Rejected on Google Play! ? Details on the reason and progress of response!

Hello.
I'm Nomushin, in charge of smartphones on the development team.

When it comes to submitting Android/iOS apps to the App Store,
there are a ton of issues with the App Store, but you don't hear about as many with Google Play.
Once you've registered the necessary information and the APK in the Google Play Console and pressed the "Publish" button, it should be published within a few hours.
...That is, if nothing goes wrong.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I have had the experience of being rejected by Google Play, so
I will record the responses I took and the outcome in chronological order.

It's a bit long, but
I hope it helps someone who has the same problem!

[Day 1] 8:15 App publishing procedure completed

The app was scheduled to be released by 12:00 on the day, but due to a bug that was discovered just before the deadline, the application for release was submitted at this late hour.
Google Play usually releases apps within 2-3 hours of the release procedure, so I thought I would be able to make it just in time.
However...

[Day 1] 12:06 "Some apps have been deleted or disapproved"

It's been more than three hours since the process was completed, but the app still hasn't been published on Google Play.
I kept checking the console, and finally the status changed.

Oh...?

I saw some unfamiliar characters.

By this time, it was already past 12:00, the scheduled time for the app to be released,
so I frantically contacted Google.

[Day 1] 12:32 Asked Google...cannot do it!

A summary of the reason for rejection will be posted on the Google Play Console.
I was in a hurry so I don't have any screenshots, but
it seems that the reason for the rejection was "violation of the impersonation and intellectual property policies."
(I found out later that at this point, a detailed reason for the rejection and guidelines for how to proceed are sent via email. At the time, I was submitting the application using my own developer account, so I wasn't able to check the email. If your application is rejected, be sure to check your email first! )

At this point, it dawned on me.
This was because this app was a collaborative app between companies.
The collaborating company had already released an app under their own account.
In a sense, it was only natural that an app with a similar icon and the same service name would be suspicious.

In any case, we need to resolve the issue as soon as possible and have the app released.
Rather than resubmitting the appeal and waiting for the result, it would be quicker and more reliable to ask them directly how to deal with the issue.

Contact Google Play Developer Support now

There are two ways to contact us: chat or email
.

We usually respond to emails within 48 business hours

That is out of the question now

Let's chat

Available hours:
Monday to Friday: 10:00 to 17:00 (excluding 12:00 to 13:00)
Excluding public holidays and company holidays

During lunch break...!

With the customers feeling quite tense, we waited until 1:00 p.m., gathering information..

[Day 1] 13:00 Chat with Google Support

It's now 1:00 PM.
I immediately contact them via chat on the inquiry page I mentioned earlier.

I enter my name, email address (the address I use to log in to the Google Play Console), and a summary of my inquiry, then submit.
I actually entered the following information in the summary field:

This morning, I published an app ( app URL ) on Google Play, but it was rejected because it "violated the impersonation and intellectual property policies."
This app is a collaboration project between (collaboration company) and (collaboration service), so does this mean that it was determined to be " impersonating ( collaboration service
) Also, what steps should I take to get this app approved?

Once the chat request is accepted, a dedicated window will open and a conversation with the person in charge will begin. I was
a bit wary, wondering if I would need to communicate in English, but it turns out the person on the other end is Japanese.
That's a relief.

The full chat is below:

1:04 PM
The person in charge (temporary) will be in charge of your inquiry. After entering your question, press Enter to send your message.

Thank you for contacting Google Play Developer Support.
After
this chat ends, we will display a survey about the quality of your support. If you would like, please answer that as well.
We are currently reviewing the information you provided, so please wait a moment.

Nomura Yuki 1:06
Thank you for your time this afternoon.

I understand that you are concerned about Google Play's policies.
Unfortunately, we are not authorized to provide information regarding Google Play's policies and terms. Would it be okay if I forwarded your inquiry to our policy team?
team will then respond to you by email.

Yuki Nomura 1:07 PM
Understood. Do you know how long it will take to get back to you?

Asahi 1:08 PM
I can't say for sure, but I will usually be able to reply within 48 hours.

Yuki Nomura 1:09 PM
It's going to take quite a while. We were planning to release a press release today to coincide with the release of the app, so it would be much appreciated if you could respond as soon as possible.

Nomura Yuki 1:10
Thank you for your time this afternoon.

Person in charge (temporary) 1:10 PM
Understood. I will try to respond as soon as possible.

Representative (temporary) 1:11 PM
Do you have any other questions about the Developer Console?

Nomura Yuki 1:11 PM
No, this time it was just about the app being rejected.

Staff member (temporary): 1:12
We will be closing chat support in the afternoon.
We will contact you from here, so please wait a little while.

Nomura Yuki 1:12
Thank you for your time this afternoon.

Thank you for contacting Google Play Developer Support via chat
at 1:12 PM The chat has now ended

In the end, the issue wasn't resolved through chat, but they did forward the matter to Google's policy team

Additionally, we will email the following to the Google Policy team as evidence that it is a collaboration app:
・URL of the press release posted on the collaboration company's website
・Collaboration source - A PDF file of the contract signed with the collaboration partner

However, on this day, there was no contact whatsoever

[Day 2] 8:14 Email from the Google Play team

Thank you for contacting the Google Play team

After reviewing your app, we have determined that your app " (app name) " (package name) violates Google Play's policy regarding the unauthorized use of copyrighted content.

The policy states: Apps that infringe copyrights are not allowed.
Your app contains the following violation: (collaboration company's app name) (see attached screenshots).

If you have obtained permission from the content owner, please submit one of the following documents as proof of permission in PDF file format by replying to this email:
A document (with a seal or signature) confirming the mutual agreement between the app developer and the content owner regarding the use of the content
A document (with a seal or signature) confirming the content usage permission granted by the content owner to the app developer

For more information on our policy and examples of violations, please see the link below:
Developer Policy
CenterUnauthorized Use of Copyrighted Content

If you have fixed the violations and believe your app is in compliance with our policies, please resubmit your app and we will review it again

This decision does not currently affect your Google Play Developer account, but
if we observe multiple violations, we may terminate your app or your Google Play Developer account.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you for your continued support of Google Play.

Google Play team
xxx

I feel like my argument isn't quite clear, but
it seems that the icon image's logo is similar to an icon image already released by a collaborating company, which is why it's being deemed a policy violation. I need to provide:
- A document (stamped or signed) confirming mutual agreement between the app developer and the content owner regarding content use;

- A document (stamped or signed) confirming the content owner's permission to the app developer to use the content. Unless I provide these documents or replace the icon, I won't be able to pass the review.
The file and URL I sent yesterday aren't enough evidence.
That's quite tricky...

After consulting with the customer, we decided to keep the icon unchanged and have them complete the necessary documents

[Day 2] 13:48 Emailed the documents to the Google Play team

The customer has prepared the necessary documents, so I will send them to Google as soon as possible.
The email should be formatted as follows:

To the Google Play representative:

Thank you for your continued support

Regarding this matter, we have prepared a document (with a seal or signature) that confirms the mutual agreement between the app developer and the content owner regarding the use of the content.
Please refer to the attached document for your reference.

The release of this app
will affect the schedule of our customers who are releasing apps from (our collaborating company)

This is a very selfish request, but we
would appreciate your consideration.

Thank you for confirming the app's approval

Applications are only accepted via email, so you won't get a quick response. The
only way to get a real-time response is via chat, but
based on yesterday's conversation, chat agents don't have the authority to provide policy guidance, so you'll likely only get templated responses.

All we can do is wait

[Day 2] 18:00 Reminder email sent to Google Play team

Since the client is in a hurry, I send an email to Google asking for urging them
to publish the site, even though I don't think it will work. However, simply asking is a one-sided request, so I also write an inquiry asking if there is anything they can do to speed up the publication.

...But still no reply

[Day 3] 8:56 I received an email from Google Play confirming approval!

Finally, I received the long-awaited approval email!
I quickly resubmitted the app from the Google Play Console.

It should be okay this time

[Day 3] 10:50 App released

about two hours from "resenting" the app, and
more than two days and two hours from the initial publication request before it was finally published.
It took a long time...

summary

・Google Play also has rejections!

No, I was aware that there were checks, but I wasn't aware of when and what was being checked. I do
n't think there was any manual check done between the time I published my app through the Console and the time it was published on Google Play. I think the automated check found that my app's images were similar to existing apps, so it was rejected.

If you have any questions, please contact developer support via chat

Chat is only available on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00 (excluding 12:00 to 13:00), but you are likely to receive appropriate advice. If you are unsure, try asking a question via chat

・Check whether prior notification to Google Play is required

If you have received prior permission from the content owner to develop an app using third-party content,
you can now submit supporting documentation to the Google Play team in advance using this form ( https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6320428

This problem could have been avoided if we had done exactly this, so it's worth keeping in mind

·others

Although it's a minor point, all emails from Google that were sent over the next day arrived around 8:00 AM.
If you send an inquiry by email, be sure to check your email first thing in the morning.

lastly

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Beyond can handle everything from server design and construction to operation, so if you have any problems with server-side development, please feel free to contact us.
SEKARAKU Lab: https://sekarakulab.beyondjapan.com/
 
Have a great developer life!