I uploaded a Trusted Web Activity app to Google Play Console. The app was perfectly made according to Googles own guidelines and it did not break any policies. I used Google Play App Signing and Digital Asset Links to verify the connection between the app and my PWA website. This is Googles suggested way of handling things.
My app got suspended. Google told me this:
It's a violation of the Webviews and Affiliate Spam policy to publish an app where the primary purpose of the app is to provide a webview of a website without permission from the website owner or administrator. If you are the site creator/content owner, please reply with verifiable documentation.
I told them that my app was indeed a Trusted Web Activity and that I used Digital Asset Links to verify domain ownership. This is what Google themselves has to say about this method:
Content in a Trusted Web Activity is trusted -- the app and the site it opens are expected to come from the same developer. This is verified using Digital Asset Links.
I was clearly doing the right thing, but this guy didn't seem to be on the same page as the TWA-department at Google. This is what he wrote back:
Currently our team is only able to handle issues related to the Google Play Developer Program Policies. In order for me to process your appeal, please still provide verifiable document to prove the domain ownership.
The bottom line is: Google does not recognize their own way of verifying a Trusted Web Activity using Digital Asset Links, even though Google themselves have developed this technology and is working hard to brand it as their new and awesome way to get your Progressive Web App into Google Play Store. I was forced to provide them with additional information, such as a domain invoice.
I have several others TWA apps that I wish to publish to Play Store. I don't want them to get suspended as well. Does anyone have any experience on how to handle this situation?
Note: I made sure that my Digital Asset Link was working properly before uploading the app to Play Store. The app did not have an address bar.
Trusted Web Activities are a new way to integrate your web-app content such as your PWA with your Android app using a protocol based on Custom Tabs.
Google approved my TWA after I provided them with verifiable documentation (such as a domain invoice). My app was therefore working perfectly according to their guidelines, but they did not recognize their own way of verifying a Trusted Web Activity using Digital Asset Links, as described above.
Sad news. Hopefully they will educate their staff in the near future. Feel free to update us on this.
I suggest you do this in the meantime:
In the future, if you have proof of permission to use a 3rd party's intellectual property, you can submit it to our team in advance using this form. The link can also be found on your Store Listing page in the Full description section.