Now not only will you be forced to endure unsolicited emails about boosting your app's ranking, but also unsolicited phone calls. I recently got a new phone number and it's already doomed to eternally receive phone calls about "boosting your business's ranking" because it was once listed on Google Maps for a business
Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
31–40 of 98 posts
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#32The page isn’t clear on if the info has to be shown or can be shown. I get doing more to verify developers (ignoring what I think of DUNS). But acting as an individual developer if I were to think of creating an app for Android and saw that I had to publicly post my phone number that would be an absolute dead stop to development.
Minimally, for one who wants to keep a personal number private, this will raise the barrier to entry with an ongoing cost for a separate number.
Still, it’s a win for less technical users -- who ostensibly have never installed an alternative store -- considering they’ll be less likely to recognize scammy apps like the flashlights of old.
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#33No more Google. This is why we can't have nice things.
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#34Now only if it were that easy to get a phone number to speak to a human at Google
Depends on the product. If it's something you pay for, you can get a phone number. For example, GPay and Play store for billing issues has an accessible phone numbers. Any place where scaling customer support to the revenue vs number of users tends to lead to a lack of phone numbers. (Googler, opinions are my own)
Any place where scaling customer support to the revenue vs number of users tends to lead to a lack of phone numbers.
This makes sense, and yet Google will apparently be requiring phone numbers for apps that aren't monetized at all.
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#35It says the phone number needs to be verified. It doesn't say a phone number is required.
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#36The page isn’t clear on if the info has to be shown or can be shown. I get doing more to verify developers (ignoring what I think of DUNS). But acting as an individual developer if I were to think of creating an app for Android and saw that I had to publicly post my phone number that would be an absolute dead stop to development.
If you view the "Full Policy" link, it does seem to state that it must be shown. "where applicable" is vague though... Before you submit your app, you must: Accurately provide your developer account information, including the following details: * Legal name and address * D-U-N-S number, if registering as an organization * Contact email address and phone number * Developer email address and phone number shown on Googl…
I have no special knowledge of this, but I think the natural interpretation is that “developer email and phone number” means contact info for a business publishing the app.
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#37The page isn’t clear on if the info has to be shown or can be shown. I get doing more to verify developers (ignoring what I think of DUNS). But acting as an individual developer if I were to think of creating an app for Android and saw that I had to publicly post my phone number that would be an absolute dead stop to development.
In the article, there is a screenshot listing the phone number in the "App support" section.
Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#38Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings
#39The page isn’t clear on if the info has to be shown or can be shown. I get doing more to verify developers (ignoring what I think of DUNS). But acting as an individual developer if I were to think of creating an app for Android and saw that I had to publicly post my phone number that would be an absolute dead stop to development.
In the article, there is a screenshot listing the phone number in the "App support" section.
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...
Individuals: "Google will display your legal name, your country (as per your legal address), and developer email address on Google Play. If you decide to monetize on Google Play then Google will display your full address."
Organizations: "To help improve transparency and user safety on Google Play, Google will display your legal name, legal address, developer email address, and developer phone number on Google Play."