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Google’s listing and delisting are related to each other, where exactly is the problem?
FacebookandGoogle, are two huge obstacles that domestic businesses must overcome when going global. Facebook controls the world’s high-quality user traffic, and Google controlsappThe listing entrance of these two platforms has very strict and abnormal review mechanisms, which tortures many developers.
Google Play Getting an app on the shelves is usually the first problem to be solved when going overseas. In fact, developers who have come into contact with Google Play should have had this experience: it is easy to get an app on the shelves but difficult to keep it there. Successful listing is only the first step in the Red Army's Long March, and ensuring that it stays on the shelves for a long time is the most difficult part.
People often ask me if there is any foolproof way to ensure that an app can be on the shelf for a long time. Sometimes there are indeed some ways to exploit Google's loopholes and make the app on the shelf as long as possible, but Google's risk control has also been learning, improving, and upgrading, just like an AI intelligent system, constantly checking and fixing bugs. After all, this is Google's livelihood. With Google's technical level, there is nothing it can't do as long as it wants to.
This issue mainly explains why your developer account will be removed and how to avoid being removed from the platform.
1. Listing Process
I have posted a special tweet about the listing process. What you need to do in this step is to ensure that all the environment and information are absolutely clean, and the mobile phone number, bank card, network environment, etc. are completely unrelated.
Clean Account
The basic process of listing on Google Play in 2023 is shown in the figure below. For detailed steps, please refer to my previous article.
2. Related Delisting
Association removal is a problem that most Google developers will encounter. You should all be familiar with the following email.
This is a template email for Google-associated delisting. Even if you try to ask for the specific reason for the delisting or appeal that you have not violated any rules, it is useless. Once you are associated, your account will be blocked and delisted.
Why are they associated?
Account association means that Google Play recognizes that your multiple apps may be similar repackaged apps, which violates Google's developer policies. Once discovered, all of them will be removed from the shelves and your account will be blocked.
If you have only one package on the shelf, but it is linked, your account is not clean. The safest way is to register as a developer yourself if you only have one package on the shelf and do not make a vest package.
While ensuring a clean environment, what other parts must be paid attention to when putting products on the shelves?
1. Privacy Links
The privacy link should use a domain name different from that of the illegal account, and the email and other contact information involved in the privacy link should be changed.
2. Account password & auxiliary email
Do not use the same password for multiple developer accounts. Each account should have a different password. Also, do not use a secondary email address that is associated with the offending account, as it may be detected by GG.
3. Material pictures/promotional copy
Store material images and promotional copy must be changed every time. They can be made simpler, but they must not be too similar.
4. App name/logo/UI
If your app has been removed from the shelves multiple times, you must change the App name/logo/UI and other material content to avoid being removed from the shelves because the product style is too similar to illegal products.
5. Backend interface
The IP address and domain name need to be changed, the interface structure needs to be changed, and data transmission needs to be encrypted.
If the package you submitted is blocked, you must change the server's IP address and domain name the next time you submit it. Generally, the HTTP request of the game is in plain text, that is, the HTTP request sent by the client to the server will clearly write the server's domain name. Google will block this domain name without hesitation, so it is useless to only change the IP address without changing the server domain name!
6. Client
The code structure similarity is too high, the framework encapsulation similarity is high, the naming rules such as class name, method name and variable name are unique; the same domain name is used; a lot of third-party frameworks are used, etc.
Take resource packs as an example. apkAfter decompression, the files under assetsinData (withUnityProject as an example) Google determines whether two packages are vest packages by comparing the similarity of file names and file contents. Regardless of whether you use mono packaging or IL2CPP packaging, there will be a lot of binary files named with hash values in this directory. The hash values come from the original file names. This means that if there are a large number of binary files with the same name in two apks, then there will also be a large number of corresponding physical resource files with the same name, which is very dangerous.
To avoid this risk, you can pack the resources into a separate AssetBundle package and encrypt the package (a simple bitwise inversion will do). This way, not many binary files will be exposed in the assetsinData directory. However, there is a problem with this approach. If the package you submit this time is blocked, the AssetBundle file of the package you submit next time will be the same as this time, and you will need to change the encryption method.
To sum up, the code is not obfuscated enough. Obfuscate to the extent possible and don't rely on luck.
For listing on Google Play, you must carefully study the listing policy of Google Play and gain true knowledge through continuous practice. Google's policies are constantly being upgraded, and our strategies must keep up with the pace.
