privacy

1) Do I have to include a privacy policy in my Android app?

That depends on what your app is doing. Consider that you are always on the safer side including a link or a full page view of your privacy policy.

It is very likely that you are required by law to include a privacy policy into your Android app.

Easy check: Am I collecting/storing/sharing personal information like email, names or sensitive data such as payments information or am I using a third party service that accesses that information?

You are likely using a third party service in your app that requires you to add a privacy policy. In addition to any legal requirements, third parties often require a privacy policy as an additional prerequisite to use a specific service. Check in your service provider’s terms. A very popular third party service that requires you to post a privacy policy in their TOS is Google Analytics (they also have a mobile solution).

2) Am I required by the Google Play Store to post a privacy policy?

You may get away with not posting a privacy policy, but don’t be deceived, this doesn’t mean it’s not required in your situation. If you use dangerous permissions like the camera, contacts, audio, accounts and phone state you will get mail by Google. Count on it.