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Merge pull request #476 from DevKor-github/codexd/461-play-review-rejection-playbook
[codex] Create Play review rejection response playbook
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‎docs/Home.md‎

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@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Welcome to the OnTime-front project documentation! This wiki contains everything
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- [Git Workflow](./Git.md) - Git strategy and commit message formats
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- [Android Release Signing](./Android-Release-Signing.md) - Required keystore inputs and release signing validation
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- [iOS Release Configuration](./iOS-Release-Configuration.md) - Required Dart defines and archive validation
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- [Play Review Rejection Playbook](./Play-Review-Rejection-Playbook.md) - How to triage, fix, resubmit, or appeal Google Play review rejections
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### Technical Deep Dives
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- [Error Handling System](./Error-Handling-Result-System.md) - Result-based error handling architecture

‎docs/Play-Review-Rejection-Playbook.md‎

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# Play Review Rejection Playbook
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Use this playbook when Google Play rejects an OnTime app submission or update.
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It is scoped to Play review response only; release rollout monitoring belongs in
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the release ownership checklist.
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## Response Owner
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- Assign a Play review monitor before each Play Console submission.
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- Assign a backup monitor who has Play Console and policy email access.
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- The monitor checks Play Console policy status and the developer account policy
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email inbox at least twice per business day while a release is in review.
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- The monitor opens the response thread within one business hour after a
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rejection notice is found and records the intake checklist below.
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- The monitor owns coordination until the release is resubmitted, appealed, or
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explicitly handed off.
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## Immediate Triage
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1. Stop any further Play Console submissions for the rejected app until the
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cited policy issue is understood and fixed.
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2. Save the rejection email, Play Console policy status page, and affected
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release details in the release tracking thread.
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3. Identify whether the status is an app rejection, update rejection, removal,
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suspension, or another enforcement action.
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4. Confirm whether the previously published version remains available to users.
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5. Notify the release owner, backup owner, and the engineer responsible for the
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affected release change.
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## Rejection Intake Checklist
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Record these details before changing code, store metadata, declarations, or the
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appeal form:
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- Rejection received date and time, including timezone.
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- Play Console app status, update status, and affected item status.
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- Affected package name, track, release name, version name, and version code.
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- Rejection reason exactly as summarized by Google Play.
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- Affected policy or Developer Distribution Agreement section.
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- Reviewer notes, examples, and remediation instructions from the email or Play
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Console.
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- Screenshots of the policy status page, review summary, affected declarations,
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and any highlighted store listing or in-app evidence.
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- Submitted declarations that may relate to the rejection, including Data
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safety, content rating, target audience, permissions, ads, account deletion,
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health, financial, location, background activity, and notification
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disclosures.
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- Store listing fields involved, including title, short description, full
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description, screenshots, feature graphic, privacy policy URL, support
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contact, and release notes.
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- Build artifacts involved, including `.aab` filename, commit SHA, workflow run,
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signing source, Firebase config source, and Dart defines.
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- Whether a previous production version remains available.
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- Whether the same or similar rejection has happened before.
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- Proposed owner for the fix and proposed deadline for the next response.
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## Fix And Resubmit
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Prefer fixing and resubmitting when any of these are true:
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- The rejection identifies a real app behavior, metadata, declaration, or
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permissions mismatch.
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- The submitted declarations are incomplete, stale, or inconsistent with the
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build.
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- The store listing, screenshots, or release notes can be corrected without
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disputing Google's policy interpretation.
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- The reviewer notes point to a reproducible issue in the submitted build.
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- The team cannot prove the submitted build and metadata were policy-compliant
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at review time.
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Before resubmission:
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- Fix every cited policy issue and any nearby declaration or metadata mismatch.
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- Review the same policy area across the whole app, not only the example cited
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in the notice.
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- Update the intake thread with the exact changed files, Play Console fields, or
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declarations.
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- Attach evidence for the fix, such as screenshots, test notes, or store listing
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diffs.
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- Confirm the new build number is higher than the rejected upload when a new
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Android App Bundle is submitted.
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- Ask the release owner or backup owner to approve resubmission.
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## Appeal
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Use an appeal only when the team has a factual reason to believe the enforcement
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decision is incorrect or incomplete. Appeal when one of these is true:
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- The rejected behavior is not present in the submitted build.
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- Google Play appears to have reviewed stale metadata, stale declarations, or
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the wrong release item.
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- The policy requirement is already satisfied and the team can provide precise
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evidence.
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- The requested fix would make the app inaccurate, misleading, or nonfunctional.
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- The enforcement action is more severe than the facts support and there is a
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clear record showing compliance.
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Do not appeal only to ask for a faster review, to dispute policy without
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evidence, or to avoid making a known compliance fix. If the team both fixes an
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issue and appeals, state exactly what changed and what part of the decision is
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still being disputed.
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## Appeal Response Template
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```text
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Subject: Appeal for OnTime Google Play review decision
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App: OnTime
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Package name: club.devkor.ontime
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Affected release: <track>, <version name>, <version code>
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Decision received: <date and time with timezone>
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Policy cited: <policy or DDA section named by Google Play>
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Hello Google Play Review Team,
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We are appealing the review decision for the OnTime release listed above because
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<one-sentence factual reason the decision appears incorrect or incomplete>.
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Facts:
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- <Fact 1 tied to the submitted build, declaration, or store listing>
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- <Fact 2 tied to reviewer notes or Play Console evidence>
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- <Fact 3 tied to screenshots, policy text, or implemented behavior>
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Fixes or verification completed:
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- <Code, metadata, declaration, or test change completed, or "No change needed
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because ...">
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- <Evidence location, screenshot name, workflow run, or test result>
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Requested outcome:
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Please re-review this release with the evidence above and reinstate approval if
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you agree it complies with the cited policy.
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Thank you.
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```
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## Evidence Folder Template
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Use this structure in the release tracking thread or shared release folder:
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```text
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play-review-rejection-<version-code>/
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rejection-email.txt
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policy-status.png
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review-summary.png
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submitted-declarations/
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store-listing-before/
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store-listing-after/
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build-artifact.txt
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fix-summary.md
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appeal-response.txt
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```
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## References
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- Google Play Console Help: Check your app's policy status
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https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9842754
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- Google Play Console Help: Publish your app
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https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859751
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- Google Play Developer Program Policy: Enforcement process and enforcement
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actions
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https://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy/

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