We don’t allow apps that use another app or entity’s brand, title, logo, or name in a manner that may result in misleading users. Don’t try to imply an endorsement or relationship with another entity where none exists. Impersonation can occur even if there isn’t an intent to deceive, so please be careful when referencing any brands that do not belong to you. This applies even if that brand doesn’t yet have a presence on Google Play.

We don’t allow apps that infringe copyright. Modifying copyrighted content may still lead to a violation. Developers may be required to provide evidence of their rights to use copyrighted content.

Please be careful when using copyrighted content to demonstrate the functionality of your app. In general, the safest approach is to create something that’s original.

We don’t allow apps that induce or encourage copyright infringement. Before you publish your app, look for ways your app may be encouraging copyright infringement and get legal advice if necessary.

We don’t allow apps that infringe on others’ trademarks. A trademark is a word, symbol, or combination that identifies the source of a good or service. Once acquired, a trademark gives the owner exclusive rights to the trademark usage with respect to certain goods or services.

Trademark infringement is improper or unauthorized use of an identical or similar trademark in a way that is likely to cause confusion as to the source of that product. If your app uses another party’s trademarks in a way that is likely to cause confusion, your app may be suspended.

We don’t allow apps that contain false or misleading information or claims, including in the description, title, icon, and screenshots.

We don’t allow apps or ads that mimic or interfere with system functionality, such as notifications or warnings. System level notifications may only be used for an app’s integral features, such as an airline app that notifies users of special deals, or a game that notifies users of in-game promotions.

We don’t allow apps that make changes to the user’s device settings or features outside of the app without the user’s knowledge and consent. Device settings and features include system and browser settings, bookmarks, shortcuts, icons, widgets, and the presentation of apps on the homescreen.

We don’t allow apps that send SMS, email, or other messages on behalf of the user without giving the user the ability to confirm the content and intended recipients.

We don’t allow apps whose primary purpose is to drive affiliate traffic to a website or provide a webview of a website without permission from the website owner or administrator.

We don’t allow apps that are created by an automated tool or wizard service and submitted to Google Play by the operator of that service on behalf of other persons. Such apps are only permissible if they are published by an individually registered developer account belonging to the user of the automated tool, not the operator of the service.

Privacy Policy & Secure Transmission

If your app handles personal or sensitive user data (including personally identifiable information, financial and payment information, authentication information, phonebook or contact data, microphone and camera sensor data, and sensitive device data) then your app must:

• Post a privacy policy in both the designated field in the Play Console and from within the Play distributed app itself.
• Handle the user data securely, including transmitting it using modern cryptography (for example, over HTTPS).

The privacy policy must, together with any in-app disclosures, comprehensively disclose how your app collects, uses and shares user data, including the types of parties with whom it’s shared.

Prominent Disclosure Requirement

If your app collects and transmits personal or sensitive user data unrelated to functionality described prominently in the app’s listing on Google Play or in the app interface, then prior to the collection and transmission, it must prominently highlight how the user data will be used and have the user provide affirmative consent for such use.

In addition to the requirements above, the table below describes requirements for specific activities.

Ads must not simulate or impersonate the user interface of any app, notification, or warning elements of an operating system. It must be clear to the user which app is serving each ad.

Ads should not be shown in a way that results in inadvertent clicks. Forcing a user to click an ad or submit personal information for advertising purposes before they can fully use an app is prohibited.

Interstitial ads may only be displayed inside of the app serving them. If your app displays interstitial ads or other ads that interfere with normal use, they must be easily dismissable without penalty.

Ads associated with your app must not interfere with other apps, ads, or the operation of the device, including system or device buttons and ports. This includes overlays, companion functionality, or widgetized ad units. Ads must only be displayed within the app serving them.

The ads shown within your app must be appropriate for the intended audience of your app, even if the content by itself is otherwise compliant with our policies.

Google Play Services version 4.0 introduced new APIs and an ID for use by advertising and analytics providers. Terms for the use of this ID are below.

• Usage. The Android advertising identifier must only be used for advertising and user analytics. The status of the “Opt out of Interest-based Advertising” or “Opt out of Ads Personalization” setting must be verified on each access of the ID.
• Association with personally-identifiable information or other identifiers. The advertising identifier must not be connected to personally-identifiable information or associated with any persistent device identifier (for example: SSAID, MAC address, IMEI, etc.) without explicit consent of the user.
• Respecting users' selections. If reset, a new advertising identifier must not be connected to a previous advertising identifier or data derived from a previous advertising identifier without the explicit consent of the user. Also, you must abide by a user’s “Opt out of Interest-based Advertising” or “Opt out of Ads Personalization” setting. If a user has enabled this setting, you may not use the advertising identifier for creating user profiles for advertising purposes or for targeting users with personalized advertising. Allowed activities include contextual advertising, frequency capping, conversion tracking, reporting and security and fraud detection.
• Transparency to users. The collection and use of the advertising identifier and commitment to these terms must be disclosed to users in a legally adequate privacy notification. To learn more about our privacy standards, please review our User Data policy.
• Abiding by the terms of use. The advertising identifier may only be used in accordance with these terms, including by any party that you may share it with in the course of your business. Beginning August 1st 2014, all updates and new apps uploaded to Google Play must use the advertising ID (when available on a device) in lieu of any other device identifiers for any advertising purposes.

Eligibility

All apps participating in the Designed for Families program must be relevant for children under the age of 13 and comply with the eligibility criteria below. Google Play reserves the right to reject or remove any app determined to be inappropriate for the Designed for Families program.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Apps must be rated as ESRB Everyone or Everyone 10+, or equivalent.
2. If your Designed for Families app displays ads, you confirm that:
   1. 2.1 You comply with applicable legal obligations relating to advertising to children.
   2. 2.2 Ads displayed to child audiences do not involve interest-based advertising or remarketing.
   3. 2.3 Ads displayed to child audiences present content that is appropriate for children.
   4. 2.4 Ads displayed to child audiences follow the Designed for Families ad format requirements.
3. You must accurately disclose the app's interactive elements on the content rating questionnaire, including:
   1. 3.1 Users can interact or exchange information
   2. 3.2 Shares user-provided personal information with third parties
   3. 3.3 Shares the user's physical location with other users
4. Apps that target child audiences may not use Google sign-in or Google Play Game Services as the login experience for their app. Apps that target both children and older audiences (mixed audience), can use Google sign-in or Google Play Game Services as an optional feature.
5. If your app targets child audiences and uses the Android Speech API, your app's RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_CALLING_PACKAGE must be set to its PackageName.
6. You must add a link to your app's privacy policy on your app's store listing page.
7. You represent that apps submitted to Designed for Families are compliant with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule) and other relevant statutes, including any APIs that your app uses to provide the service.
8. If your app uses Augmented Reality, you must include a safety warning upon launch of the app that contains the following:
   1. 8.1 An appropriate message about the importance of parental supervision
   2. 8.2 A reminder to be aware of physical hazards in the real world (e.g., be aware of your surroundings)
9. Daydream apps are not eligible to participate in the Designed for Families program.

Apps accepted to the Designed for Families program need to stay compliant with the program's eligibility requirements at all times.

Age Groups

Primarily Child-Directed Apps
Here are the age groups available for apps primarily directed to children in the Designed for Families program:

• Ages 5 & Under
• Ages 6-8
• Ages 9-12

Apps declared as primarily child-directed may not choose Mixed Audience as an age group.

When you opt-in, select an age group based on your app's primary target audience. If you include an age group in your app's title or description, this is considered your app's primary age target during review.You should only select two age groups if you've designed your app for users in both age groups. Your app's content needs to be appropriate for children in each age group. For example: Apps designed for babies, toddlers, and preschool children should only select “Ages 5 & Under.” If your app is designed for a specific grade level, choose the age range the best represents the grade.

Mixed Audience

If your app is designed for both children under the age of 13 as well as teens or adults, you must select the mixed audience category. Mixed audience apps will display a family star badge that indicates they're family-friendly, without specifying an age group.

If your app is not designed for audiences that include children under the age of 13, it won't be accepted into the Designed for Families program. For example: Calculator apps, maps, wallpapers, recipe books, and games that aren't specifically designed for children shouldn't be opted-in to the program.

Updates to Age

After you've been accepted to the Designed for Families program, if you need to update your app's age group, you can update your information using the Play Console.

We strongly recommend you let your existing users know if you change the target age level of your app or start using ads or in-app purchases using the "What's New" section of your app's store listing page.

Categories

When you opt-in to the Designed for Families program, you can choose a category. Your app will also be available on Google Play in the general app category you select on your app's store listing page.

Here are the categories available for Designed for Families:

Action & Adventure: Action-oriented apps/games, including everything from racing games, fairy tale adventures, and more.

Brain Games: Games that make the user think, including puzzles, matching games, and similar games.

Creativity: Apps and games that spur creativity, including drawing, painting, coding, and other games where you can build things.

Education: Apps and games that are primarily education-focused, including math, science, learning the alphabet, learning to count, geography, history, and other types of educational content.

Music and Video: Apps and games with a musical element or video component, including everything from playing the piano to watching videos and more.

Pretend Play: Apps and games where the user can pretend to take on a role, like pretending to be a cook or a doctor.

All apps participating in the Designed for Families program must comply with the following policy and quality requirements for ads as well as Play's general policy guidelines and practices. This policy applies to any advertising or commercial content (such as paid product placement or offers to make in-app purchases) served to the user for the benefit of a sponsor. Additionally, advertising and commercial content must comply with applicable laws and regulations (including any relevant self-regulatory or industry guidelines).

Ad format requirements

Ads in apps participating in Designed for Families must not have deceptive content or be designed in a way that will result in inadvertent clicks from child users. For example:

• Ad walls must not be used
• Interstitial ads must not display immediately upon app launch
• A maximum of one ad placement per page
• Ads must be clearly distinguishable from app content

Ad targeting and data collection

Ads displayed to child audiences must comply with laws relating to advertising to kids. For example, your app must disable interest-based advertising and remarketing, and should comply with child relevant regulations and industry standards for all countries where the app is distributed.

Appropriate ad content

Apps that participate in the Designed for Families program must present ad content that is appropriate for children.

Ad networks
To find out if your ad network is compliant with Designed for Families ads policies, contact your ad network to ask them about their content policies and advertising practices.

If you use AdMob, refer to the AdMob Help Center for more details on their products.

It is your responsibility to ensure your app's overall experience with in-app advertising meets the Designed for Families program requirements.

Using ads
Apps and games in the Designed for Families program can have ads as long as they follow the ads policy for Designed for Families. Before opting-in, make sure to review the ads policy to make sure your app comply with all requirements.

In-app purchases & other commercial content
There are no specific restrictions relating to in-app purchases (IAP) in apps participating in the Designed for Families program.

Google Play reserves the right to reject apps for overly aggressive commercial tactics. Google Play will enforce IAP password protection on all apps participating in the Designed for Families program that primarily target child audiences to ensure that parents, not children, are approving purchases.

Note: This treatment does not extend to apps targeting mixed audiences.

As stated in the Eligibility Requirements, apps that target primarily child audiences may not use Google sign-in or Google Play Game Services as the login experience for their app.

Apps that target both children and older audiences (mixed audience), can use Google sign-in or Google Play Games Services as an optional feature. In these cases, users must be able to access the app or game in its entirety without signing into Google or Google Play Games Services.

Google Play for Education users

If your app is part of the Google Play for Education program and has Google sign-in so that students can use their school accounts, your app can use Google sign-in as long as it isn't a blocking requirement for all app users.

Google Play Games Services

If your app appeals to a mixed audience, and you wish to provide a sign-in option in your game, follow section 1.1.2 of this checklist.

If your app is child-directed, you'll find information about integrating Google services below. There are two types of child-directed apps:

• Apps that are directed primarily to children
• Apps that have a mixed audience (meaning they don’t target children as their primary audience)

You can find more information about the differences between mixed audience apps and apps directed primarily to children on the FTC’s website.

Note: While child-directed apps may use some Google services, developers are responsible for using these services according to their obligations under the law. Please review the FTC’s guidance on COPPA and consult with your own legal counsel.

Select a Google service below to learn how to integrate it in child-directed apps.

Google Mobile Ads

If you're using Google's mobile advertising services, you must indicate that you want Google to treat ad requests from your app as child-directed, as applicable.

If you tag the ad requests from your app for child-directed treatment, we will take steps to disable interest-based advertising and remarketing ads for such requests.

To learn how to correctly set up your ads, visit the following resources:

• Tag an ad request from an app for child-directed treatment
• Targeting: child-directed setting

Google sign-in or Google Play Games Services

If your app is directed primarily to children, it should not use Google sign-in or Google Play Game Services.

Apps that are mixed audience shouldn't require Google sign-in or Google Play Game Services but can offer these as optional features. In these cases, users must be able to access the app or game in its entirety without signing into Google or Google Play Game Services.

If your app appeals to a mixed audience and you use Google Play Games Services, follow section 1.1 of this checklist.

Android Speech API

Child-directed apps shouldn't use the Android Speech API if they don't participate in the Designed for Families program. Apps in the Designed for Families program should follow these instructions when using the Android Speech API:

RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_CALLING_PACKAGE must be set to its PackageName.

If you've built great apps designed for kids and/or families, consider participating in the Designed for Families program on Google Play to surface your app to parents.