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

[dondon]

There is no workaround till now, as I know.

[JeffDUnity3D]

We are checking on this, I will update this thread when I have additional information to share.

[dondon]

Ok great to hear!

[wagenheimer]

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.

[justdizzy]

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.

[Dani_tangiblefun]

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

[mariusvin]

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.”

[Dani_tangiblefun]

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

[dondon]

@JeffDUnity3D any news?

[_Adriaan_1]

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

[Mitjans_AmuseNetwork]

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

[dondon]

@Mitjans_AmuseNetwork

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?

[Biggix]

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!

[scorp2007]

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.

[JeffDUnity3D]

@scorp2007

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.

This may help https://forum.unity.com/threads/google-play-keeps-detecting-collection-of-personal-and-sensitive-information-rejecting-my-app.885223/#post-5997200

[YondernautsGames]

@dondon

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.

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

[BergOnTheJob]

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

• Read through the Data Collection section of Families Policy Requirements and make appropriate changes to your app.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

[Geads]

@Mitjans_AmuseNetwork

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

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

[scorp2007]

@BergOnTheJob

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

• • Read through the Data Collection section of Families Policy Requirements and make appropriate changes to your app.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

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)

6086838–660798–DisableUnityAnalytics.cs (443 Bytes)

[SCIENET07]

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/