Background location is a sensitive permission — Google manually reviews every app that requests ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION. Plan for this before your release: apps get rejected for missing declarations far more often than for the feature itself.
What Google requires
In the Google Play Console, under Policy → App content, complete:
1. App access (reviewer login)
If any functionality sits behind a login, choose "All or some functionality is restricted" and add instructions:
- Test account credentials (never real customer data)
- Registration steps, if reviewers must sign up
- Any special steps needed to reach the location-based features
2. Sensitive app permissions — location declaration
Select "Yes, this app meets the Location permissions policy" and provide:
- The main purpose of your app
- Why the app needs background location specifically (not just foreground)
- A video (≤ 30 seconds) showing the login and the flow where location access is requested and used
Example justifications (banking app)
- Branch support — assist customers with incomplete applications when they visit a branch
- Closure notifications — notify nearby customers about branch closures
- Appointment routing — direct arriving customers to appointment booking
- Drive-thru preparation — help customers get documents ready while waiting
Write the justification around user benefit, not marketing benefit — "so we can send location-based offers" is routinely rejected; "so customers get branch-specific service information when they arrive" passes.
Play Console menus get reorganized periodically; if the labels above have moved, search the Console for "Sensitive app permissions".