October 2025 Google Play Policy Updates: Key Changes for Child Safety, Finance & Health Compliance

Google published a set of policy changes on October 30, 2025, giving developers at least 30 days to bring apps into compliance; the update adds a new Age-Restricted policy, tightens financial and medical rules, clarifies Accessibility API use, and introduces administrative controls such as a Financial features declaration and a 180-day appeals window.

New age-gating for matchmaking, dating and real-money features

What changed

A new Age-Restricted Content and Functionality policy requires apps that include matchmaking, dating or real-money gambling/games/contests to use Play Console features to block minors from accessing those features. This is intended to strengthen protections for children across the Play ecosystem.

Developer implications

Implementation checklist

• Enable Play Console age-gating controls for affected features.
• Document age verification flows and retention of related logs where required by policy or local regulation.

Financial rules: India lending requirements and mandatory declarations

Personal loans in India

Country requirements for personal loan apps in India were updated to align with the government’s published list of approved digital lending apps. Apps must appear on that list and meet Play policy requirements to remain available on Google Play; new personal-loan apps must comply by Oct 30, 2025.

Source: Google Play

Financial features declaration

Every app must complete the Financial features declaration in Play Console — even apps without financial features — and, as of Oct 30, updates cannot be published until the declaration is completed. This is intended to increase transparency and help Google identify which apps require extra review.

👉 How to Promote a Fintech App?

Health, Accessibility API and technical clarifications

Medical device guidance for EU

The Health and Medical Functionalities policy now incorporates elements of MDCG guidance for medical device apps targeting EU users. Google will add a visible "Medical Device" label for EU-certified medical device apps and provide guidance for developers serving EU markets. Teams offering diagnostic or therapeutic apps should audit regulatory status and labelling ahead of compliance deadlines.

Accessibility API restrictions

Google clarified that any use of the Accessibility API that lets an app autonomously initiate, plan, or execute actions is prohibited — to prevent apps from changing device settings or performing hidden UI actions without explicit user consent. Assistive-technology developers must ensure explicit consent flows and avoid automation that modifies device state without user initiation.

Source: Google Play

Terminology and subscription clarifications

Small but important clarifications include renaming the “Maskware” category in the Malware policy to Riskware, and clearer guidance and non-compliant examples for the Subscriptions policy to improve disclosure practices.

Enforcement, appeals, developer verification and tooling

Appeals and account controls

Google introduced a 180-day appeal window for account terminations to focus review resources on genuine cases and discourage fraudulent appeals. This change affects the timeframe in which account owners can request reinstatement.

Developer verification and device registration

Android is requiring apps to be published by verified developers in order to be installed on certified Android devices; developers are encouraged to complete verification steps and sign up for early access where relevant.

In-IDE policy guidance

Play Policy Insights, now available to all Android Studio developers, offers real-time policy guidance (lint warnings, summaries, links) while coding. Google is also rolling out a new Key Considerations section across several policies (Target API Level, Permissions, Device & Network Abuse) to present concise Do’s & Don’ts. These tools aim to reduce surprises at review time.

ASOWorld First Order Discount

Get 50% off on your first order to start your app growth!

Promote Now Sign up with Google >

Key deadlines and immediate developer priorities

Deadlines

Developers have at least 30 days from Oct 30, 2025 to comply with these changes; check Play Console Policy Deadlines for app-specific dates.

Urgent action list

1. Complete the Financial features declaration for every app to avoid blocked updates.
2. Audit matchmaking/dating/gambling features and enable Play Console age-blocking controls.
3. For India-targeted lending apps, confirm presence on the government’s approved list and necessary RBI documentation.
4. For EU medical apps, verify certification status and prepare “Medical Device” labeling.
5. Review Accessibility API usage to remove any autonomous action workflows.

Editor’s Comments

These updates reflect Google's ongoing push toward a more regulated app ecosystem, building on prior efforts like the 2023 spam policy crackdowns and EU Digital Services Act preparations, which have already reduced malicious apps by over 40% according to industry reports. By mandating minor blocks in gambling apps, the changes could significantly lower youth exposure to addictive features, potentially mirroring successes in platforms like Apple's App Store.

For Indian lenders, alignment with government lists addresses rising digital fraud concerns, where non-compliant apps have led to millions in losses annually. In health tech, the MDCG integration and labeling enhance post-market surveillance, vital as EU medical app submissions surged 25% last year.

Looking ahead, expect faster adoption of Policy Insights to cut review times by 20-30%, but smaller developers may face hurdles with declarations—prompting Google to possibly extend grace periods if compliance lags.