Google Play all files access policy: fixes and checks
By The Draftbit team · Updated
Sources checked
This guide is for Google Play apps requesting MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE for broad shared-storage access.
Importing a document isn’t the same as needing access to every file. Google restricts All files access to critical app functionality and requires the appropriate access review before publishing covered apps.
Test a scoped alternative
Try the task with a document picker or another supported scoped-storage approach. We’d identify exactly what the core feature can’t do that way. Check whether a library introduced MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE unnecessarily.
Remove or substantiate broad access
Use narrower access when sufficient. For eligible broad-access functionality, complete the declaration/review requirements and clearly guide users to the appropriate special-access setting. Access can’t serve an unrelated third party’s purpose.
Inspect the final manifest and test both granted and declined access. Give Google the core file-management task, its limitations under a scoped approach, and the evidence requested by the current permission guidance. A more detailed explanation won’t make an ineligible use case eligible.
Messages this guide can help with
All files access; All files access policy violation; All files access rejection; All files access denied
Official sources
We checked these instructions against the sources below. The console layout may change, and your review decision may call for different steps.
- Google Play: All files access Checked 22 September 2026