Why does Google think my app is sending data about Installed Apps?

Question

I have this simple Android app, made with Phonegap Build. Now I needed to fill in the Data safety form. I did so in good faith, as I thought my app does not collect or send any private info. But Google rejected my form, because of the following reason: Data sent off device undeclared in Data safety form: App Activity Data Type - Installed Apps.

Is there a way Phonegap sends this information? Is there a way to find out what other info is sent by my app? Or could Google be rejecting this in error? (I'm very careful, as I have a bad experience with the reviewers of Google play.) Of course I want to answer the questions on the form fair and true, but this I did not know.

Answer 1

You can check the AndroidManifest.xml file for your dependencies which request

<permission android:name="android.permission.QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES" />

Whichever library is causing the issue,try updating it or removing it

Answer 2

This is the way I solved this: I simply answered [yes] to this question on the Data Safety Form: "Review the list of required user data types that you need to disclose. Does your app collect or share any of the required user data types?"

In hindsight I needed to answer [yes] because the app contains a webview on each page of the app, to show a small ad. This way the app sends 'Information about how a user interacts with the app. For example, the number of times that they visit a page or sections they tap on.'

Maybe I/ we misunderstood the message from Google Play. Hope this will help other users who experience the same problem.

Answer 3

Most likely the cause is from one or more of the libraries you used. This answer helps you to find which library collects such data https://stackoverflow.com/a/73677540/7322834