The development of a Chrome extension can be thrilling until that fateful rejection notice with a red-coded warning comes into your mailbox.
If you see Red Magnesium, Red Copper, Red Lithium, or Red Argon in your submission, then you are facing a single-purpose policy violation.
There is a good reason for this policy: Chrome wants all the extensions in its store to have just one clear and well-defined purpose. The user should be able to understand instantly what the extension is doing and there should be no surprises in the form of unrelated or intrusive features.
This rule, however, is also one of the most commonly misunderstood and consequently one of the most frequently violated ones among developers. Let’s elaborate on this and provide a solution.
The Red Family Codes (Magnesium, Copper, Lithium, and Argon) all indicate the same issue, your extension has too many functionalities or is partially doing something else besides its main purpose.
For instance, let’s say your extension is for ad-blocking but it goes ahead to inject ads, add a new tab page, or have tracking features that are not disclosed. This is a clear-cut case of stepping over the line. The Chrome Web Store team will see this as a multi-purpose tool that is not transparent and possibly manipulating the user experience.
Each red variant could mean a different situation rather than just a color code:
Regardless of the subtype, they all stem from the same principle that is maintain your extension's functionality as single and transparent.
The Chrome reviewer checks that your manifest.json is in line with the actual code behaviour and the store listing description. If one of these is significantly different from the others, a violation is assumed automatically by the system.
The following are the most common violations:
These practices might look harmless while developing however, they will cause user trust issues and eventually get on the wrong side of the Chrome review system.
There is no need to worry if your rejection email has a red code in it, knowing what to look for makes this one of the easiest violations to fix.
Firstly, the extension's purpose statement should be clear.
The questions listed below might help:
Let the purpose be clear and then take these practical steps:
Get rid of any code or feature that is not crucial to the main purpose of your extension.
If you are aiming at providing various functions, then each should be an independent extension.
The text in your listing should be exactly what the extension does.
Refrain from using imprecise assertions such as “enhances browsing”, be detailed and honest.
After the simplification, package up the new version, test it, and resubmit with clear reviewer notes.
Getting approved after a rejection can be smoothened a little bit with a few extra precautions:
Single-purpose violations take place most of the times when developers push to "do too much" with one code. By sharpening focus, improving documentation, and keeping communication open, your extension can pass the rejection stage quickly and get approved.
Coditude supports designers, developers, and product teams during the entire cycle of Chrome extensions, from the design stage through the auditing and the publication stages meeting Google's strictest standards. No matter, if you are fixing a red-coded rejection or preparing for your first submission, our experts can help. Partner with Coditude and make your Chrome extension available on the store - quickly, compliant, and user-friendly.
