Blocks submissionGoogle Play

Precise location is justified in the location-scope declaration

What is checked This rule is decided by code from the built app and the listing: android.built.manifest, console.google.declarations.

Applies to every app

In force from 2027-01-27

Checked from on a test track, submitted and in review, published

The rule, in our words

• Minimum Scope: Foreground Location Access and the Location Button: Google Play requires the smallest location scope that serves the core feature: use coarse location if fine accuracy is not strictly needed, and for one-time or infrequent needs use the Android location button instead of a persistent permission. For apps targeting Android 17 (API 37) and higher, the location button is mandatory for transactional precise-location uses (search nearby, one-time sharing, tagging, address pickers); apps using only the button must set android:onlyForLocationButton="true" in the manifest; updates that do not comply may be rejected. Persistent ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION is allowed only where it is essential to the app's promoted core purpose (for example live tracking or navigation), never solely for advertising or analytics, and location data may never be sold. Every app requesting ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION must complete a Play Console declaration naming the use case and explaining why coarse location or the location button is insufficient. Timeline: announced April 15, 2026; declaration available November 2026; compliance mandatory January 27, 2027, with 30-day self-extensions available in Play Console.

Okkok never stores the stores' text. Each item above is our paraphrase, and the link is the page it rests on, verified unchanged by fingerprint on every run.

The other store

• Google requires the smallest scope (coarse over fine, location button for one-time uses), makes the location button mandatory for transactional precise uses in apps targeting Android 17 (API 37), requires a Play Console declaration for every ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION request, bans sale of location data, and sets a compliance date of January 27, 2027 with 30-day self-extensions; Apple sets no scope tiers or declaration. google-stricter

Check your app

pip install git+https://github.com/petresandu-cloud/okkok
okkok audit path/to/app

The report names this rule as google.location-scope-declaration and says what to do, who does it, where, and how it knows.