docs: correct the Play tags to the ones that exist in Play taxonomy

2026-10-14 07:46:38 +02:00
parent c9382364fc
commit 49025a823a
2 changed files with 29 additions and 24 deletions
@@ -95,8 +95,10 @@ action except the items marked **[code]**.
      1080×2400 phone capture has to be cropped to 1080×2160;
      `tools/make-store-screenshots.sh` does exactly that (status and navigation bars only).
 - [ ] Category: *Tools* (or *Photography* — pick it **before** the tags, because it shapes the
-      *Suggested tags* list). Tags: **max 5, chosen from Play's own list, not typed freely** — the
-      recommended set and the ones to avoid are in
+      *Suggested tags* list). Tags: **max 5, from Play's own list, not typed freely — and only two
+      are honest for this app: *Photography*, plus optionally *Privacy & security*.** Play's
+      taxonomy contains no duplicate/cleanup tag at all, so do not pad the field with
+      *Photo editor* just to fill it; the reasoning is in
      [STORE_LISTING](STORE_LISTING.md) › Category and tags.

 ## 5. Policy and compliance
@@ -216,32 +216,35 @@ in `app/build.gradle.kts`, and the second-run speed-up is the persistent hash in
 ### Category and tags

 - **Category:** Tools (alternative: Photography — *Tools* matches the one-job utility framing
-  better, and Photography is more crowded). Choose the category **first**: the *Suggested tags*
-  list is influenced by it.
- **Tags:** Play allows a **maximum of five**, and they can only be chosen from Play's own list
-  (*Suggested tags*, then *Search tags* / the category filter / *Other tags*) — there is no free
-  text. Apply them under **Store settings › App category › Manage tags**, in this order:
+  better, and Photography is more crowded). Choose the category **first**: it shapes the
+  *Suggested tags* list.
+- **Tags:** a **maximum of five**, chosen from Play's own list (*Suggested tags*, then *Search
+  tags* / the category filter / *Other tags*) — there is no free text, and using **fewer than five
+  is fine**: Google asks for the *most* relevant tags, and a tag a user cannot connect to the
+  listing costs more than a missing one.

-  | # | Tag | Why it is unambiguously true of this app |
+  The live list (checked 2026-10-14) contains **no cleanup-specific vocabulary at all** — no
+  *Storage*, *Photo cleanup*, *Duplicate photos*, *Photo management* or *Photo gallery*. Across
+  the whole photo domain Play offers only *Photography*, *Photo editor* and *Photo frame*, so
+  exactly one tag is both available and honest:
+
+  | Tag | Verdict | Reason |
  |---|---|---|
-  | 1 | **Duplicate photos** | The literal function, and the phrase a user types into search. |
-  | 2 | **Photo cleanup** | How the short and full description frame the job ("find and remove"). |
-  | 3 | **Photo management** | Google's own one-line description of the *Photography* category is "Cameras, photo editing tools, **photo management**, and sharing" — so this tag matches their taxonomy wording. |
-  | 4 | **Storage** | The benefit the listing leads with: `03-results.png` shows 17 groups and 83.5 MB reclaimable. |
-  | 5 | **Photo gallery** | The thing being managed; swap it if *Suggested tags* offers something closer. |
+  | **Photography** | ✅ use | The app's subject *is* the user's photo library, and someone who reads "find duplicate photos" sees immediately why the tag is there. This is the only photo-domain tag that applies. Available while the category is *Tools*; if the category is *Photography* it is the category itself and therefore redundant. |
+  | **Privacy & security** | ⚠️ optional | Defensible: the listing *leads* with "no internet permission at all", "no account, no tracking, no analytics", and that is visible to an unfamiliar user — Google's test. But it pulls in people browsing privacy tools who are not after a photo cleaner. Add it only if that discovery surface is wanted. |
+  | *anything else* | ❌ | Nothing else in the list describes this app; see below. |

-  If a *Suggested tag* is a better match than #4 or #5, take the suggestion — the full taxonomy
-  is only visible inside the Console, so those two are the interchangeable ones. Google's
-  guidance is to leave the tags alone afterwards and re-evaluate only if the app's functionality
-  changes significantly; edits take up to 24 h to appear.
+  Tags cannot express *"duplicate"* at all, so **search discovery rests on the title and short
+  description keywords**, which already say "duplicate photos" — not on this field.

- **Tags deliberately not used** — each would be either off-target or actively misleading:
-  *Photo editing*, *Camera*, *Video*, *Backup*.
-  The app cannot edit, cannot take photos and does not scan videos
-  ([README › Known limitations](../README.md#known-limitations)), and a *Backup* tag would
-  contradict the "no uploads, no internet permission" promise the description is built on.
-  Google's test is whether an unfamiliar user can see why the tag is relevant from the listing —
-  for these, they cannot.
+- **Tags deliberately not used:** *Photo editor*, *Photo frame*, *Camera*, *Video editing*,
+  *Video players & editors*, *Network connectivity*, *Wi-Fi*, *Virtual private network (VPN)*.
+  The app cannot edit or take photos and does not scan videos
+  ([README › Known limitations](../README.md#known-limitations)), and a connectivity tag would
+  contradict the merged manifest, which declares no `INTERNET` permission. *Photo editor* is the
+  tempting one — it is what most duplicate-photo apps tag themselves as — but a user arriving from
+  it expects editing tools, which is a one-star review on a listing that has no ratings to absorb
+  one yet.
 - **Accessibility tags: none (yet).** They are a compatibility *claim* and the UI does not earn
  one: `ui/components/PhotoThumbnail.kt` holds the only `contentDescription` in the app, and the
  scan-progress text has no `liveRegion`, so progress is not announced automatically. TalkBack