“Your app’s content that is accessible to children must be appropriate for children. If your app contains content that is not globally appropriate, but that content is deemed appropriate for child users in a particular region, the app may be available in that region but will remain unavailable in other regions,” Google said (via Android Police). Developers that fail to meet these requirements could face app removal or suspension. With this new policy in effect, developers will have to determine if their app is inappropriate for kids in a particular region. Since countries have their own rules that define what’s appropriate for children, this can be tricky for app developers. Fortunately, this won’t be a blanket ban. Developers can continue to market their apps in permitted regions. We expect more information to follow, as there are still a few unanswered questions about this policy change.
Google could push the May 11 deadline for some developers
While these rules will officially come into force on May 11, 2022, Google could ease the deadline by 30 days for some developers. Although the policy change seems pretty last minute, it’s part of Google’s broader efforts to improve the Play Store experience. Recently, Google announced another policy change to ensure users get access to the best quality of apps. The company is doing this by mandating app developers to target Android versions no older than two years. Meanwhile, new apps will have to target either the latest version of Android or its predecessor. Google is also working on shifting the Movies & TV section from the Play Store over to the Google TV app. Even if users can find Movies & TV on the Play Store, they are redirected to the Google TV app. This makes things less complicated as users seldom browse apps and movies/TV shows simultaneously. Google TV will even remember your past media purchases, so it’s the same service with a new coat of paint.
