Play Console Account Deletion URL: Is It Required?

If your app allows users to create an account, Google Play policy requires you to offer a way to request deletion of the account and its associated data. A separate requirement is that this path must be reachable not only inside the app, but also via a WEB link — a user should be able to initiate a deletion request without reinstalling the app, or even without having it installed anymore.

This appears as a separate "Account deletion" declaration under the App content section in Play Console; every app that allows account creation must declare here whether data can be deleted only from within the app, or both from within the app and via the web. Leaving the declaration incomplete, or declaring something inconsistent with actual app behavior, can be flagged as a policy violation.

If your app never allows account creation (guest-only use, content consumption without any sign-in, etc.), this requirement doesn't apply to you; in Play Console you simply declare that the app doesn't support account creation.

What is accepted is a real, publicly reachable web page (http/https); putting a mailto: link directly into the URL field is not accepted. The page itself can direct users to contact you by email — what matters is that the field holds an actual web address, and that the page it leads to isn't empty, password-protected, or "under construction."

The page itself can be a self-service deletion form, or simply text that clearly explains how to request it (e.g. "email us at this address and your request will be processed within N days"). Both are accepted; what's critical is that the page is reachable without logging into the account — because a user requesting deletion may have already lost, or be about to lose, access to their account.

Approaches that don't work or cause problems: pages that only redirect to an in-app chat/support screen with no reachable equivalent outside the app, an "account" page that can't be viewed without logging in, or a link that just lands on a generic company homepage without addressing deletion at all.

The account deletion declaration is a separate section from the Data Safety questionnaire, but the two must be consistent. If your Data Safety form states that users can request data deletion, your actual deletion mechanism (in-app and/or web) must match that claim; a mismatch between the declaration and actual behavior creates a separate compliance risk during review.

If you need to retain some data for a period after account deletion for legal, security, or fraud-prevention reasons, this should be clearly stated both on your deletion page and in the Data Safety form. Declaring "all your data is deleted instantly" while your system actually retains certain records creates a contradiction between the two declarations.

Apple's equivalent rule (App Review Guideline 5.1.1(v)) focuses on a different point: an app that allows account creation must also let users initiate account deletion FROM WITHIN THE APP. Where Google's emphasis is on the web link, Apple prioritizes the in-app flow.

If the deletion process cannot be fully completed inside the app for a technical or legal reason (e.g. it requires action in a third-party system), directing the user to a web page to finish it is accepted, but the flow must STILL START inside the app — offering only an outbound web link does not satisfy Apple's expectation.

The practical takeaway: if you publish on both stores, the two requirements are actually quite close to each other. Apple requires the deletion flow to START inside the app (it doesn't have to finish there). Google requires both an in-app deletion path AND a standalone, no-login-required web page — but on Google's side, the in-app requirement can be satisfied by a simple link that takes the user to that web page. In practice, the same solution works for both: put a visible link inside the app that leads to your deletion page, and keep that page standalone and reachable without logging in.

Set up a single account deletion page and reference it both in Play Console's account deletion field and wherever App Store Connect requires it. Make sure the page clearly states: how to start the request, how long it takes to process, and which data is deleted versus retained (and, if so, why).

Test the page without being logged into the account and without keeping the app installed; the most common failure mode is deletion instructions living only inside an in-app help screen, unreachable by a user who has already uninstalled the app.

Don't move or rename the URL after submitting it — both consoles treat the address as permanent, and a broken link causes problems for both reviewers and users. Vibeloy's marketing+support page tool automatically adds an account and data deletion section to the hosted support page it generates for your app; the resulting address can be pasted directly into Play Console's account deletion field. This is a premium Vibeloy feature.