Is my app or its dependencies violating the Androi

Question

I've just received this message from Google Play but I'm not collecting the Advertising ID.

Reason for warning: Violation of Usage of Android Advertising ID policy and section 4.8 of the Developer Distribution Agreement

Google Play requires developers to provide a valid privacy policy when the app requests or handles sensitive user or device information. We’ve identified that your app collects and transmits the Android advertising ID, which is subject to a privacy policy requirement.

Is it possible any of my dependencies uses it? Here's the list of dependencies:

implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib:$kotlin_version"
implementation "org.jetbrains.anko:anko-common:$anko_version"

implementation ("com.android.support:appcompat-v7:$android_support_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'animated-vector-drawable'
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'design'
}
implementation ("com.android.support:design:$android_support_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'animated-vector-drawable'
}
implementation ("com.android.support:cardview-v7:$android_support_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'animated-vector-drawable'
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'design'
}
implementation 'com.github.PhilJay:MPAndroidChart:v3.0.2'
implementation 'com.github.apl-devs:appintro:v4.2.3'
implementation('com.crashlytics.sdk.android:crashlytics:2.6.8@aar') {
    transitive = true
}
implementation 'com.firebase:firebase-jobdispatcher:0.7.0'
implementation ("com.google.firebase:firebase-firestore:$firestore_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.google.firebase', module: 'firebase-auth'
}
implementation ("com.google.firebase:firebase-auth:$firebase_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.google.firebase', module: 'firebase-firestore'
}
implementation ("com.google.firebase:firebase-storage:$firebase_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.google.firebase', module: 'firebase-firestore'
}
implementation ('com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth:16.0.0') {
    exclude group: 'com.google.firebase', module: 'firebase-firestore'
}
implementation 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:1.1.3'
implementation 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.3'
implementation ("com.android.support:exifinterface:$android_support_version") {
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'animated-vector-drawable'
    exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'design'
}
implementation 'com.soundcloud.android:android-crop:1.0.1@aar'
implementation 'com.github.bumptech.glide:glide:4.7.1'

Answer 1

step 1 : add privacy and policy url to play store console

step 2 : create a button example in side bar when button clicked just call this below method and add your url here

private void callThisMethodWhenPrivacyButtonClicked() {
        AlertDialog.Builder alert = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
        alert.setTitle("Title here");

        WebView wv = new WebView(this);
        wv.loadUrl("{your privacy and policy uurl }");
        wv.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient() {
            @Override
            public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) {
                view.loadUrl(url);

                return true;
            }
        });

        alert.setView(wv);
        alert.setNegativeButton("Close", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int id) {
                dialog.dismiss();
            }
        });
        alert.show();
    }

Answer 2

Disable advertising id collection

According to the Firebase docs you can disable advertising id collection by setting:

<meta-data android:name="google_analytics_adid_collection_enabled" android:value="false" />

in your AndroidManifest.xml under the <Application> tag.

EDIT: It seems like people are having mixed success with this approach. Try adding configurations { all*.exclude group: 'com.google.firebase', module: 'firebase-core' all*.exclude group: 'com.google.firebase', module: 'firebase-iid' } to the Gradle app dependencies area as per comment below.

Answer 3

Today many developers are getting this same issue. I also got this issue. I didn't collect any sensitive data, I am not even showing ads to my users. In your case the Crashlytics lib could be an issue. It deals with advertising IDs. In the mail they mention the required action:

Action required: Add a privacy policy to your store listing and app

So I think all of us should add a privacy policy on the store listing as well as on the app. Before taking the action we should go through the related privacy policy. Here are some links from where you can get help:

Privacy policy to upload an app

Usage of Android Advertising ID

Developer Distribution Agreement

Developer Program Policies

Answer 4

I received a warning from Google recently mentioning that I have violated the Usage of Android Advertising ID policy and section 4.8 of the Developer Distribution Agreement.

I dont use ads on my app , but I am tracking users events / analytics using Amplitude and Fabric , which might be the cause of this warning.

Action required to solve the problem:

1. Generate privacy policy using Firebase app privacy policy generator

2. Include your generated privacy policy into your app , and make it accessible to users.

3. Update the app, and add privacy policy link (via Web page, or Google doc) to your store listing.

Answer 5

I also recieved the same message and got some of my apps suspended today.

So i just deleted those three firebase dependencies:

compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-core:10.0.1'
compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-ads:10.0.1'
compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-appindexing:10.0.1'

Then, i re-submitted the apps, and they was accepted after review :)

Answer 6

Disabling Advertising ID collection:

https://firebase.google.com/support/guides/disable-analytics#disable_advertising_id_collection

via those two lines in Manifest file:

<meta-data android:name="firebase_analytics_collection_deactivated" android:value="true" />

<meta-data android:name="google_analytics_adid_collection_enabled" android:value="false" />