App Store RejectionGuideline Google Play — Advertising ID — Advertising ID and App Set ID Policy

Your App Is Tracking Users Who Have Opted Out

Using Android Advertising ID for tracking when a user has opted out is a policy violation. Google Play Protect and the review team look for this. Here's how to handle advertising IDs correctly.

What Apple said

“Your app has been found to use the Advertising ID (GAID) for interest-based advertising or tracking purposes after the user has limited ad tracking or opted out. Apps must respect user opt-out preferences and not use the Advertising ID for prohibited purposes.”

What this actually means

When a user resets or opts out of ad personalization on Android, your app must stop using the Android Advertising ID for tracking or targeting. Google also introduced App Set ID as a privacy-preserving alternative for certain analytics use cases. Using the advertising ID in violation of user preferences is both a policy violation and increasingly detectable through automated review.

What Apple needs to see

  • Code that checks the user's ad tracking preferences before using the Advertising ID for any purpose
  • Use of App Set ID for analytics use cases that don't require cross-app identity
  • Your Data Safety section in Play Console accurately reflecting your use of advertising identifiers
  • A privacy policy that explains how and when you use advertising identifiers
  1. 1Add a check for AdvertisingIdClient.getAdvertisingIdInfo().isLimitAdTrackingEnabled() before any use of the GAID
  2. 2If the user has opted out, stop passing the GAID to any analytics, attribution, or advertising SDK
  3. 3Migrate analytics use cases that don't require cross-app tracking to App Set ID instead of GAID
  4. 4Update your Data Safety form in Play Console to accurately declare your use of advertising identifiers
  5. 5Update your privacy policy at yourapp.baseterms.com/privacy to explain your use of advertising IDs and user opt-out rights

While you're at it — Apple also requires these pages for every app.

Fix this rejection, then make sure you're covered on the compliance side too. Apple requires every app to link to a hosted Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Support page, and Data Deletion page. No link means another rejection — just for a different reason.

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Support Page
Data Deletion Page
Generate my compliance pages — $9

Common questions

What's the difference between Advertising ID and App Set ID?
Advertising ID is a user-resettable identifier for cross-app and cross-device advertising. App Set ID is a privacy-preserving ID scoped to a developer's app set — it resets when the app is uninstalled and can't be used for advertising. Use App Set ID for internal analytics; use Advertising ID only for advertising and only when the user hasn't opted out.
Can I use GAID for attribution (measuring install campaigns) even if the user opted out?
No. Attribution is considered tracking, and you must respect opt-out. If a user has opted out of ad tracking, you should rely on aggregate, non-identifying attribution signals. Many attribution platforms like Adjust and Appsflyer have privacy-preserving modes for opted-out users.
How does Google detect if I'm using the GAID improperly?
A combination of automated code analysis, Play Protect behavioral analysis, and manual review. The Play Console's Data Safety declaration also creates an accountability trail — if you declare no use of advertising identifiers but the GAID appears in network traffic from your app, that's a mismatch Google can identify.