Can't Close Your Google Play Developer Account? Here Are Your Options

Many developers build side-project apps as a learning experience, but what happens when the project is over and you want to move on? A developer recently ran into a significant hurdle when trying to close their Google Play Developer account: Google's policy prevents you from deleting an app or closing your account if the app has had even one download. Since developer accounts are tied to personal information, this can become a privacy concern.

This situation forces the developer to transfer the app to another account before they can close their own. But finding a new owner for an app that isn't commercially successful is a challenge in itself. The ensuing conversation surfaced several practical strategies for handling this exact problem.

Strategies for Retiring an Android App

If you find yourself needing to retire an app but are blocked by Google's policy, here are the most effective options that were shared:

Unpublish the App (The Simple Approach) The most straightforward solution is to simply unpublish your app. This removes it from the Google Play Store's public listings and search results. No new users will be able to find or download it. While the app and your account will still technically exist, it will be hidden from public view, effectively solving the problem for many developers who just want their app to fade away.
Transfer to a New Account (The Privacy Approach) If unpublishing isn't enough and you are determined to dissociate the app from your primary personal information, a highly effective strategy is to create a brand-new, secondary Google Developer account. You can then transfer the problematic app to this new account. The one-time $25 developer fee can be thought of as the "price of privacy." This isolates the old app and allows you to either keep your original account clean or proceed with closing it.
Transferring to a New Owner (The Giveaway Approach) Giving the app away, as the original poster intended, is also an option, but it comes with its own challenges. Finding someone willing to take on the maintenance and responsibility of an app with low downloads is difficult. If you choose this path, transparency is crucial. You must be upfront about what the app does, its tech stack (in this case, Ionic and Vue), and its market potential. Expecting potential takers to email you for secret information is counterproductive and will likely result in no interest. If your app is in a crowded market (like a baby-naming app), the value proposition for a new owner is very low unless it has a unique, standout feature.
Consider Alternative App Stores If your app is open source, another great option is to move it to an alternative app store like F-Droid. This allows the app to live on in a community that values open-source software, completely removing it from the Google Play ecosystem and its associated policies.