used the "Publish to Web" option in order to get a URL, it got approved right away.

A pity that the error message wasn't more clear on that.

Nonary answered 24/8, 2022 at 13:34 Comment(2)
I am having similar difficulties, the rejection message is useless, simply spitting out a boilerplate of possible problems without indicating what is specifically being rejected. You don't know what to fix. – Coretta
Thanks for the tip! I didn't know about the "Publish to Web" on Google Docs. Did this and got the app published :) – Dreibund
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My app doesn't share or collect any data, but I need to complete data safety form and part of it is a link to privacy policy.

Privacy Policies are very important legal agreements. Make absolutely sure you are not using any 3rd party solutions that might be tracking your users unwittingly. Adding analytics or user login to your app usually requires a more comprehensive privacy policy.

If your app really doesn't collect data remotely or use third party services that do, then that makes your privacy policy very simple. In that case, I suggest stating the following:

  • Your app doesn't track users
  • Your app doesn't collect data; or that data is stored securely on the user's device and stays private
  • Data is not shared with your company or any third parties without permission (since you might want to collect user feedback like bug reports with the user's explicit permission)

You can easily write your own privacy policy, but here's a minimal template for the bullet points above:

app_name_or_legal_entity's commitment to privacy is simple: We don't track you! We don't collect or transmit your data; instead, information you submit in our app is stored privately and securely on your device. Your information won't ever be shared with us or any third party without your explicit permission.

Keep in mind that this is subjective, but I suggest keeping it short and adding a section where you explain why your business doesn't collect user data. It could be as simple as stating something like "We believe privacy is a human right."

Ephemeris answered 1/5, 2022 at 17:40 Comment(0)
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There are many reasons why you'd want a privacy policy, one is the fact that you are using Google Analytics. Here is what the Google Analytics terms of use say under "7. Privacy":

You will have and abide by an appropriate Privacy Policy and will comply with all applicable laws, policies, and regulations relating to the collection of information from Visitors. You must post a Privacy Policy and that Privacy Policy must provide notice of Your use of cookies that are used to collect data. You must disclose the use of Google Analytics, and how it collects and processes data. (...)

Sure, you can trick your way around the requirement, but that doesn't mean the problem goes away. You can find a lot of information around the web about how to write a privacy policy for apps and more, the advice I'd give depends on a lot of factors.

How to get your privacy policy done:
Proper disclosure to start this section: I work at iubenda where we create solutions for problems like yours, our software generates privacy policies based on user input.

  • I've posted about privacy policies for the Play Store on iubenda's company blog a while ago, this might help you out and give you the right ideas.
  • iubenda also helps with your problem of not having a site, the privacy policy is generated and hosted on our site, you can just copy-paste the link into the app and the app store.
Ungley answered 8/7, 2016 at 11:8 Comment(0)
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You might be able to click the "Not submitting a privacy policy URL at this time" check box at the "Store Listing" page:

Screenshot from Google Play Store Store Listing page

enter image description here

But even if you don't collect personal data, you're still required by Google Analytics Terms of Service to have the Privacy Policy agreement:

Screenshot from Google Analytics Terms of Service

enter image description here

However, it's important to keep in mind that if you use third party tools like Google Analytics you may also be required by those parties to have the Privacy Policy.

But Google Play Store requires you to have the policy before the app is public. Here's a quote from the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement:

You agree that if you use the Store to distribute Products, you will protect the privacy and legal rights of users. If the users provide you with, or your Product accesses or uses, user names, passwords, or other login information or personal information, you must make the users aware that the information will be available to your Product, and you must provide a legally adequate privacy notice and protection for those users.

Inquest answered 21/1, 2017 at 17:27 Comment(0)
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There are many websites to make a privacy policy like this and this. You can create the privacy policy there and then copy the text. Then, you can host a file on GitHub and then set this text in the file

Devotion answered 30/4, 2022 at 4:27 Comment(4)
Both generators have a field with personally identifiable information that you collect I should fill in. But I don't collect any personally identifiable information. – Veliger
I used the second generator and omitted the field personally identifiable information that you collect and it generated this file. I don't understand it at all. Can it be used as a privacy policy? – Veliger
Yes. You can use it as privacy policy – Devotion
@Veliger If you don't collect any user information at all, your privacy policy does not need to be complex. See my answer. – Ephemeris

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