Physical contact address on Google Play

I got Email from google
I think it is fair to ask for street address because people are paying money and they should know to whom they are paying it.
Ironically a few weeks ago, I complained about Apple's business practice and many people told me this is their product I can only take it or leave it
and should not tell them how to do their own business.

I am confused why people are concerned about an address for paid and in-app purchase apps.
If you write software that you plan to sell, you are accountable for it, you are supplying goods or a service, which the purchaser has every right to be able to contact the supplier if there is a problem.
Look at it as a good thing, perhaps it will get rid of the rubbish apps that are just there for advertising revenue.
If a developer is confident enough to add their contact details, then that in turn inspires confidence in the purchaser, that they have some recourse if things go wrong.

How many of you would have purchased B4A if Erel had withheld his contact details ?

I'm not arguing. I just want to offer a different viewpoint.

When I give spare change to the guy playing the banjo on the street corner, I don't require he give me his physical address or have a giant sign saying "I live at 123 Smith St".

If people don't like paying a couple dollars to a vendor who doesn't list a physical address, they don't have to.

As far as Android software goes my physical address is in cyberspace. If you want to find me, send me an email.

It is a huge security risk to list your home address as the physical address. As someone stated earlier you don't know what type of crazies might be buying your software.

I charge a couple dollars or less for software. If I have to now maintain a business address, I'll have to charge 10 times as much, magically figure out how to get 100 times as many customers, or just give up.

I do agree that they need to filter out a lot of the noise apps.

I used to ridicule how the Amazon Appstore approved everything before including in their store, but now I'm beginning to appreciate what they do. They have an automated test system that checks the basic operation of your app. If it passes that, you submit, and a real person checks it out. This process seems to take less than a day.

The automated tool looks for things like ringtone apps (Amazon does not support them), Google libraries they don't support, too much text with too little code (advertising apps), and a lot more.

Maybe Google should start doing this.

Barry.

Beja said:

this is their product I can only take it or leave it
and should not tell them how to do their own business.

Click to expand...

but I have a right to expect them to do a lawful use of my personal data. There are laws about privacy.

I can claim against a manufacturer, but I can not know the private address of Apple's owners (to go to launch them rotten apples)

Daestrum said:

How many of you would have purchased B4A if Erel had withheld his contact details ?

Click to expand...

Exist on the site the address of the house of Erel? (of of of... Will I learn to use the genitive Saxon sooner or later?
Well, even if it were so, we can not get to Mars

What happens if you indicating a wrong address? Can google check whether it is right or wrong?

What happens if you indicating a wrong address?

Click to expand...

Then you are risking your freedom.
Everyone is presumed honest, but if he abused this social trust then his freedom will be confiscated according to the law.
Google already have information about you through your bank account and credit card numbers, enough for any law-enforcement
agency to get you.
Bottom line: don't even think about that.

Hi all,
beside my previous joke about listing Google's headquarters address, I agree we those highlighting that Big G surely had to comply with a lot of local legislations in order to avoid any liability issue due to "our" software.

Personally, I would find more acceptable a personal street address kept private by Big G unless a proven claim is raised by a final user. I mean something like embedded malicious code, collecting of unneeded private data, overuse of device resources, well you've got the idea.

Anyway, a side-effect of the new policies would be to split publishers in two main categories: firms (which have a business address, so no personal risk on the privacy side) and individuals.
Maybe nowadays, with 80%+ of share market and a crowded app-market, they simply don't care anymore about the latter. They could even have set (or raised if already existent) an annual fee for publishers to a point where most would have decided to leave.

Dont' be surprised if all the main markets will set similar rules in the near future.

Umberto

Seriously ...

I think that there is only one solution ...

provide to Google the address of your mother-in-law!

Can I use a post office box instead of an address?

Daestrum said:

I am confused why people are concerned about an address for paid and in-app purchase apps.

If you write software that you plan to sell, you are accountable for it, you are supplying goods or a service, which the purchaser has every right to be able to contact the supplier if there is a problem.

Look at it as a good thing, perhaps it will get rid of the rubbish apps that are just there for advertising revenue.
If a developer is confident enough to add their contact details, then that in turn inspires confidence in the purchaser, that they have some recourse if things go wrong.

How many of you would have purchased B4A if Erel had withheld his contact details ?

Click to expand...

- We're concerned for our privacy. This new policy posts the address on the "app details" page, PUBLICLY, meaning that non-purchasers will be able to see it.

- Every purchaser ALREADY GETS OUR ADDRESS. This new policy posts the address on the "app details" page, PUBLICLY, meaning that non-purchasers will be able to see it.

- "Get rid of the rubbish apps that are just there for the advertising revenue" Too bad their exempt. This only applies to paid apps and apps with IAP.

- I could care less if Erel publicly posted his BUSINESS address. Most of us indie devs work from home.

Filippo said:

Can I use a post office box instead of an address?

Click to expand...

PO Box <> Physical Address. Plus, you can't use a PO Box for a Google Wallet Merchant account anyway; odds are it's the same for this requirement.

Edit: Changed "!=" to B4A equivalent of "<>"

"!=" ?

B4A, then "<>"

udg said:

Dont' be surprised if all the main markets will set similar rules in the near future.

Umberto

Click to expand...

They won't because with Apple and Microsoft, they're the "direct seller" of applications. (That's why you don't see the "seller name" on your credit card statement.) Oh, Apple will surely use this to their advantage. ("Unlike our competitors, we sell each developer's applications and thus handle all of the legal limelight for them".)

LucaMs said:

"!=" ?

B4A, then "<>"

Click to expand...

"!=" is "not equal" in .NET languages

BlackholeSoft said:

"!=" is "not equal" in .NET languages

Click to expand...

uhm.. are you sure? maybe in Java... you know too many languages

LucaMs said:

uhm.. are you sure? maybe in Java... you know too many languages

Click to expand...

Yep.

I do know a number of languages. When I was younger, I started using VB.NET. Last year, I got indoctrinated into Xojo. I got fed up with the lost promises and switched to B4a. Will be picking up B4i and Swift for iOS development. (It's best to extend the range of languages you know)

Xojo: 64-Bit and iOS announced in 2011 and 2012 respectively with betas and final releases slated for each year then delayed each time

this is really stupid, why should someone cotact me ? if he dont like my app he can uninstall it and get the refund
if i have to give costumer support to any stupid question i would not sell my app for 1$

google start pissing me off

what will be the next step? give my phone number to anyone that download my app? so he can call me at work or maybe at night??

i want also the phone number and adress from Larry page and Sergey Brin...

In the Google Play developer console, if you click 'Settings' it now has a spot for 'Physical address' under the account details.
I guess the time has come to put in the address.

i have put like this

israel, haifa 26323

Country, State and Zip Code i belive thats enough

A while back I had some problem with Google Play so I called Google and at the end of the call they go "Thanks for working for us". I wonder if I can put Google's address down since Google thinks I work for Google? Well the operator said I did.. LOL

Plus Google puts the money into our accounts and Google has these new rules, so Google must be our boss, right? So we could put Google's address down since they pay us.

aaronk said:

A while back I had some problem with Google Play so I called Google and at the end of the call they go "Thanks for working for us". I wonder if I can put Google's address down since Google thinks I work for Google? Well the operator said I did.. LOL

Plus Google puts the money into our accounts and Google has these new rules, so Google must be our boss, right? So we could put Google's address down since they pay us.

Click to expand...

LOL...

google is definitely our partner, he get 30% of our sales (only paid apps) and what i have understood is only if you sale apps (or use in app purchases) you will need to provide a physical address but if your apps are for free then you will not need to add a physical address