Best Practices for White Label Developers

If you're a white-label app developer creating template-based apps for third-party clients, this best practices guide will help you streamline your publishing process on Google Play. This guide focuses on four key areas:

• Account management: Understanding account structure and the associated trade offs with each approach.
• Quality store presence: Crafting unique and compelling store listings that comply with policies and ensure clarity for users.
• Policy compliance: Understanding and complying with policies to prevent account suspensions or bans.
• App review and publishing: Streamlining the review process and managing releases effectively.

Account Management

White-label app developers can typically use two main approaches for account management, however we highly recommend using the decentralized account management approach.

Approach	Decentralized account management(recommended)	Centralized account management
Description	Each client (or group of clients) has a separate developer account. Clients generally manage their own app updates and content. This approach offers two distinct management styles: Unmanaged accounts: Clients retain full control and responsibility for managing their own accounts independently. Managed accounts: The white-label developer retains administrative access and oversees the client's accounts. This model is typical when there is a need for individualized developer accounts, but the client still prefers to employ the white-label developer for some degree of technical maintenance.	All apps are managed under a single developer account. The white-label app developer manages all app updates and content.
Benefits	Unmanaged: Ideal when clients prefer to handle their own app maintenance. Managed: This sub-model is typically reserved where there are some regulatory requirements involved such as financial institutions. Overall both unmanaged and managed decentralized approaches help to isolate risks from the White Label companies and allow for fully independent client branding under a unique developer name.	While this approach may appear to simplify management of app updates under a single developer account, Google strongly advises using the decentralized account management model, as policy issues with one app can negatively impact all other apps within the same account under the centralized management approach. This can result in serious account level consequences that can ultimately impact every app within in account (including account suspension or even termination).
Considerations	Requires strong client communication and support to ensure clients understand and comply with policies.	Requires active involvement in app maintenance, with potential for bottlenecks. A policy violation on one app can ultimately lead to negative consequences for all apps under the same account. Additionally, with the centralized account management model, the developer account information shown on Google Play will be the same for all apps. If clients wish to be fully branded away from the white-label developer, the decentralized account management model is the preferred option.
Summary	We recommend decentralized account management model for white-label app developers, as this approach: Enables your clients to manage their own apps AND publish apps under their own unique developer name. Allows you to isolate the impact of potential policy violations. Empowers you to provide comprehensive guidance and support to clients.	We strongly recommend that white-label app developers use the decentralized account management approach. We advise very limited use of the centralized model, considering the following reasons: Centralized account management of multiple apps for different organizations or individuals carries inherent risks. Policy violations on a single account can lead to the removal of all associated apps, impacting your partners, customers, or clients.

Remember that repeated or severe policy violations can result in an account ban, removing all associated apps and preventing future submissions. No matter how you choose to manage your accounts, complying with Google Play policies is critical for long-term success in white-label app publishing.

Building a quality store presence

White-label app developers often repurpose metadata across multiple apps for efficiency. However, to ensure a positive user experience and comply with Google Play policies, it's important to make each store listing unique and avoid repetitive or misleading content. Here are tips on how to build a quality store presence:

• Ensure store listings are unique: Each app – even if it is a branded template app – should have its own compelling store listing with a unique description, icons, graphics, and relevant screenshots. Using unique store listings helps maintain a high-quality user experience on Google Play by preventing a sea of identical looking apps. Per our Repetitive Content policy, apps should provide value to users through the creation of unique content or services. Don’t use graphic assets that are identical or so similar to existing products or services that may be misleading to users. For example, if an app is locale-specific, include that locale in the app icon (for example, App1-New York, App2-Los Angeles). Below are some examples of common violations.

Click on a section to expand or collapse it.

Using the exact same descriptions for multiple apps

Using the same store listing screenshots for multiple apps

Repurposing the same featured graphics for multiple apps

• Describe your app accurately: Make sure your app’s description accurately describes its functionality and content to comply with our Deceptive Behavior policy. If you want to highlight specific features, make sure they are available in your app. Avoid mentioning unreleased features; you can update your app description after launching new features.

Examples of common violations:

Using screenshots showing functionalities and features that aren’t available in the app

• Make sure screenshots match the app: Screenshots must accurately reflect the app's functionality and match the app experience. If a screenshot shows something that cannot be found or reproduced during the review process it may be rejected for being misleading or violating the Metadata or Broken Functionality policy.

• Show clear value proposition: Explain clearly what your app does and why it's different from other versions (for example, regional variations).

• Use concise descriptions: Keep descriptions concise, well-formatted, and avoid unnecessary details.

• Avoid repetition: Don't repeat the short description in the full description or excessively repeat keywords. For example, avoid this kind of repetition and detail in your description: "Car racing, car driving, race cars, car races, race track, driving, drive, race, cars, vehicles, automobiles, trucks."

• Be transparent: Clearly state if an app is designed for a specific user base.

Additional recommendations

• Use templates for pre-publish questions: Create your own documents or templates to answer declarations accurately and consistently in Play Console.

• Review additional best practices: Learn more helpful tips to get your app published on Google Play and other best practices for your store listing.

Policy compliance tips

Google Play policy violations can have serious consequences, including account bans, and may prevent you from publishing apps or submitting updates. Here's some tips on how to ensure compliance:

• Submit fully functional apps: Ensure your app is fully functional before submitting it for review. If any area of your app does not work as intended, it may be rejected. Use test tracks for unfinished apps.

• Provide login credentials: Be sure to include an active demo account, login credentials and other sign-in details, and any necessary resources for Google Play to access and review your app, as described in our Play Console Requirements. Otherwise, we won’t be able to review your app, and your app may be rejected. Review the requirements for providing login credentials, and you can also take our free e-learning course.

• For unmanaged accounts using the decentralized model, implement basic checks - Before publishing apps from unmanaged accounts, perform checks to ensure basic quality standards for policy compliance, such as verifying that the app description is more than just a copy of the app title.

App reviews and publishing

Here are some additional tips to ensure a smooth app publishing experience:

• Avoid changes during review: Refrain from making changes to your app once you’ve submitted it and it's under review. If possible, implement a "code freeze" during this period.

• Check your policy status: Check your app’s policy status to stay informed and address any policy issues.

  1. Open Play Console.
  2. Select an app.
  3. On the left menu, select Policy status.
  4. Review your policy status:
     • If you see the message "No issues found," no enforcement actions have been taken against your app, and you don’t need to do anything.
     • If your app was rejected, the last version that you successfully published is still available on Google Play.
     • If your app was removed, it won't be available on Google Play until a compliant update is submitted.
     • If your app was suspended, it’s no longer available on Google Play. You can select Appeal to initiate an appeal against the decision.

• Plan for review time: Build extra time into your release schedule for app reviews, as review times can vary and unexpected issues may arise. Reviews are typically completed within 7 days but in exceptional cases it may take longer to review.

• Consider submitting updates early using Managed Publishing: Updates to existing apps are processed as usual. After it's approved, you control exactly when the changes are published. Go to this Help Center article to learn more about managed publishing and managing when changes are reviewed and published.

• Document policy resolutions: If you publish frequently, consider documenting common policy issues and how to resolve them, and any process changes or guidelines implemented to prevent similar issues in future releases.

By following these tips and guidelines, white-label app developers can navigate the complexities of app publishing, maintain a positive account standing, and ensure a smooth and successful app launch process for their clients.