Bug Coppa app rejected! Google Play Store detects Android DeviceID and Advertising ID even in empty app!

Hi,

We have many apps that are which are in the child directed and which we are distributing over Google Play Store.
Now google play has changed something on their Familes Policy Requirements. So when we upload an app Google allways tells us that they have detected that the app collects personal sensitive information:
Android Device ID
Advertising ID

Now, we tried to upload an app which is completelly empty. All packages have been removed. No services active.We testet on Unity 2017.4 LTS and 2019.3.11f1
So we cannot upload anymore unity apps without beeing blocked by google?!

We need urgent help to get this working, else we could loose our apps on Google Play Store!!!

Thanks for your quick help
Roberto

 

Hi ...

Exactly the same problem for us also. every app updates since last week rejected. We request for manual review and end up having a message like below.

"We detected that your app collects the following personal and sensitive information:
Android Device ID and Advertising ID"

Even the apps without any services or 3rd party SDK also rejected with the same error. Kindly help us to fix this issue.

(All apps developed on Unity 2019.1.8f1)

Thanks,
Prasad

 

We still didn't find a possible solution!!!

Unity we need your help!

I think google scans the build apks if they find advertisting id included (as there are no outgoing connections on our tests...). When I search through the package I find a advertisting id included. Or at least some error message handling it. So , I don't know if google finds a correct issue in unity build apks/aab or just have a false positive match when they scan the build file.

Any help is appreciated! thx.

 

Does google itself provide you any answers on this issue?

 

Google just sent us a message that we need to change the setting when we upload. But this doesn't help us... as we don't want to have any collection of personal and sensitive information from children!!! We would need to ask for parental consent. But this is a strong limitation.

So here the what they write:

We detected that your app collects personal and sensitive information from children, but this was not disclosed in your Play Console. Apps that include children in the target audience must comply with all Families Policy Requirements, which requires that you disclose the collection of any personal and sensitive information in your app, including through APIs and SDKs called or used in your app.

We have written directly to google and didn't get any additional answer regarding this issue.

 

Having the same issue and rejection email from Google and agree with the sentiment that Unity need to step up and sort this frustration out FFS. What's the point of setting advertising for kids if it doesn't work or releasing any app if you can't track BASIC metrics. Wtf Unity.

 

Did you guys try this?

https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Analytics.Analytics-limitUserTracking.html

 

Thanks for trying to help

This script stops Analytics to start.... But I have no analytics at all in the app (There is NOTHING in the App, just empty).
No Service installed, all Packages deleted. And google tells me that it collects sensitive information....

By using this script I get the message: The name 'Analytics' does not exist in the current context
because there is no analytics installed....

If somebody has the solution - please help!

 

Ok so I did 2 things:
1) Disabled analytics in my project
2) On Google Play, took my project out of the "For children mainly/Family" programme - it's still certified for an audience of 3+, but isn't SPECIFICALLY targeted at < 13 anymore.

And it got published. So now I'm wondering which of those things (or if both of them) was the culprit. Guess I will try to include analytics again and see if it gets published.

Dondon is your test app maybe falling into the point 2 category I listed above?

 

Hey N1ghtrunner

Yes, this will work as it's not a coppa app anymore. All coppa apps, which are detect to have to be coppa because there is a icon or whatever which is orientated especially for children, have to be in the family programm... so I cannot change this and get out of the faimly programm.

I have contact also some google guys and they are looking together with unity guys into it... but don't know if and when they can deliver any results. Hmm eventually they have changed something will try to upload again.

 

I'm seeing the same issue:
https://forum.unity.com/threads/goo...ensitive-information-rejecting-my-app.885223/

I'm hoping Unity can fix this ASAP.

 

Still didn't work...

 

We are having the same issue here.
Our app is targetting kids between 3 and 6 years old, so taking out the "for children mainly / family" is not an option. Also, we have in-app purchases so Analytics needs at least to be activated and we do use it to track performance and player behaviour.
We made sure that all COPPA compliant requirements are included in the app (parental gates, not tracking personal data, etc.) and we never had this issue before Google changed its Family Policy. Please help?

 

We did have the same issue with the Apple App store some months ago and we decided to take out all analytics from the games to be able to submit them (which is a living hell as every time you build the game you have to retouch the project in XCode), but taking Analytics out from Google too would be too much as this leaves us "naked" to improve our games.

 

Also we set the link to the privacy policy in our games and in the Google Play Console (which was already the case). We are currently working on our privacy policy to explicitly explain that we are using Unity Analytics and include a link to its privacy policy. I will tell you if this does the trick but I am not sure about it...

 

Hope this works.... let us know

Is there anybody at unity that can help us with this???

 

In the same boat, but I do want some basic analytics. @dondon did you check “disable hardware statistics” (that might be removed in 2019.3 and newer)?

 

Hey @justdizzy
There is no possibility on 2019.3 for the "disable hardware statistics" as you mentioned...
On Unity 2017.4 where you have the possibility - I tried, but with no success. Google still blocks it.

 

I can confirm after reaching out to the Google Play team that they "detected that your app collects the following personal and sensitive information: Android Device ID and Advertising ID."

@dondon did you say that Unity is working on this? Did they mention a timeline, possible solutions, or a workaround?

 

@_Adriaan My Google contact told me that the google guys are looking with the unity guys about it. But he told me also we should ourselfs talk to unity. I didn't get any final answer from him till now.... still waiting and hoping.

As more people are stressing Unity to solve this issue, as more they will undestand that this is a mayor issue!

 

There is no workaround till now, as I know.

 

Ok great to hear!

 

I have a similar problem.
"We detected that your app collects personal and sensitive information from children, but this was not disclosed in your Play Console."

But I have no further info.

 

Update: I submitted a build and it looks like it was accepted as I can see it in the beta channel, which I couldn't before. Funny thing is, the project is build using 2018.2.21 with Unity Analytics package included and enabled, Ads package removed, and “disable hardware statistics” checked. Previous submissions included other analytics packages, which were apparently causing the rejections.

 

We have also the same problem
"We detected that your app collects personal and sensitive information from children, but this was not disclosed in your Play Console..."

No unity services active, and we can't update the app.
Build with Unity 2019.2.6f1

 

This issue should be considered in more serious matter. Apps get rejected worldwide. Google responded with "detecting an issue with the cloud.unity3d services in the app."

 

Today's google answer (app without packages, no services active, no ads, no IAP):
"we detected that your app collects the following personal and sensitive information: Android Device ID and Advertising ID"

Is there anybody at unity that can update the thread? What is the current status of Unity's checking?

Thanks

 

@JeffDUnity3D any news?

 

I just posted a (sloppy) workaround here, after which I successfully submitted an update to Google Play.

 

Google finally allowed our app update. For us to do the trick we changed our privacy policy including a link to Unity's privacy policy,
and under the google play console we changed the "Target audience and content" question 'does your app collect any personal and sensitive information?' to yes. To get there:

1. go to 'Store Presence/App content'
2. select 'Manage' in App access

 

Thx,
That is a possible solution/workaround, but not a correct one, I would say.
As we don't want to save any information, unity has to deliver an engine that doesn't collect any information at all!

Just as curiosity: Has your app been tagged now, with something like this on google play store?

 

Hey guys,
I’ve had the same issue and here’s how I solved it. All the steps were taken at once, so I do not know what could be omitted, but at that stage my app was marked as “requiring special attention” so I guess the check was thorough
.
1. Build Player Options -> Disable HW Statistics (believe this is the most important)
2. Removed Unity Analytics from Package Manager (though this didn’t help at the previous submit)
3. Moved Privacy Policy to an https server.
4. Mentioned Unity and SDKs in that document.
5. Made a button for Privacy Policy in the game menu (i have an embedded browser, but a link should work also)

That’s it. Good luck with your updates. Do not report that you’re collecting sensitive information if you’re actually not doing that!

 

hello, today my app get it:

Issue with your app
We detected that your app collects personal and sensitive information from children, but this was not disclosed in your Play Console.

About the Families Policy Requirements
Apps that include children in the target audience must comply with all Families Policy Requirements, which requires that you disclose the collection of any personal and sensitive information in your app, including through APIs and SDKs called or used in your app.

Publishing status: Removed
Your app has been removed due to this policy issue. This app won’t be available to users until you submit a policy-compliant update
​

in my app i use unity inapp and Admob. any solutions? Thanks.

 

So so so frustrating. I have a client with a range of business apps - they're not publicly available, only visible in the play store to accounts with the business email address, and even provided to people pre-installed on tablets the client provides to people. But supposedly because the store entry is appealing to kids it cannot be anything other than "Designed for Families" and therefore must be COPPA compliant and gets removed by Google every couple of months

 

Hello Unity,
I have the same issue; I do not collect information but Google says I am collecting the Advertising ID, and the Android Device ID.

The following email was received from Google detailing the matter.

Unity Team, please release an Engine that does not collect data or does not test false positive for these pieces of data.

Regards,
Aaron Bergquist
Certified Unity Programmer


Email From Google Play Team:

Hi Aaron,​

Thanks for contacting the Google Play team.

Status: App not available on Google Play

I’ve reviewed your appeal request and found that your app, Tri-Flyer Pilot Arcade Game (com.OasisRoboticsInc.TryFlyer), still violates Google Play Policy. I’ve included details below about the specific issue with your app and what you can do to get your app back on Google Play.

Step 1: Fix the policy violation with your app

During review, we found that your app violates the Families Policy Requirements. We have detected that your app collects personal and sensitive information from children, however this was not disclosed in the Target audience and content section in your Play Console.

Apps that include children in the target audience must comply with all Families Policy requirements, which requires that you disclose the collection of any personal and sensitive information in your app, including through APIs and SDKs called or used in your app. You can read through the Families Policy Requirements page for more details and examples of common violations.

For example, we detected that your app collects the following personal and sensitive information:

• Advertising ID
• Android Device ID

Please refer to the following screenshot on how to disclose the collection of any personal and sensitive information in your app.​

Please update your app to fix this issue. You may also want to double check that your app complies with all other policies listed in the Developer Policy Center as additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy violations.

Next steps: Submit your app for another review

1. 1. Read through the Data Collection section of Families Policy Requirements and make appropriate changes to your app.
   2. Review the App Content > Target audience and content section in your Play Console and be sure to accurately disclose the collection of personal and sensitive information.
      • Apps that include children in the target audience must comply with all Families Policy Requirements, which requires that you disclose the collection of any personal and sensitive information in your app, including through APIs and SDKs called or used in your app.
      • If applicable, you must collect verifiable parental consent before collecting any personal and sensitive information from children.
2. Before submitting, make sure that your app is compliant with all other Developer Program Policies. Additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy violations.
3. Select Store presence > Store listing and click Resubmit app.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for working with us to fix the policy issue and for your continued support of Google Play.​

Regards,
Keanu
The Google Play Team

 

This is not ideal because if your app does NOT collect information and you say it does then parents will think you are collecting data and not download your kids app

 

It helped me that I completely changed the privacy policy file and indicated there which statistics I use in my application, I stole this file from another game and altered it for myself.
Look at an example file, maybe this will help you: https://berezka-games.com/pp.htm
I also use a script to disable statistics (see the attached files, just put in Script folder)

 

Hello, I have exactly the same problem as you:
"We detected that your app collects the following personal and sensitive information:
Android Device ID and Advertising ID"
I've been looking at different websites and I can't find the solution anywhere.
I have downloaded the google play store on my MAC computer to see if it works well and indeed, I had no error, but I would like it to work on my mobile phone.

I leave you a manual to know how to install google play store in a PC https://playstorefor.com/download-google-play-store-pc-windows-mac/

 

This is quoted from Google

" If you are using Unity SDK in app, please contact Unity to get the following compliant versions: Unity 2019.4.1f1 and 2018.4.24f1. "

So are those the only 2 versions fixed? What about 2019.2f.1 because I can't seem to find 2019.4.1f.1 and even if I do do we delete the analytics/ads/iap packages or just turn them off or even leave them on? Very vague on both sides

 

Is there any update on this from unity? I just got rejected, same message, with a binary built with 2018.4.24f1 so I am very confused as to what is causing this...