As an
app developer
, you want to make sure that you can keep your users safe
and your apps secure and stable from any vulnerabilities, including those that
may be introduced by Software Development Kits (SDKs) that you use.
As an
SDK provider
, you don’t want to have your SDK cause an app or game
developer to violate Google Play Developer policies, which can disrupt their
business and expose them to enforcement actions by Google Play.
Learn more about best practices for user safety, whether you're an
app developer using an SDK or an SDK developer.
For app developers
- Before you integrate an SDK into your app,
ensure you know
what permissions it uses, what data it collects, and why. Include this
information in your
Data safety form
.
Note that you as the app developer are responsible for the SDK’s data
collection behavior, even if you don't use a particular function of the SDK.
- Review all
Google Play Developer policies
relating to when you can and cannot extend the use of User Data you have
collected.For use of device location, for example, you must make any sharing
of this data with a third party / SDK known to end users through the
Prominent Disclosure and Consent requirements
.
- Stay up to date with Google Play policy
updates
to make sure an SDK you have included in your app does not cause your app to
violate Play Policies, such as updates to the
Device and Network Abuse Policy
,
Ads Policy
,
and
User Data Policy with respect to Persistent Identifiers
.
- Do not sell personal and sensitive user information.
- If you receive an enforcement notice about an SDK-caused violation in your
app that you need to address, please refer to
this reference
for information on how to resolve it.
- Check out
Google Play SDK Index
to see which SDKs are registered on Google Play Console,
which Android permissions those SDKs use, and more.
For SDK providers
- Understand
Google Play Developer policies
.
- Keep up to date with Google Play policy
updates
to make sure your SDK does not cause apps to violate Play Policies, such as
Device and Network Abuse Policy
,
Ads Policy
,
and
User Data Policy with respect to Persistent Identifiers
.
Apps that use your SDK may be in violation of these policies and therefore may
face enforcement actions by Google Play. For example:
- If your SDK uses Personal and Sensitive user data, then you must ensure
that you have made this clear in your public documentation to apps using
your SDK.
- SDKs with interpreted languages (JavaScript, Python, Lua, etc.) loaded at
run time (for example, not packaged with the app) must not allow potential
violations (for example, collection of installed packages without
appropriate purpose, disclosure & consent) of Google Play policies.
- Do not sell personal and sensitive user information.
- Support the
latest API security and data minimization features
in your SDKs (see an April 2022 update
here
).
- Help your customers understand what User Data your SDK may collect and the
reason for its use, so that app developers can include this in their
Prominent Disclosure and Consent
to end users, and in their Privacy Policies when this applies.
- You should implement logic that reads and adheres to the app
developer-collected user preference, or ensure that a mechanism exists for the
app developer to accurately initialize your SDK according to this user-facing
consent event.
- Provide information about your data use in a format easy to access and
consume publicly. Here is an
optional format
that you may be interested in using to publish your information, as many
developers are familiar with this format. For examples, see the
Google Firebase SDK
’s
data disclosure and
Google AdMob SDK
’s
data disclosure.