Android 13 AD_ID Declaration - Not Recognized by Play Console

Question

In an Android app that targets Android 13 (SDK 33), I have declared the required AD_ID permission in the app manifest:

<uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID"/>

However, when I upload the app to the play console for release the following error pops up advising me that the permission needs to be declared.

Error
Your declaration on Play Console says that your app uses advertising ID. Your manifest file doesn't include the com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID permission.

If you don't include this permission in your manifest file, your advertising identifier will be zeroed out. This may break your advertising and analytics use cases, and cause loss of revenue. Learn more

You can remove these errors by updating your advertising ID declaration

info_outline
Apps that target Android 13 (API 33) without the AD_ID permission will have their advertising identifier zeroed out. This may impact advertising and analytics use-cases. Learn more

Update declaration

Release without permission

I do use an AD_ID for app functionality and don't want it to be zeroed out because I didn't declare the permission, but I have declared the permission in the app manifest Google just doesn't recognize it.

Does it need to be added anywhere else? Is this the correct way to declare it? Any other thoughts or ideas appreciated.

Thanks

Rotow

Seems to me like everything is fine and it's just Google who is a slowpoke. Have you checked your merged manifest file to be sure that this permission hasn't disappeared somewhere? – Rigorism

I figured as much and that is more than likely the case (hopefully), it is also in the merged manifest file. – Rotow

Then I would suggest assembling a new build and publishing it again, and if it's not helping - probably ping support. This restriction is relatively fresh, as well as v33 targeting, so it could be some kind of bug from their side. – Rigorism

Thank you for your suggestions, will try a clean and rebuild and see if that works. – Rotow

It must be on Google's end. I did the clean and rebuild, When submitting, it does show as a declared permission but still shows that error. I'll wait it out for now. – Rotow

I am having a similar problem, when uploading my app, it only gives me errors with android 13, of the type "java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.Integer cannot be cast to java.lang.String", "java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'void com.android.internal.app.procstats.UidState.updateCombinedState(int, long)' on a null object reference" and "com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox:interactor" and I cannot continue in the publication process, why does that happen?Are these new permissions issues? – Degraw

Do you resolve this problem? – Stefaniestefano

@Rotow we have the exact same issue, we want the AD_ID so our referral system can work but we get that concerning error when trying to upload even though we clearly have it listed in our manifest file. Did you figure out a way passed this? – Kester

I ran into the same issue. When I contacted Google Play Developer Support, they told me they couldn't see the error message on their end (and sent a screenshot from their system confirming this). They ended up recommending clicking "Release without permission". – Sensational

@Kester you can select to ignore that warning and push to production. I did that shortly after posting this, about 3 months ago. Everything seems to be working normal so pretty sure it’s a false error message and can safely be ignored once you verify the AD_ID permission is included in your manifest. Additionally, and I forget where, but somewhere in the release info online it will show that the permission is included in the release. – Rotow

Got it. Between your confirmation and Google's response, I think we can safely ignore this error. We emailed Google about it and they responded "Upon checking, you already have successfully updated your bundle with the com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID. This means that your declaration is now in sync with the AAB." Appreciate it a lot and hope this thread helps others with the same issue, because I imagine it'll be a lot when SDK 33 is required. Hopefully Google will have fixed it by then, though. – Kester

This is still an issue. I guess I go with "Release without..." – Probst

I have the same issue with google play. I am sure I have the AD_ID permission I have a declaration in play App Content -> Advertising ID -> Yes (Analytics checked). However, the release has an error and I cannot roll out new version. I opened a Google Play support ticket and the person answers sending me links that don't really help (I tend to think this is a bot answering). – Notional

Anyway to verify manifest entry you can do aapt dump permissions release.apk | grep AD_ID or bundletool dump manifest --bundle=release.aab | grep AD_ID or examine the content of manifest-merger-blame-*-release-report.txt somewhere in app/build/outputs – Notional