Mobile Payments SDK for Android ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION requirement vs. upcoming Google requirements

Questions
1

The documentation for Mobile Payments SDK for Android mentions that the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission is required. Our app is currently specifying and requesting that permission.

Google is now cracking down on the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission. They mention:

You may only request ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION if neither the Android location button (for apps targeting Android 17 or higher) nor the ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permission (applicable across all Android versions) can support your feature.

Our app currently targets Android 16 and we are not in a hurry to target Android 17. However, the current pattern is that targeting Android 17 would be a requirement for Play Store app updates by September 2027.

I’m curious as to what Square’s plans or recommendations are for dealing with this new requirement. I assume that the recommendation would be to submit a Play Console declaration to get permission to continue using ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION. In that case, we’d likely need some more information as to why that’s needed instead of ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION. I understand that it’s gathered because payments are sensitive and logging as much relevant information as reasonable is preferable, but I’m unsure if I can explain that in a way that Google would accept.

3

Good question. Square should clarify whether ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION suffices or provide official guidance and justification text for the Play Console declaration. Many developers will face this, so an official response before Android 17 enforcement would help.

4

Our documentation now includes a precise-location explanation you can use for your Play Console declaration. The Android Mobile Payments SDK currently requires ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION; coarse location isn’t a supported replacement. Precise location supports geographic payment eligibility, particularly near country borders, as well as fraud detection and dispute investigation.

5

Thank you. That should hopefully be enough.