Google Play "App Optimization" warning — Code obfuscation at only 1% (R8/ProGuard not enabled on production builds?)

Questions about Thunkable X
1

Hi Thunkable team and community,

I recently got a warning on Google Play Console for one of my apps, flagging that its optimization is below Google’s minimum threshold:

“App optimization is below our threshold. Improve your percentages in the following categories: Obfuscation (1%)”

Google explains that apps with more than 10 MB of DEX code need to reach at least 25% in optimization, obfuscation, and shrinking (via R8/ProGuard), or they may see visibility and publishing impacts on Google Play. More info here: https://developer.android.com/topic/performance/app-optimization/enable-app-optimization

I checked my app’s size breakdown in Play Console (Android vitals > App size) and confirmed the Code/DEX portion of my app bundle is around 18 MB — well above the 10 MB threshold that triggers this requirement. Yet obfuscation is sitting at just 1%.

Since Thunkable apps don’t give us access to the underlying build.gradle file, I have no way to enable minifyEnabled true / R8 optimization myself for production builds.

My questions for the Thunkable team:

  1. Is Thunkable aware of this new Google Play requirement?
  2. Are there plans to enable R8/ProGuard optimization (with appropriate keep rules for Thunkable’s runtime) on production builds?
  3. Is there any setting on our end that can influence this today?

This requirement isn’t strictly enforced yet (Google says enforcement starts February 2027), but it would be great to know if this is on the roadmap before it becomes a publishing blocker.

Thanks in advance — curious if other Thunkable developers are seeing the same warning on their apps.

2

I can’t speak for the Thunkable team, but a few notes that may help while you wait for an answer.

The obfuscation figure in Play Console is the share of your code that is shrunk or renamed by R8. Since the build is generated by the platform, the keep rules and the minify setting sit on their side, so it is fair to ask them directly and to mention the 10 MB DEX threshold and the February 2027 date you found.

What you can influence today is the amount of code that ends up in the bundle. Removing unused extensions, screens and blocks you no longer need, and keeping large media files out of the app, can reduce size even if the percentage does not change. It is also worth checking the same breakdown under Android vitals after your next release, to see whether the DEX figure moves.

Please post back if the team replies. Other people publishing production apps will want to know the answer too.

3

Thanks for the detailed breakdown, the Play Console size numbers make this much easier to follow. Since the build.gradle is not exposed in Thunkable, enabling R8 is something only the platform team can change in the generated project, so it is worth raising with Thunkable support directly and referencing the Play Console message and the 25% threshold for apps with more than 10 MB of DEX code.

In the meantime, two things can help on your side:

  1. Reduce DEX size by removing unused extensions, components and libraries from the project. Each extension typically brings its own dependencies, so trimming them lowers the total code size even when shrinking is not applied.
  2. In Play Console, look at the app size breakdown by library (Android vitals > App size) to see which dependencies account for most of the 18 MB. That tells you whether a specific extension is the main contributor.

As far as I know, the warning mainly affects visibility and publishing recommendations rather than blocking releases outright, but confirming that with Thunkable would be useful for everyone shipping apps at this size.