Two Google Play rejections for the same missing link
Google Play rejected two of our exam-prep apps for “Missing Source Link for Government Information”, even though one already said it wasn't affiliated with the government. Here's what Google wants and the structure that passed.
What happened
We publish study apps for Canadian exams. On September 4, 2026, Google Play rejected our citizenship test app. On October 2, it rejected our drone pilot exam app. Both notices said the same thing: Misleading Claims, “Missing Source Link for Government Information”.
The drone app's description already said it wasn't affiliated with Transport Canada. Google rejected it anyway.
What Google actually wants
If your app presents government information (laws, an official handbook or study guide, exam rules, licensing steps), the store description needs clear, working links to the official source of that information. A disclaimer on its own isn't enough. You need both:
- A disclaimer near the top: the app doesn't represent any government entity and isn't affiliated with the agency.
- A link to the official page the information comes from, next to the disclaimer.
- A short list of official sources at the end: one line for each kind of government information the listing mentions.
- Every figure you quote (number of questions, pass mark, time limit) checked against those pages. A wrong figure is also a misleading claim.
The fix
We rewrote both descriptions in that structure, in English and French. The citizenship app passed review and is live, with links to the Discover Canada study guide and the citizenship test page on canada.ca. The drone app went back to review with the same structure.
What we built from it
AppGrowly's listing editor now runs a store policy check as you type. If a listing talks about citizenship, driving tests, licences, handbooks or regulations and the description has no link to an official government site, it flags it (a likely rejection on Google Play, a warning on the App Store) and offers the disclaimer-and-sources template that passed review.
The same check catches “official” in an app name, price and ranking words where the stores don't allow them, other platforms mentioned in an App Store listing, and other apps' names in your keywords.
The lesson
If your app teaches anything a government publishes, link the source before you submit. Each rejection costs a review cycle of up to a week.
AppGrowly does the same for iPhone and Android apps: what to change, the store policy check, Apple Ads analysis and a measured result for every change.