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Today my app was removed from Google Play with the following explanation:

"Your app is using the Branch IO SDK, which is uploading users Installed Packages information to https://api.branch.io/v1/applist without a prominent disclosure. Prior to the collection and transmission, it must prominently highlight how the user data will be used, describe the type of data being collected and have the user provide affirmative consent for such use. Make sure your app is compliant with the User Data policy and all other Developer Program Policies. Additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy violations."

We do not directly use the Branch IO SDK in our app. We are thinking that maybe a 3rd party library that we have integrated uses it. We looked over the dependencies used by our 3rd party libraries and we did not find any hint to Branch IO SDK.

Since I don’t know what is being sent to branch.io, I have no idea what I should add to the Privacy Policy or how to solve this issue.

Any idea about the root cause would be appreciated. Thank you!

Domizzi
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1 Answers1

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You can run the following command to get a list of every single dependency, and their dependencies in your app:

./gradlew app:dependencies

If your main app module is called something different than "app", then replace that part.

You can also pipe it all into a file, so it'll be easier to look/search through:

./gradlew app:dependencies > ~/dependencies.txt

That should give you an idea of what is using Branch IO.

If it doesn't help, then you can try to drag-and-drop your APK file into Android Studio, which will automatically decompile the app and show it in a nice window. In there you can see through all classes and their package names and see if any of them match Branch IO.

Moonbloom
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  • I used those commands to get a list of every single dependency in the app. Unfortunately, I did not find anything related to Branch IO. I can try to drag-and-drop the APK file into Android Studio. Maybe in this way, I will find some more details. – Domizzi Apr 20 '19 at 05:14
  • Update: I tried to decompile the app by using drag-and-drop suggestion. Still, no trace of Branch IO. – Domizzi Apr 20 '19 at 07:15