Apps to be removed from PlayStore by May 5th

Recently I got this warning message saying an Android app I published to the PlayStore will be removed from the platform by May 5th due to storage permissions in the APK:

"We detected that your app contains the requestLegacyExternalStorage tag in the manifest file of 1 or more of your application or APK packages.

Developers who have apps on devices running Android 11 and later must use dedicated storage so that users have more control over access to their device storage. Starting on May 5, to launch your app on Android 11 or later, you must do one of the following:

Update your app to use more privacy-related best practices, such as the storage access framework or the Media Store API
Update your app to declare Access to All Files (MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) permission in the manifest file and complete the declaration in the Play Console as of May 5
Completely remove the Access to all files permission from your app
For apps targeting Android 11, the requestLegacyExternalStorage tag will be ignored. You must use the Access to all files permission to maintain broad access.

Apps that request access to the Access to all files permission without having the authorized use will be removed from Google Play, and you will not be able to publish updates."

Has anybody checked to see if this is a widespread problem for your Android apps?

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Hi Alberto,

I got this statement from Adalo regarding this issue.

"We are aware of the message and the changes referenced here. We will be sending out a message to makers with android builds in the near future. But long story short, there should be no impact to our apps from what we are discussing with Google."

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