113 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
113 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
# Google Play location and foreground-service declaration
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This file is the source copy for Play Console. It describes the exact current
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Android behavior; it is not evidence that Google Play has approved the feature.
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Reconcile every answer with the AAB selected for release.
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## Manifest and permission facts
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- Package: `org.whoneedhelp.mobile`
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- Target SDK: `37`
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- Foreground service type: `location`
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- Foreground-service permissions: `FOREGROUND_SERVICE` and
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`FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION`
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- Runtime location permissions: `ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION` and
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`ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`
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- The app does not request `ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION`.
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- The app also declares `USE_LOCATION_BUTTON` for the separate one-time
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foreground action that places a request or activity point. It must not use
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`onlyForLocationButton`, because the distinct live-location flow also needs
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precise location after the user starts the foreground service.
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## Foreground-service declaration copy
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**Use case:** User-initiated location sharing.
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**Feature using the service:**
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> During an active mutual-aid assignment, an accepted requester or helper can
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> explicitly start live location sharing with the matched participant. Who Need
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> Help starts a location foreground service only after the user opens the active
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> assignment, taps Share live location, reads the prominent disclosure, and
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> grants Android location permission. A persistent notification remains visible
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> for the full session and includes a Stop sharing action.
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**Why the task must start immediately:**
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> The participant starts sharing to coordinate an active, time-sensitive handoff.
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> Deferring the first update would show the matched participant stale or missing
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> position information at the moment the user deliberately requested sharing.
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**Impact if Android interrupts the task:**
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> New location updates stop. The app does not silently restart sharing. The user
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> must return to the active assignment and start it again. The matched participant
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> no longer receives a current position.
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**How it ends:**
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- The user taps Stop sharing in the app or in the persistent notification.
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- Cancelling, withdrawing from, completing, or otherwise leaving the active
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assignment stops the native service through the server-driven terminal state.
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- The service also stops on an authorization or missing-assignment response.
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- Stopping removes the current raw location from the server. Limited derived
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safety evidence can remain as stated in the Privacy Policy.
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- Sharing is never started from boot, a background receiver, a push notification,
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or an unattended scheduled task.
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## Play Console answers
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Use these only when the current Console wording matches the stated fact:
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- Foreground service type: **Location**
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- Closest preset use case: **Background Location Updates — User-initiated
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location sharing**
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- Core user benefit: safe coordination between the two people already matched
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for an active help request
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- Persistent notification: shown after the explicit in-app start and prominent
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disclosure, with a user-visible Stop action
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- Background-location runtime permission declared: **No**
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- Location foreground service declared: **Yes**
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Google Play requires a foreground-service declaration for apps targeting
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Android 14 or newer. Do not describe this feature as passive, continuous,
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always-on, emergency, medical, or hidden tracking.
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## Video evidence script
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Record one short, unlisted video from the exact Play candidate. Keep the phone
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screen readable and show the complete trigger path without cuts that hide a
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permission or disclosure screen.
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1. Start on an active synthetic request in which the signed-in reviewer is an
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accepted requester or helper.
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2. Scroll to live-location controls and tap **Share live location**.
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3. Pause on the prominent disclosure long enough to read what is collected,
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who receives it, minimized-app use, deletion, and the Stop action.
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4. Tap **Continue and share** and grant the Android location permission.
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5. Show the persistent **Sharing live location** system notification.
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6. Press Home so the app is minimized; show that the notification remains
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visible and that the matched browser receives a current synthetic position.
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7. Tap **Stop sharing** in the notification.
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8. Return to the request and show that sharing is stopped and the live marker is
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no longer available.
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Do not use a real home address, real medical information, chat text, email,
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handover code, access token, or another person's location in the recording.
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## Pre-submission evidence
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- Run `./scripts/android-play-policy-check.sh`.
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- Run the signed release build and retain its manifest/package/signing reports.
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- Repeat start, Home/minimize, notification, Stop, and raw-position deletion on
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a Play-delivered internal-test install after Play App Signing is available.
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- Confirm the Privacy Policy, Data Safety form, store listing, disclosure, and
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Play Console declaration all describe the same behavior.
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Official references checked on 2026-08-03:
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- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13392821
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- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9799150
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- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/16909972
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- https://developer.android.com/develop/background-work/services/fgs/service-types
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