# Google Play: background location permission declaration rejected
> Google Play rejected the app over ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION. Declare one core feature, add the video and disclosure, or move location to the foreground.
Canonical: https://app369.com/fix/google-play-background-location-permission/
Last updated: 2026-11-09
Background location is a Google Play permission that needs an approved declaration in Play Console. Google approves it only for one core feature that clearly benefits users, backed by a video, an in-app disclosure and a privacy policy.
**Short answer**
Decide whether the app truly needs location when it is closed. If not, remove ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION from every track and use foreground location. If it does, declare one core feature in the Location permissions form, add a short video of it, show a prominent disclosure before the system prompt, and resubmit.
Rather not fix it yourself? [**App Fix Ticket**](https://app369.com/fixed-price/flutter-firebase-bug-fix/) starts with a fixed-price diagnosis, then a fixed price for the fix before any fix work.
## **Why the declaration is rejected, and the fix**
1. 01 ### **The feature isn’t core to the app**
> “Your app should only request access to the location in the background if it’s required for the core functionality of the app.” [**Google Play Console Help, Understanding location in the background permissions**](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9799150) Background location for convenience, ads or analytics is refused. If the main purpose works without it, take the permission out and request location only while the app is open.
2. 02 ### **The declaration lists several features**
> “A developer may only declare one location-based feature that requires access to a location in the background, not multiple.” [**Google Play Console Help, Common violations (multiple features declared)**](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9799150) Pick the single feature with the clearest benefit, such as a child safety geofence, describe it plainly, and make sure the store listing promotes it.
3. 03 ### **The permission is used for ads or analytics**
> “You should never request location permissions from users for the sole purpose of advertising or analytics.” [**Google Play Console Help, Understanding location in the background permissions**](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9799150) An SDK that reads location in the background for ads counts against the app. Check what each SDK requests in the merged manifest, and turn location off in SDKs that don’t need it.
4. 04 ### **An old build still asks for it**
> “Remove the permission from the app manifest as well as the related source code for all APKs across all tracks (including closed and open tracks).” [**Google Play Console Help, Understanding location in the background permissions**](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9799150) Also check: removing the permission from production isn’t enough if a closed or open testing track still has a build with it. Replace those builds too, or the declaration prompt stays.
Checked against the vendor’s docs on November 9, 2026: [Play Console Help: Understanding location in the background permissions](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9799150).
## **Rather hand it over?**
Fixed scope, fixed price, paid upfront. The work happens in writing; no call needed.
- [from $450**App Fix Ticket**One reproducible bug in an existing mobile or web app, diagnosed and fixed.**See scope and start**](https://app369.com/fixed-price/flutter-firebase-bug-fix/)
[**All 127 Fiverr reviews**](https://app369.com/reviews/)
Related: [**Google Play prominent disclosure**](https://app369.com/fix/google-play-prominent-disclosure-consent/) · [**Google Play foreground service declaration**](https://app369.com/fix/google-play-foreground-service-declaration/) · [**Google Play photo and video permissions**](https://app369.com/fix/google-play-photo-video-permissions/) · [**Google Play QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES**](https://app369.com/fix/google-play-query-all-packages-permission/)
Questions
## **More on this launch**
**Does a foreground service avoid the declaration? **+
Not always. Google reviews foreground service use too, and treats location through it like background location when it works the same way.
**What goes in the video? **+
A short recording of the declared feature using location while the app is in the background, including the disclosure and the permission prompt.
**Can you fix it for me? **+
If one bug is the whole problem, the App Fix Ticket covers it: a written diagnosis first, then the fix. If the app has more going on, the Launch Check is a written check of the whole app. Each issue found is rated critical, high, medium or low, with where it is and how it was confirmed. No issues worth fixing, no charge. If the Launch Check finds nothing rated medium or higher, Simon refunds the full $450. You keep the report either way. This applies to the first 10 Launch Checks bought after October 30, 2026.
Something else?
## **Describe it and get a written quote**
Describe the app and where it is in the launch. You get a written scope, a fixed price and a timeline; Simon replies by email, usually within one business day.
[**Describe your problem **→](https://app369.com/contact/) [**All fixes**](https://app369.com/fix/)