Identify whether account creation is in scope
Review the whole user journey, including an app that sends users to a website to create the account. A guest mode does not eliminate the requirement when account creation is also offered.
Google's guidance describes exceptions and special treatment for particular app types and non-mobile surfaces. Evaluate those explicitly rather than declaring every local profile an online account.
Design the complete deletion flow
Make the request easy to find in account settings and provide the web resource submitted through Data Safety. The website should identify the app or developer and let a user initiate deletion without reinstalling the app.
Explain authentication, expected processing, subscription implications and any legitimate retention. Do not promise that subscription billing stops merely because the app's database row is deleted.
| Data location | Deletion task |
|---|---|
| Authentication provider | Remove or disable identity as the process requires |
| Application database | Delete associated user records appropriately |
| Object storage | Remove user-owned files and derived copies |
| Service providers | Send required deletion requests |
| Retained records | Document purpose, access and retention period |
Avoid deleting the authentication identity first if doing so prevents the backend from finding associated data. Use an auditable server-side job and handle partial failures.
Test from both entry points
Test the in-app request and the web route as a signed-out user with the documented verification process. Check duplicate requests, network interruption and a user whose subscription or shared content complicates deletion.
Maintain a minimal operational record of fulfillment without retaining the very personal content the user asked to remove.
Keep the policy and form aligned
APKLint's policy checklist can help review the disclosure and link. It does not execute backend deletion or determine statutory retention duties.
Read Google Play's account-deletion requirements and User Data policy. Explain legitimate retained data accurately and obtain qualified legal review where retention obligations apply; a generic “all data is immediately deleted” statement is not a safe substitute for an implemented process.
Track a deletion request across the systems holding the data
For a synthetic account, create a profile, an uploaded document and a generated thumbnail. Initiate deletion through the supported flow and record the backend job's progress across authentication, database and object storage. A disabled login proves only that login is unavailable; it does not establish that the uploaded document or its derived copy was removed.
The account-deletion guidance describes the in-app and web entry points and associated-data expectations. Keep the user-facing promise consistent with the implemented process, including any justified retention that requires a separate documented decision.
Make a repeated request safe and understandable
Interrupt the test job after one storage system completes and another remains pending. Retry through the intended recovery mechanism. The process should continue the outstanding work without recreating the account, losing the remaining object references or reporting completion prematurely. Use a stable request identifier so duplicate submissions can be reconciled.
Test the external link from a signed-out browser after uninstalling the test app. Confirm that the page identifies the service, explains verification and provides an actual request path. A link that sends the user back to install the app fails the purpose of an independent web route.
Review shared content and subscriptions explicitly. Decide how the deletion process handles a document shared with another account and what the user must do about ongoing billing. Do not silently promise cancellation of an external subscription merely because an application profile was removed.
Verify the final outcome using the synthetic markers, including derived files and relevant service-provider requests. Preserve a minimal operational completion record without retaining copies of the deleted private content for convenience. Where data must remain for a legitimate reason, document the category, purpose and applicable handling rather than describing the entire account as immediately erased.
Keep the release's deletion instructions, policy wording and Data safety answers aligned with these tested transitions. When a new storage location or SDK is added, extend the job and verification inventory so the account-deletion promise continues to describe the actual product.
Sources and further reading
Reference review: 29 September 2026. Examples illustrate the workflow; check your installed versions, release artifact and account-specific Console requirements before applying them. This guide is not a claim that APKLint executed your project or verified your private account.
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