Mobile Game Legal Checklist: Apple App Store and Google Play Compliance

App-store review is not a final administrative step. Apple and Google evaluate the build, store listing, payment flow, privacy disclosures and user-safety features as one product. A mismatch between them can delay launch or create enforcement risk after approval.

Use this checklist before submission and after every material SDK, monetization or social-feature change.

1. Identify the seller and keep disclosures consistent

Confirm which entity appears as developer or seller, owns the relevant IP, receives platform revenue and contracts with players. The privacy policy, terms, support page, invoices and store account should use consistent legal names and contact details.

Store metadata must accurately describe the game. Screenshots, age rating, content declarations, advertising statements and feature descriptions should match the submitted build. If the title includes chat, user-generated content, gambling simulations or AI-generated live content, do not rely on a generic description.

2. Map payments and digital purchases

Determine which purchases must use the platform’s in-app purchase or billing system and where an exception or alternative program may apply. Rules vary by storefront and can change by region, app type and regulatory regime; review the current terms for each release market.

List every paid digital item, subscription, premium currency, battle pass, web-shop connection and external call to action. Ensure prices, renewal terms and entitlements are clear. On Apple platforms, purchased in-game currency may not expire. Restoration, family sharing and subscription cancellation should operate as represented.

Do not assume that using virtual currency removes billing or consumer-law obligations.

3. Review randomized rewards

Apple and Google require advance disclosure of odds for paid randomized virtual items. Place the disclosure close enough to the purchase for a player to understand it before committing. It should reflect the live reward configuration, including event changes, guaranteed rewards and pity mechanics.

Separately assess gambling law, consumer protection and rating consequences by territory. Store approval is not a legal opinion and does not replace local classification.

4. Align the privacy policy with actual data flows

Apple requires an accessible privacy policy in App Store Connect and within the app; Google requires user-data disclosures and a Data safety form. These materials should explain what data is collected, why, with whom it is shared, how long it is retained and how users exercise rights.

Test the release build’s network traffic and maintain an SDK register. Analytics, attribution, advertising, crash, anti-cheat, chat and support tools can collect data before a player reaches a settings page. Store answers must include third-party behavior within the app.

When data practices change, update the policy and store declarations before or with the build—not after a complaint.

5. Make account deletion functional

If the game supports account creation, Apple generally requires users to initiate deletion within the app. Google Play requires an in-app path and an external web resource through which users can request deletion. Associated user data should be deleted unless retention is legally justified and disclosed.

Differentiate account deletion from logout, deactivation or removal of local save data. Build a backend workflow covering linked accounts, support verification, fraud prevention, legal holds and confirmation. Avoid collecting excessive identity evidence to process the request.

6. Classify the audience and protect children

Complete age-rating and target-audience questions using the game’s content and actual design. Apple updated age-rating questions and categories for 2026, and Google Play requires a target-audience declaration. Upcoming platform fields can also affect social-feature submissions, so release owners should monitor current requirements.

Games directed to or used by children face additional privacy, advertising, purchase and design controls. Apple’s Kids Category restricts links, purchasing and many third-party analytics or advertising practices. Google Play Families policies impose audience, SDK, ad and social-feature requirements, including neutral age screens for mixed audiences.

Store categorization does not replace COPPA, GDPR or local child-safety analysis.

7. Build UGC safety into the product

For chat, profiles, clans, uploads or other user-generated content, both stores expect effective safeguards. Apple calls for filtering objectionable material, reporting, timely responses, user blocking and published contact information. Google requires terms acceptance, defined prohibited content, ongoing moderation and in-app report/block tools appropriate to the feature.

Test moderation from a user’s perspective. Can a player report the exact message or profile? Can the target block the sender? Does the studio retain enough evidence to review the complaint without storing content indefinitely?

Apps used mainly for random or anonymous abusive interaction face heightened rejection risk.

8. Secure permissions and sensitive features

Request device permissions only when required and explain their use in context. Camera, microphone, contacts, location, photos, Bluetooth and tracking permissions should match both platform purpose strings and the privacy policy.

For voice chat, explain recording or analysis and minimize retention. For tracking and advertising, implement the applicable consent and platform frameworks. Security controls should cover tokens, account recovery, cheating, payment fraud and vulnerable SDK versions.

9. Verify IP and content rights

The submission warranty usually extends to everything in the app and listing: music, fonts, screenshots, trademarks, licensed characters, open-source code and user-facing promotions. Maintain assignments and licences that cover mobile distribution, territories, modifications and marketing.

If the game uses generative AI, preserve a record of tools, inputs, human edits and platform disclosures. If it uses a third-party brand or account login, be ready to demonstrate authorization.

10. Prepare review notes and a live-ops owner

Provide reviewers with working test credentials, backend access where appropriate and concise notes explaining non-obvious features. Ensure servers are available and IAP products are configured for review.

Assign a named owner for post-launch compliance. Live-ops teams can change prices, odds, event content, SDK behavior and audience exposure without a new legal document. Establish release gates for material economy, privacy and social changes.

Submission-day control list

Before pressing submit, confirm:

• seller, terms, privacy and support identities match;
• metadata and age declarations match the build;
• billing routes and entitlements have been tested;
• loot-box odds are accurate and proximate;
• privacy and Data safety answers match SDK traffic;
• account deletion completes through required routes;
• children’s settings and ad configuration are active;
• UGC report, block and moderation tools work;
• all permissions have an evident purpose; and
• review credentials and notes are current.

Platform compliance is a moving operating standard. Archive the version of each policy used for the release and schedule periodic checks against current rules.

VERTEANA perspective: Cross-border game-industry decisions rarely belong to one legal discipline. VERTEANA helps studios, publishers, founders and investors coordinate contracts, IP, corporate structuring and market-entry risk. Start a private conversation.

What this guide covers

This practical overview addresses mobile game legal checklist, including App Store compliance game, Google Play game compliance, mobile game privacy policy, Mobile Game Legal Checklist: Apple App Store and Google Play Compliance, Mobile Game Legal Checklist: Apple and Google Play. Terminology varies between jurisdictions, so the analysis should follow the actual facts rather than a label used in a search query.