App and game quality

Your app or game must be good quality to be eligible for increased discovery on Google Play, and great quality to be eligible for featuring. Great apps exceed expectations in some or all of the four pillars of app quality: core value, user experience, technical quality, and privacy and security.

Core value
Your app or game should deliver value to users by being useful, fun, or both. High-quality apps and games address unique user needs, and solve problems in an original way.

Go beyond mobile to increase your app or game’s core value, if relevant for your use case. Non-mobile form factors like tablets, foldables, and watches are the fastest growing segment of Android devices, and users are looking for innovative experiences on these devices.

User experience
High-quality apps and games are intuitive and delightful to use. Where necessary, they offer an engaging onboarding experience. High-quality apps and games also embrace Google Play’s reach and scale, localizing for different regions and providing accessibility options for a diverse user base.

Your design is another opportunity to delight users. There is no single preferred aesthetic; what matters is that your designs are original, consistent, and appealing. For games, we also consider the craftsmanship of your visual aspects, game world, storyline, and game mechanic. Your gameplay should seamlessly integrate animations, art style, audio, storyline, and controls into an immersive experience.

Finally, if you monetize your app or game, provide an integrated experience that doesn’t surprise or interrupt users. Poor monetization experiences are one of the top drivers of user dissatisfaction on Google Play, as measured in both ratings and Google Play’s own user research. Investing in your monetization experience can pay off both literally and through long-term user satisfaction and retention.

Technical quality
A high-quality title works well on all the devices that it supports, and makes the most of premium devices such as foldables or watches. Many users own multiple devices, so your app or game should also support smooth transitions between devices.

If your title exceeds Google Play’s bad behavior threshold on specific phones or tablets, we will not promote your title to users on those devices.

Privacy and security
Google Play is committed to protecting user privacy and providing a safe and secure environment for users. Design for safety from the outset. Android offers multiple permission, location, and data minimization best practices so that you can build safer apps and games with appropriate user transparency and control.

Learn more about app and game quality

Please note that in addition to assessing app quality, we also assess whether your app is relevant to the user when deciding whether to promote it. Learn more

Google Play presence

Your marketing assets must also meet a high standard for your app or game to be eligible for increased discovery or featuring.

Store listing
Your store listing is a user’s first impression of your app or game. A great store listing has compelling text and media assets that communicate your app or game’s value and uniqueness.

Learn more about store listing assets

Promotional content
Promotional content allows you to showcase events, discounts, and offers on your store listing. High-quality and high-priority content may be featured on more surfaces if your title is also high quality. Submit regular updates with fresh and compelling benefits to maximize your discoverability on Google Play. Google Play can also boost your title’s discoverability by recommending your app or game to lapsed users.

Learn more about promotional content

Summary
Investing in the quality of your app and marketing assets can not only directly drive user acquisition, engagement, monetization, and retention, it can also increase organic discovery on Google Play. To learn more about how Google Play thinks about quality, and to see examples of high-quality apps and games, watch our I/O talk.

These considerations can evolve over time, so check back whenever you are preparing to launch or update your app or game.