The issue is not about accepting donations through Google Play Billing, but about having a link in your app to the external donation page of the project.
Could you link to the policy section that explictly bans external donation links from being present in apps, unless you're a non-profit organization? People have been referring to the Google Play Billing terms of service, but that has nothing to do with linking to external donation services such as Patreon.
I think the last line refers to donations collected within the app. There is no publicly available Google Play policy for which the reasonable interpretation is that apps are not allowed to contain external links to donation pages.
In comparison, Apple clearly states that you must link to an external donation page from your app if you're not a charity, while charities are also allowed to collect money within the app with Apple Pay.
3.2.1 Acceptable
(vi) Approved nonprofits may fundraise directly within their own apps or third-party apps, provided those fundraising campaigns adhere to all App Review Guidelines and offer Apple Pay support. These apps must disclose how the funds will be used, abide by all required local and federal laws, and ensure appropriate tax receipts are available to donors.
3.2.2 Unacceptable
(iv) Unless you are an approved nonprofit or otherwise permitted under Section 3.2.1 (vi) above, collecting funds within the app for charities and fundraisers. Apps that seek to raise money for such causes must be free on the App Store and may only collect funds outside of the app, such as via Safari or SMS.
Comments
The issue is not about accepting donations through Google Play Billing, but about having a link in your app to the external donation page of the project.
Could you link to the policy section that explictly bans external donation links from being present in apps, unless you're a non-profit organization? People have been referring to the Google Play Billing terms of service, but that has nothing to do with linking to external donation services such as Patreon.
Yeah this is the page: https://play.google.com/about/monetization-ads/payments/
For some reason it doesn't include the following text that I got in the email:
Note the last line, effectively stating that donations to non-tax exempt organisations like WireGuard are not allowed.
I think the last line refers to donations collected within the app. There is no publicly available Google Play policy for which the reasonable interpretation is that apps are not allowed to contain external links to donation pages.
In comparison, Apple clearly states that you must link to an external donation page from your app if you're not a charity, while charities are also allowed to collect money within the app with Apple Pay.
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/