Deadline
The number of days is calculated in your browser from today’s date.
Google gives the month, not the day. The count runs to the first day of the month, the earliest possible date.
Google Play
Who is concerned
Apps and games on phones and tablets: the requirement applies to the mobile and tablet form factors only.
Once enforcement starts, Google also says apps and games must meet all memory thresholds to qualify for or keep Apps Experience Program and Level Up eligibility.
What changes
- Memory usage (anonymous RSS plus swap) and bitmap memory usage become core vitals metrics with bad behavior thresholds, like the existing Android vitals metrics. Play uses the last 28 days of data and evaluates the 90th percentile.
- Memory usage thresholds depend on the category (Apps or Games), the app state and the device RAM tier. Google’s tables show a dash for tiers and states without a listed threshold.
- Bitmap memory usage: thresholds above 200 MB in the user-perceived services and background states and above 400 MB in the cached state, at the 90th percentile.
- Google evaluates every app version for which data is available. For these metrics that is Android 13 and later.
| Device RAM tier | Foreground | User-perceived services | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 4 GB (0 to 3200 MB total memory) | - | - | - |
| 4 GB (3200 to 4800 MB) | 2 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| 6 GB (4800 to 6800 MB) | 2.25 GB | 1.25 GB | 1.25 GB |
| 8 GB (6800 to 9216 MB) | 2.25 GB | 1.5 GB | 1.5 GB |
| 12 GB (9216 to 14336 MB) | 3.25 GB | 1.75 GB | 1.75 GB |
| 16 GB (14336 to 18432 MB) | 4.25 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Above 18432 MB | - | - | - |
| Device RAM tier | Foreground | User-perceived services | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 4 GB (0 to 3200 MB total memory) | - | - | - |
| 4 GB (3200 to 4800 MB) | 2.25 GB | 2.0 GB | 2.0 GB |
| 6 GB (4800 to 6800 MB) | 2.75 GB | 2.5 GB | 2.5 GB |
| 8 GB (6800 to 9216 MB) | 3.5 GB | 2.75 GB | 2.75 GB |
| 12 GB (9216 to 14336 MB) | 4 GB | 3.2 GB | 3.2 GB |
| 16 GB (14336 to 18432 MB) | 5 GB | 3.5 GB | 3.5 GB |
| Above 18432 MB | - | - | - |
Google’s tables also have a Cached column, which shows no threshold for any tier.
What to do
- Open Android vitals in Play Console, under Memory, and read your 28-day P90 values by app state, RAM tier, Android version and release.
- Release resources in
onTrimMemory(), avoid static memory leaks and profile allocations and heap dumps. Google names Perfetto and the Android Studio Memory Profiler. - For bitmaps, downsample images to the displayed size, use a memory-conscious image loader such as Coil or Glide, and release unused bitmaps when the UI is hidden.
- Use the Google Play Developer Reporting API to automate monitoring.
What happens after the date
Google’s article labels these requirements as upcoming and not yet mandated, and says to use the transition period to evaluate your app. It gives the reason: an ecosystem-wide memory crisis is imminent because of rising RAM costs, and runaway memory use makes devices stutter and kill other apps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the exact start day?
Google’s article says “From February 2027” and gives no day. Check Google’s technical quality requirements article for updates.
Do games have the same limits as apps?
No. Games have separate thresholds, higher than the app thresholds for the same RAM tier.
Which form factors are in scope?
Mobile and tablets only.
Where can I see my memory numbers?
In Play Console, Android vitals, under Memory, filterable by app state, device RAM tier, Android version and release, and through the Google Play Developer Reporting API.
Official sources
Every date and rule on this page comes from the official pages below, read on 2026-11-02. We do not estimate dates or predict enforcement.