Google PlayStore requires that apps targeting kids below 13 years old should not include location permission. I don’t use the location permission, but I guess it comes pre-baked in Thunkable code. Please help me remove this.
Technically, my app serves 13-14 year-olds as well, so I’ve filed an appeal with Google against the app-rejection, but it will be really useful if I could have the location permission removed (more so since I don’t know if Google will allow my appeal).
Google has now rejected my appeal. All the weeks of effort put into making this Thunkable Cross app will be for nothing, if this can’t get resolved.
I see that @paulmw has indicated that reduced-permissions mode is further down the product roadmap for Thunkable Cross (Why is my app requesting permissions for contacts, camera, etc?)
@domhnallohanlon @jane @paulmw @wei Can you pl give an indication of by when this may be enabled?
I also see that Thunkable Classic operates differently (permissions are sought only for components that I add to my app). So I guess I could redo the entire app on Thunkable Classic, but obviously that isn’t an efficient solution. Esp since I ditched Classic in favour of X because support for Classic is set to be withdrawn in a few months.
Also, to ensures other devs dont face this issue, maybe you should mention somewhere in your documentation that Android apps targeting children should be built using Classic, and not X?
Hi there,
Could you please message me with a link to your app?
We would like to resolve this issue for you.
Edit: We encourage any Thunkers with a similar issue to get in touch with us.
Edit 2: There will be a fix for this in a week or two.
Jane
To clarify, the issue is with requesting permission for location access. Google requires apps targeting children to not request for such permission.
Source: https://play.google.com/about/families/children-and-families/designed-for-families/
Hi there,
This should now be fixed. Try publishing your app again.
Let me know if there are any issues!
Yes, I was able to upload the app now to Google PlayStore without the location permission. Thanks for your support!
I am having similar issues with IOS, Android seems fine now. But IOS still include the location permission even when i am not using it in the code. How can i remove this.
Please how can i remove the android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
I have been trying to publish an app on google playstore but i keep getting this error
Hello,
I am also facing the same issue when publishing my App on Play Store. My app doesn’t request user location permission but Google Play Store said it does. How can I fix this problem? Please help me.
Jib
The background location permission has been removed for all apps generated by Thunkable since about mid-December. If you have generated an APK, uploaded it to the Google Play Store and you are still beeing notified that it uses background location then my take is that the message you are receiving is related to an older APK version which you still have in Internal, Alpha or Beta testing. You can work around this issue by assigning the latest APK version to those testing phases as well. Also, to check the permissions used by your app, type “Permissions” in the Google at console’s search bar and check the results
Thank you for your sharing. In my case, I think I’ve never used any old version of Thunkable. I started to know Thunkable through Thunkable x. I never used Thunkable classic, too.
By the way, is Bluetooth component considered as location permission?
I am talking about Thunkable X. By “old APK” I mean a previous version (i.e. 3) if your app comparing to the current one (i.e. 5), both created on Thunkable X of course. Thinkable Classic is not relevant to this discussion.
Would you mind sharing your latest APK’s permissions as shown in the Google Play Console? Click Testing > Pre-launch Report > Details and expand the “Permissions” section, then copy the listed permissions and paste them here.
Thanks
K
Thank you for your reply. Is this ok?
By the way, I couldn’t find ‘Permission’ section though.
I’m pretty new to Play Store Console. Still have a hard time try to figure out what is what in it, Lol. : )
Thanks again.
Well, it is evident that your app is using the Background location, it is the first permission in the list. When did you create this APK on Thunkable?
I created this app around December last year (2020).
Can you please increment its version, re-download it from Thunkable, upload it to Google Play and check if the new APK still uses the Background location permission?
