Android app development: what Google Play requires in 2026

Accounts, testing rules, target API deadlines and data disclosures an Android app must meet to publish on Google Play, checked against Google's own pages.

Android runs on phones from many manufacturers, but most apps still reach users through one store, Google Play. These are the conditions Google sets for it, taken from Google’s own help and developer pages.

The developer account

You publish through a Play Console account. It costs a US$25 one-time registration fee, the account holder must be at least 18, and you choose between a Personal and an Organization account. A business app belongs in an Organization account held by the business, so the listing, payouts and reviews stay with you if your developer changes.

Testing before production

Google has added a gate for new personal accounts. Personal developer accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test before applying for production access. At least 12 testers must be opted in, continuously for the preceding 14 days. Google says the review of the application usually takes seven days or less. So a personal account needs about three weeks between a working build and a public listing.

Target API level

Each year Google raises the Android version that apps must be built for. According to its target API level page:

• From 31 August 2026, new apps and app updates for phones and tablets must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher.
• Existing apps must target Android 15 (API level 35) or higher to stay available to new users on newer Android versions.
• An extension to 1 November 2026 can be requested.

This is the Android half of the yearly upkeep described in the maintenance guide.

Data safety

Every app on Google Play has to complete the Data safety form, including apps that collect no data at all, and provide a privacy policy. The form must cover data collected or shared by third-party libraries and SDKs inside the app, such as analytics or advertising kits. Ask your developer for a list of every SDK in the build; you are the one answering for it.

Store fees

Google charges a service fee on digital sales made through Google Play billing. The fee structure is changing by region during 2026: updated fees took effect on 30 June in the EEA, UK and US and on 30 September in Australia and Japan, while other markets keep the earlier table until a global rollout. Check the current table before you model subscription revenue.

Questions to ask whoever builds it

• Is the app published under our Organization account?
• Which SDKs are in the build, and what data does each collect?
• Who updates the target API level before each August deadline?
• Which Android versions and devices will you test on?

For the iPhone side of the same project, see iOS app development.