Google Play Developer Newsletter | Upcoming changes to ratings and reviews, Indie Games Festival finals, and more

What’s new in Android and Google Play

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August 2021

Making ratings and reviews more helpful

Starting in November 2021, Google Play users on phones will see ratings specific to their location and, in early 2022, users will see ratings specific to their device. To help you prepare for these changes, it’s now easier to evaluate your ratings and reviews in Play Console. We’ll also actively message you about the ratings changes your app can expect to see 10 weeks before they go live.

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Join us for the Indie Games Festival on September 4

Join the adventure. Explore the games, meet the developers, hang out with other players, find out who wins, and more. Also, hear who is selected for the Indie Games Accelerator. The event is virtual and free to attend.

REGISTER NOW

Feature Spotlight: Reach and devices

Make better decisions about which specs to build for, where to launch, and what to test by getting insight into the distribution of your users and issues across the Google Play ecosystem, and how you compare to peers.

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Featured videos from the Google for Games Developer Summit

Improve your store listing quality

Help players wait less and play more

Introducing the Play Integrity API

What’s new on Android

New Android 12 Beta 4 release: Android 12 has now achieved platform stability with all the APIs and app-facing behaviors are finalized.

Wear OS Tiles can be seen by smartwatch users: Tiles provide access to the information and actions people need to get things done.

Jetpack WindowManager is in beta: The library provides support for responsive UIs, callback adapters for detecting screen changes, and window testing APIs, as well as support for foldables and Chrome OS.

App quality guidelines: 75% of 5-star reviews on Google Play mention speed, design, and usability. Learn how to delight users and earn 5-star feedback.

ANDROID STUDIO

The Firebase guide to building stable, high-performing apps

Fast, crash-free apps engage people better and encourage positive reviews. Learn how to unlock the next level of app stability and app performance from this 3-part Firebase blog post.

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Upcoming Google Play and Android deadlines

September 2021:

Existing apps must comply with the Payments policy update. If needed, you can apply for an extension to March 31, 2022.

Apps must comply with the recent July policy updates.

Apps must comply with the Store Listing & Promotion policy update.

October 2021:

Apps must comply with the User Data policy update related to persistent device identifiers.

November 2021:

Existing apps using Play Billing must use Billing Library version 3 or newer.

Existing apps must target at least Android 11 (API level 30) for new app updates.

UPCOMING DEADLINES

Security by design

To make Android the safest mobile platform, we invest in the security of the platform, its apps, and the global Android ecosystem. As developers, you can help keep users safe and secure. Learn about best practices for encryption, integrity, and the app security lifecycle.

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The Google Play team

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Google Play Developer Newsletter | Upcoming changes to ratings and reviews, Indie Games Festival finals, and more

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Google Play Developer Newsletter | Google Play new Safety Section, Policy updates, Webinars, and more

Google Play Developer Newsletter | Google for Games Developer Summit, Android 12 Beta 2, and more

Google Play Developer Newsletter | Android 12 Beta 2, 15% service fee enrollment open, Play Console guides

Google Play Developer Newsletter | Latest Google I/O announcements, What’s new in Google Play, and more

Google Play Developer Newsletter | Google I/O, Play Console KPI customization

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