How to Export the Data Safety Form as a CSV
Short answer: in Play Console, open App content, select Start under Data safety, then select Export to CSV near the top right. You get your current answers in Google’s machine-readable format. The same file is the most up-to-date template you can get, because it always has the current set of questions.
- Open your app in Play Console.
- Go to the App content page.
- Under “Data safety”, select Start.
- Near the top right, select Export to CSV.
Google’s help page also offers a sample CSV to download, if you want to work offline.
There is no API alternative for this step. The Play Developer API’s applications.dataSafety method only writes a declaration, it doesn’t return one.
Why export
Section titled “Why export”- Backup. Importing a CSV overwrites every answer in the form. Keep the export so you can go back.
- An up-to-date template. If Google adds or renames a question, a fresh export has it. A file saved months ago may not.
- A baseline to compare against. Diff your next draft against the export to see exactly which answers change before you submit.
- A record. Keep the file next to your release notes or in version control, so you know what you declared for each release.
Reading the export
Section titled “Reading the export”Each row is one response, with five columns:
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Question ID (machine readable) | The question, e.g. PSL_DATA_TYPES_LOCATION |
| Response ID (machine readable) | The option, e.g. PSL_APPROX_LOCATION. Blank for yes/no and text questions |
| Response value | Your answer: true, false, blank, or text for URL rows |
| Answer requirement | REQUIRED, MAYBE_REQUIRED, OPTIONAL, SINGLE_CHOICE or MULTIPLE_CHOICE |
| Human-friendly question label | The question as Play Console shows it |
Usage questions for a data type have the type inside the question ID. For approximate location, the “collected, shared, or both” rows look like this:
PSL_DATA_USAGE_RESPONSES:PSL_APPROX_LOCATION:PSL_DATA_USAGE_COLLECTION_AND_SHARING,PSL_DATA_USAGE_ONLY_COLLECTED,true,MULTIPLE_CHOICE,"Data usage and handling (Approximate location) / Is this data collected, shared, or both? / Collected"PSL_DATA_USAGE_RESPONSES:PSL_APPROX_LOCATION:PSL_DATA_USAGE_COLLECTION_AND_SHARING,PSL_DATA_USAGE_ONLY_SHARED,,MULTIPLE_CHOICE,"Data usage and handling (Approximate location) / Is this data collected, shared, or both? / Shared"Every ID in the file is explained in the CSV format reference.
Common mistakes
Section titled “Common mistakes”- Exporting from the wrong app. Each app has its own form, tied to its package name. Check the app name at the top of Play Console before you export.
- Reusing an old export as a template after Google changed the questions. Export again before each update.
- Opening the file in a spreadsheet and saving it back in another format. If you edit it, keep it as plain CSV and leave the ID columns alone.
- Treating the export as proof the answers are right. It only shows what you declared, not what the app does.
With data-safety-from-code
Section titled “With data-safety-from-code”The skill asks for your export first and uses it three ways: as the template it fills, as the source for answers code can’t show, and as the baseline for a “what changed” section in its report. Without an export it falls back to a bundled copy of Google’s template and tells you so. Get started.
Related
Section titled “Related”Want the form filled from your own code, with evidence? Install the skill. If this page helped,star the repo on GitHub.
Built by Sanikant. Set in Google Sans Flex (SIL Open Font License), icons from Material Symbols (Apache 2.0). Google Play is a trademark of Google LLC; this project is not affiliated with Google. Output is a draft for review: you are responsible for your Data safety declaration.