Ask HN: How can I publish a paid app to Google Play without giving up my privacy
I am a British student in the United Kingdom who wants to publish their app (one-time fee, to be bought in Google Play Store).
I have no other address other than my home address and I've been informed that by publishing a paid app on Google Play it reveals your full name and address online, something clearly undesirable for privacy reasons.
I can't afford to buy some sort of mail redirection service or to register a company (let alone have an address for that company) and the system apparently needs ID address to match the address input (hencewhy it would be my home address that was published anyway).
Is there any way to avoid this?
Thanks in advance.
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8 comments
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The usual way a business handles this is to register as a corporation, and that's what gives out its address and contact info, not your home. A registered business can have an address elsewhere, at least in the US.
There are many ways to collect money in an app without putting that app in the Play Store. Perhaps a web app without outside payment and an auth system would serve you better.
Exposing your name and particularly your address publicly is just plain stupid in most scenarios, virtually zero point in doing so.
When you register a corporation, it is a legal person (in the US). That person is the person selling the goods or services and is legally responsible. That's different from the concept of which human people own a company, which can be obfuscated through many means.
The OP asked how to sell something without providing any identity information.
You can absolutely incorporate in the US without exposing your name to the registries.
Putting your address online publicly FOREVER is straight reckless, that Play Store forces you or not.