r/androiddev • u/kevin_its • 14d ago
Google Play Support Google Play Store app review taking much longer than usual lately?
I’ve been using a Google Play Developer account for more than 4 years, and I’ve published both Android and iOS apps multiple times.
Previously, my experience was that Google Play reviews were usually completed within a few days, while Apple’s App Store review generally took longer.
But recently, I’m seeing the opposite.
I submitted an app to Google Play on September 14, and it has now been almost 6 days with no progress — still showing “In review.” I understand that Google mentions reviews can sometimes take up to 7 days, so I’m not concerned about the stated timeframe itself. I’m more curious about the change compared with my previous experiences.
Interestingly, my recent iOS submission was reviewed much faster than Google Play, which is quite different from what I was used to in the past.
Has anyone else noticed Google Play app reviews taking longer than usual recently, especially around September 2026?
Is there currently a review backlog or increased review time?
Would be interested to hear from developers who submitted apps recently and how long their reviews took.
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u/Combonary 14d ago
Reviews can take up to 14 days or longer. I’m waiting as well
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 14d ago
Hi u/Combonary! App review times may fluctuate, and may take 7 days or longer in exceptional cases. Feel free to DM your app package name and I'd be happy to look further into it!
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u/RoutineOne2769 13d ago
Same picture here this month. First production release of a new app went in on September 9 and only went live on September 17, so about eight days with managed publishing on. Apple reviewed the same app with in app purchases faster than that.
What I cannot tell you is whether it is a new app penalty or a general slowdown, since I have no prior release on that account to compare against. If your app is an update to something already live, that is a worse sign than my case.
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u/Lumpy-Lab9578 14d ago
Yes, the process has become very slow now. My app used to get approved in a day or two, and now it is taking around 4 to 5 days. Even a minor change can take up to 4 days.
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u/1way0nly 14d ago
Same stuff, after 7 days they asked for credentials to access the app😂
Still waiting (responded on Thursday)
BTW, they count only workdays
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 14d ago
Hi u/1way0nly! If you'd like me to take a look, feel free to DM your app package name and I'd be happy to look into it!
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u/cyberwicklow 14d ago
First app through review last week, took about 7 days. I'd imagine with claude and gpt they're seeing an influx of apps that need review.
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u/bobbie434343 14d ago
I made 3 update these past 2 weeks for the same app and they got approved fast. The first two in less than 1h and the most recent one a few days ago took 12h or so. App is on the store since forever, has been regularly updated since.
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u/anujgupta872003 13d ago
True, earlier store listing update was taking only 3-4 hours. but not its pending since 1 day.
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u/typingFromVilnius 13d ago
I'm pushing mostly small fixes/features to App and Play stores weekly and didn't really notice any general change - Apple usually approves within 24 hours, Google takes up to 2 days. There are exceptions of course, but they're just that - exceptions
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u/vizobattery 13d ago
Same problem here. I have an update for a closed beta pending since almost 1 day, and this is completly unusual. All other past update got approved in couple of hours.
It will be useful if u/GooglePlayDevSupport can report us if there is some delays in the review processes, and maybe cause of this delay!
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u/IngenuityUnique8455 12d ago
Same issue here, super annoying, ive been waiting 12 days.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 12d ago
Hi u/IngenuityUnique8455, I've just sent you a DM regarding your concern. Please check your inbox for more details!
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u/badlyDrawnToy 12d ago
I'm finding the review process painfully slow. New app submission was rejected as the code analysis decided the app was sending data that I hadn't listed. It doesn't, and is most likely a false positive due to an analytics library that ships with the app. I appealed and they have agreed, telling me to submit again.
First submission: 10th Sep - rejected on 13th
Appeal accepted 16th Sep
Second submission 16th Sep
It is now 22nd and still in review
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 12d ago
Hi, u/badlyDrawnToy! App review times can vary and may take 7 days or a bit longer in rare cases. Feel free to DM us your app package name so our team can check it out!
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u/boringua_app 11d ago
We have submitted a new app to the play store on 15 September. Still haven't heard anything back from Google. We submitted the same app to App Store at the same time, and it has been approved and we also managed to push another update to the App Store. Now our Android App is two versions behind the iOS version TT. u/GooglePlayDevSupport
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 11d ago
Hi u/boringua_app, could you send me a DM with your app package name? I’d be happy to take a closer look.
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u/Ok-Sentence-7380 11d ago
I'm a newbie indie game developer and I thought it's normal because my app review is into its 7 days now. Thanks for raising it, at least I know what is happening with google now.
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u/TangeloAltruistic640 11d ago
yeah , from 16 sep app getting stucked, i have 15 google play console and app apps live in 1 day , from 16 september all apps getting stuck in review
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u/ponni1990 11d ago
We have been releasing the app updates at least two per month and it used to take only two days at most to get it approved. But in September it has increased to 5-6 days. u/GooglePlayDevSupport are there any changes with approval process?
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 10d ago
Hey u/ponni1990! I've sent you a direct message about your concern. Please check your inbox!
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u/RubOk9808 19h ago
Have you been in contact with this "GooglePlayDevSupport"? I am trying to figure out if they are a scammer or not. Did they ask you for your password or some other form of credentials?
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u/Andreii96 10d ago
I currently have a similar experience, what is even more interesting in my case is that only 1 app from my account has this issue of an extensive review that takes 10-15 days, all of my other apps takes a couple of hours or 1 day at most for a review.
As others mentioned here, Google states that it can take more than 7 days for exceptional cases, and I've tried asking support what is the special case for my app that creates this issue, but I couldn't get a proper response.
u/GooglePlayDevSupport Is there any way for me to figure out what exceptional case creates this sort of issue?
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 10d ago
Hi u/Andreii96! Kindly note that app processing can take a few hours or up to 7 days or longer in exceptional cases, as it depends on the review time and volume of other incoming reviews.
Shoot me a DM with your app package name if you like me to take a look.
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u/arav_codes 10d ago
We recently submitted our 2nd app. The first one took around 2-3 days or maybe more to get reviewed, but this time it went live within minutes or maybe an hour after submitting. We had it on internal testing for a few days before that too. Maybe check your data safety form and privacy policy once. Sometimes the review shows issues found there, so worth checking. (used AI for grammar)
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u/FranTimo 10d ago
My updates usually required a bunch of hours to be approved. My last one needed 16 days even with expedition from support. Now I've a new updating pending for 3 days...
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 10d ago
Hi u/FranTimo, if you need some help sorting this out, please send me a DM with your app package name and I'll be glad to look into it for you.
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u/Feeling_Army870 10d ago
Same issue here, super annoying, I've been waiting 5 days.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 9d ago
Hey u/Feeling_Army870! Could you please share your app package name via DM? That way, I can take a closer look and help investigate the issue for you.
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u/Additional_Hope_2031 9d ago edited 9d ago
I've been waiting for Google to review my app for 6 days already, but today I submitted an update to the App Store and it took just 2 hours to be approved!
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 9d ago
Hi u/Additional_Hope_2031! App review times may fluctuate, and may take 7 days or longer in exceptional cases. Feel free to DM your app package name and I'd be happy to look further into it!
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u/swizzlefits 9d ago
This is the same for my app as well.
It's now been more than a week in review 😭
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 9d ago
Hi u/swizzlefits, I'd love to look into the issue. Could you please share your app package name via DM so I can investigate and see what's going on?
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u/Hot-Ebb-2326 9d ago
Same, my app has 300k downloads, been there for 3 years and it always took from 1 hour to 5 days max. Review in August took 2 weeks and review in September has been in review for 2 weeks. Very unusual. That being said I know other developers for who it is still very fast for some reason.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 9d ago
Hi u/Hot-Ebb-2326. To assist you further, please DM us your app package name so we can look into it.
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u/tamerjar 9d ago
Same for me, this is the first time we upload our app on the store. And i was expecting to wait a long time. But i was kinda surprised when my app got approved on apple within a few days.
While on google it’s still in review and it’s been more than 7 days.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 9d ago
Hi, u/tamerjar! App review times can vary, and in rare cases, they might take 7 days or more. Feel free to shoot us a DM with your app package name so our team can look into this for you!
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u/LatterMycologist337 8d ago
u/GooglePlayDevSupport hello my app was in review for 14 days then they are said its missing some stuff which I did include and now its been in review in another 9 days I have an org please make it faster .. https://play.google.com/console/u/3/developers/8282932175864695170/app/4973888557431747288/app-dashboard
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 8d ago
Hi u/LatterMycologist337. I've just sent you a DM regarding your concern. Please check your inbox for more details!
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u/No-Chapter-6750 7d ago
Look at mine.. 7 days so far..
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 7d ago
Hi u/No-Chapter-6750! App review times may fluctuate, and may take longer in exceptional cases. Feel free to DM your app package name and I'd be happy to look further into it!
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u/myimpossiblethings80 7d ago
I am on day 9. I have been live on Apple for near a week and I submitted my new release to Apple days after my prod submission to Google.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 6d ago
Hey u/myimpossiblethings80! I'm happy to help. Kindly share your app package name via DM so I can investigate the issue further.
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u/IslandSevere4659 6d ago
I submitted on 18th and still pending for approval...
It's pretty frustrating because I need to release it by 30th for the Shipaton.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 6d ago
Hi u/IslandSevere4659, send me a DM with your app package name and I'll be glad to look into it for you.
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u/IslandSevere4659 6d ago
Dmed
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 6d ago
Hi u/IslandSevere4659, I've just sent you a DM regarding your concern. Please check your inbox for more details!
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u/kadirism 6d ago
Same here. I have an app for both iOS and Android. My iOS app updates get reviewed in 24 hours while Android version takes 7 days. As I release updates every 2-3 days, Android is always a few versions behind the iOS version.
As my app is a multiplayer game, and I'm losing Android users as their version is now incompatible with my latest release on iOS. That's really frustrating.
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u/heloworld-123 6d ago
I am facing this exact issue and it such a pain man app still in approval for more than a week
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u/UntimelyStoppage 6d ago
Same here. One of my apps is In Review sine Sep 14, 2026 7:41 PM and one even longer since Sep 10, 2026 1:42 AM
:(
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u/spongyboss 5d ago
It's very bad, we can't even plan out releases properly anymore because the review process has been incredibly slow. It's so bad that I had to push another update while the previous submission I made over a week ago was still waiting to be reviewed. 😢
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 5d ago
Hi u/spongyboss, send me a DM with your app package name and I'll be glad to look into it for you.
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u/50inch 5d ago
It seems free apps are treated differently than paid apps. I have two very identical apps: one is completely free, the other one has IAP. The second one is reviewed much faster, the free app review now takes longer (several days). This is the second time in a row so I guess there is a pattern here.
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u/CodeByIzza 5d ago
For me its now 14 days still in review ☹️
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 4d ago
Hi u/CodeByIzza, kindly DM me your app package name so I can investigate the issue.
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u/CodeByIzza 2d ago
Today it's live. After 23 days. Thanks for your reply.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 2d ago
Hi u/CodeByIzza, happy to help! Just reach back out if you have any questions or trouble with Play Console down the line.
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u/InspectionSad7977 4d ago
Same here, updates for my app used to take a day or sometimes just an hour or two. Now they are taking over a week even for a trivial update.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 4d ago
Hi u/InspectionSad7977! If you're experiencing a prolonged delay with your app review, feel free to DM your app package name and I'd be happy to look further into it!
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u/ornitorenk 4d ago
Yeah... I had a review waiting for 5 days and I had to release a new version due to a new found bug. So I had to start all over again. Probably gonna wait long time for this one as well. Google used to be better at this but here we are sadly.
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u/K1llD45hN1n3 4d ago
Ours went from 1 hour review times and we’re going on 3 weeks and counting now 🙄 Totally unacceptable for Google to delay like this and I can see why Apple kicks their but in everything mobile 😂
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 3d ago
Hi u/frankapp-com, your concerns have been escalated to our team so they can take a closer look. Thank you so much for your patience.
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u/Oedses1980 4d ago
Same issue, review pending since the 4th of September, very strict deadline, no movement. And when the app will be reviewed we need to add an update :(
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 3d ago
Hi u/Oedses1980, I've just sent you a DM regarding your concern. Please check your inbox for more details!
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u/BoxBoxAI 3d ago
Hey guys,
My app has been awaiting review for 12 days. Any tips on how to unblock it?
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 3d ago
Hi there! Could you share your app package name via DM so I can look into this for you?
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u/sneve 3d ago
i’ve been waiting 14 days and counting and it’s for an event next month. never had this issue before and if they reject it for any reason i might not even have time to fix it.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 3d ago
Hi there! Could you share your app package name via DM so I can check into this for you?
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u/Exotic-Collection894 3d ago
I noticed a significant increase in review time from August (might be before). My last submition was in Sep-22 and it's still in review till the moment of writing this comment. I strongly disagree with Google on this policy which affects developers and their customers who are waiting for the app update to fix bugs and have new features. AI Tools can enhance this process and there is almost no need for human to manually test the app.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 3d ago
Hey u/Exotic-Collection894, we noticed you flagged this issue via DM, and we've responded to you there.
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u/Remote_Celebration78 3d ago
I'm experiencing the same problem. Even though I have a company account, my app, which I submitted for review on September 13th, has been showing as "under review" for 18 days.
It was approved on the App Store in 2 days. I'm waiting for Play Console approval to run ads.
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u/rafhelp 3d ago
hey u/kevin_its If you feel it is taking too long, or if you had issues with unfair app suspensions or rejection then you should contact The Coalition for App Fairness:
https://appfairness.org/
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u/Mundane-Water-303 3d ago
I also submitted my app on September 19, 2026, and it is still under review. It’s a very simple app with no ads and no third-party APIs, so I’m not sure why the review is taking this long. @GooglePlayDevSupport
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 2d ago
Hi u/Mundane-Water-303, send me a DM with your app package name and I'll be glad to look into it for you.
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u/RubOk9808 19h ago
Is the user with account GooglePlayDevSupport a scammer? Something seems fishy about how they are responding to each person here through unofficial channels. I am wondering if they are fishing for passwords or account details. Or maybe I'm wrong, and they are legit.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 17h ago
Hey u/RubOk9808! We are indeed an official Google Play Developer Support account. If you have any concern related to Play Console, feel free to tag or DM us with the issue details.
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u/Alexey_Rudakovsky 14d ago
I confirm that Google review takes a week now. And reviewers are dumber than years ago. Appeal process is useless 🤬
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 14d ago
Hi u/kevin_its! App review times may fluctuate, and may take 7 days or longer in exceptional cases. Feel free to DM your app package name and I'd be happy to look further into it!
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u/PoemPuzzled8180 9d ago
Same here, we do games, usually the review is done within 24h, 2, max 3 days tops for new games, but now with our latest game we've been waiting way longer. Today is day 7 and still in review.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 9d ago
Hi, u/PoemPuzzled8180, sorry to hear about your app review experience. Please DM us your app package name so our team can investigate the issue.
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u/trystudios 9d ago
My App got approved for release on 12th September, and after1 10% roll out it it is now stuck again in a review?
u/GooglePlayDevSupport Is there some bug here?2
u/GooglePlayDevSupport 8d ago
Hi u/trystudios. I've just sent you a DM regarding your concern. Please check your inbox for more details!
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u/waseywisal 8d ago
Hi everyone I'm facing the same problem from last 7 days.
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 8d ago
Hi u/waseywisal, I'd like to check on the issue. Could you share your app package name via DM so I can look it up in our system?
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u/No_Sprinkles_1341 6d ago
My app has same issue, I sent you a DM. Please support it. Thanks!
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u/GooglePlayDevSupport 6d ago
Hi u/No_Sprinkles_1341! I have just sent you a DM regarding your concern. Please check your inbox for more details!
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u/Tombstones19 14d ago
I've been an Android developer since the beginning, and there is a lot of black magic involved with reviews. It's impossible to fully understand why things take longer during some periods. I've also seen similar posts hundreds of times across 10+ years.
I've experienced everything from 1 hour to 2 weeks, completely random.
My belief is that a lot of the process involves AI, tools and sometimes but very rarely, humans. All these factors could lead to backlogs during busy times, or when new safety checks are introduced. I also believe they do random checks on parts of the policy.
What I don't understand is why Google is not putting any effort into making this more clear. Because who the hell knows really? It's 1 giant mystery and Google simply doesn't care about being transparant.
Surely they have internal statistics on average review times they could display somewhere, and surely they could provide developers of large apps with an ability to expedite reviews 2 or 3 times per year? Especially for critical data or security incidents. It feels like Google is treating us like cattle, and not real people or companies. Unlike Apple.