My app helps users to manage whatsapp stickers link to app and it supports SDK30 in first release but after that release now when I am trying to update new version of app playstore sent me app status rejected, I tried multiple times, I've mentioned the cause for the permission in app description and even in app while asking for the permission, but neither my app is updating nor my app's short and long description are updating. I have filled the Sensitive permission form too, whenever I try to release new version google send me
Publishing Status App Status: Rejected
Your app has been rejected and wasn't published due to a policy violation. If you submitted an update, the previous version of your app is still available on Google Play.
Issue: Access to device storage not required
The feature you identified does not require unrestricted access to device storage. There are other privacy friendly options for accessing files in shared storage, such as using the system file picker, or, depending on the use case, you can follow the recommendations for receiving data from other apps listed here.
Please update your app so that the feature uses a privacy friendly alternative and remove All Files Access (MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) permission.
Policy: All Files Access Permission
Files and directory attributes on a user's device are regarded as personal and sensitive user data subject to the Personal and Sensitive Information policy and the following requirements:
Apps should only request access to device storage which is critical for the app to function, and may not request access to device storage on behalf of any third-party for any purpose that is unrelated to critical user-facing app functionality. Android devices running Android "R" (Android 11) or later, will require the MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission in order to manage access in shared storage. All apps that target R or later and request broad access to shared storage ("All files access") must successfully pass an appropriate access review prior to publishing. Apps allowed to use this permission must clearly prompt users to enable "All files access" for their app under "Special app access" settings. For more information on the R requirements, please see this help article.
Read more about Use of All Files Access Permission See Android storage use cases and best practices and how to open files using storage access framework Address this issue in the Play Console. Issue: Not a core feature
The feature you identified that is dependent on this permission does not appear to be critical to the core functionality of your app.
Core functionality is defined as the main purpose of the app. Without this core functionality, the app is "broken" or rendered unusable. The core functionality, as well as any core features that comprise this core functionality, must all be prominently documented and promoted in the app's description.
Please update your app so that the feature does not use this permission or ensure that the core functionality is prominently documented and promoted in the app's description and resubmit your app on Play Developer console.
Policy: All Files Access Permission
Files and directory attributes on a user's device are regarded as personal and sensitive user data subject to the Personal and Sensitive Information policy and the following requirements:
Apps should only request access to device storage which is critical for the app to function, and may not request access to device storage on behalf of any third-party for any purpose that is unrelated to critical user-facing app functionality. Android devices running Android "R" (Android 11) or later, will require the MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission in order to manage access in shared storage. All apps that target R or later and request broad access to shared storage ("All files access") must successfully pass an appropriate access review prior to publishing. Apps allowed to use this permission must clearly prompt users to enable "All files access" for their app under "Special app access" settings. For more information on the R requirements, please see this help article.
Read more about Use of All Files Access Permission See Android storage use cases and best practices Address this issue in the Play Console.
Issue: Need to use Media Store APIYou have requested access to All Files Access permission but it appears that your app's core feature requires access to only Media Files. With the MediaStore API, apps can contribute and access media that's available on an external storage volume without the need for the access all files permission.
Please update your app so that the feature uses Media Store APIs and remove All Files Access (MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) permission.
Policy: All Files Access Permission
Files and directory attributes on a user's device are regarded as personal and sensitive user data subject to the Personal and Sensitive Information policy and the following requirements:
Apps should only request access to device storage which is critical for the app to function, and may not request access to device storage on behalf of any third-party for any purpose that is unrelated to critical user-facing app functionality. Android devices running Android "R" (Android 11) or later, will require the MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission in order to manage access in shared storage. All apps that target R or later and request broad access to shared storage ("All files access") must successfully pass an appropriate access review prior to publishing. Apps allowed to use this permission must clearly prompt users to enable "All files access" for their app under "Special app access" settings. For more information on the R requirements, please see this help article.
Read more about Use of All Files Access Permission See Android storage use cases and best practices and how to access media files from shared storage Address this issue in the Play Console.
After lots of struggle and research I decided to reduced target SDK version to 29 and post the update for my app and I was able to post updates and surprisingly it updated for sdk 30 too, If you're facing the same issue, just change target sdk to 29 and keep compile sdk to 30, try it, It worked for me maybe it will work for you too. Maybe it's a loophole in google's system but it worked for me.