PLAY PERMISSIONS

How to run the checklist before you bump targetSdk

Use this sequence when Contacts Permissions or the location button policy might touch your next Play release. Pair it with the interactive decision checklist.

Google’s April 15, 2026 policy announcement tightened when apps may keep broad READ_CONTACTS and how one-shot precise location should use the location button on Android 17+. Console pre-review checks can flag issues before hard enforcement on January 27, 2027. The steps below turn that into a release runbook.

  1. Export the merged manifest permissions. From Android Studio or your CI, list READ_CONTACTS, ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION, and USE_LOCATION_BUTTON. Save the list next to your Play listing feature bullets.
  2. Map each permission to a user-visible feature. Write one sentence per permission: which screen, which listing screenshot, and whether the need is one-shot or continuous. If you cannot name a promoted feature, plan to remove the permission.
  3. Answer the decision checklist on this site. Open the checklist, select Play vs non-Play, targetSdk plan, contacts need, and location pattern. Copy the path and ship checklist into your release notes doc.
  4. Swap invite/share flows to Contact Picker or Sharesheet. Remove READ_CONTACTS when you only pick contacts. Launch the system picker, request only needed fields, and persist Session URI results immediately before process death.
  5. Swap one-shot precise location to the location button. Integrate the Jetpack location button for transactional precise needs on Android 17+. Add USE_LOCATION_BUTTON and, when fine access is button-only, set onlyForLocationButton on ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION.
  6. Complete Console declarations only when broad access remains. For justified full-book contacts or persistent fine location, submit the Play Console declaration with a technical explanation of why the picker or button is insufficient. “We built a nicer UI” is not enough for contacts.
  7. Self-check in Console after late October 2026. Run pre-review / policy insights for contacts and location. Treat flags as release blockers even though mandatory compliance is January 27, 2027.
  8. Verify on an Android 17 device or emulator. Confirm picker Session URIs and the system-rendered location button. Re-read live Policy Deadlines the week you ship — public dates have moved before.

If you need more time after January 27, note the Console 30-day self-extension — then still ship the fix. Extensions are a bridge, not a product strategy.