Violation of Usage of Android Advertising ID policy

Question

I made a game in Unity with admob integration, and I published it on the Google Play store.

After 2 days I got a mail from the Play store mentioning a policy violation (reproduced below). I l researched the issue and updated a privacy policy document on my app, then resubmitted the game.

It came went live, but then I got the same mail from the Play store again and they removed it.

From the beginning onwards my ads are also not showing in game, but the test ad is working fine.

Can you tell me what mistake I made and how I can fix it?

Message from Google:

Notification from Google Play about Green Puzzle Truck

Google Play Support

Hi developers at **** **** Studio,

After review, "my game name" , package name, has been removed from Google Play due to a policy violation. This app won’t be available to users until you submit a compliant update.

Issue: 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 identifier, which is subject to a privacy policy requirement. If your app collects the Android advertising ID, you must provide a valid privacy policy in both the designated field in the Play Console, and from within the app.

Next steps: Submit your app for another review

Read through the Usage of Android Advertising ID and User Data policies, as well as the Developer Distribution Agreement, and make appropriate changes to your app. If you decide to collect sensitive user information, be sure to abide by the above policies, and include a link to a valid privacy policy on your app's store listing page and within your app. 

Make sure that your app is compliant with all other Developer Program Policies. Additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy violations.

Sign in to your Play Console and submit the update to your app.

Alternatively, you may opt-out of this requirement by removing any requests for sensitive permissions or user data.

If approved, your app will again be available with all installs, ratings, and reviews intact.  

If you’ve reviewed the policy and feel this removal may have been in error, please reach out to our policy support team. One of my colleagues will get back to you within 2 business days.

Thanks for helping us provide a clear and transparent experience for Google Play users. 

Regards,

The Google Play Team

Answer 1

You must implement something for GDPR if you're shipping in the EU. Your customers need to be able to opt out of the use of tracking IDs and have an option to delete any existing tracking info you have.

I had to do this for Cognizer, for both iOS and Android. I was using Unity, so they made it easy with a plugin.

Cognizer is free (no ads either), so you can download it and take a look at how that is interfaced as an example of what is acceptable. Go to the Credits screen, and click the Privacy icon in the lower left.