Google Play target API level: API 36 required

What it means

targetSdkVersion tells Android which version's behavior your app was tested against. Google raises the minimum it accepts every year so that apps on the store opt into the newer security and privacy behaviors. The upload is refused as soon as the value in the merged manifest is below the minimum, whatever minSdkVersion is.

The minimum depends on the form factor: 36 for phones and tablets, 35 for Wear OS and Android Automotive OS, 34 for Android TV and Android XR.

Deadline

Since August 31, 2026, new apps and app updates must target API 36 or higher to be submitted to Google Play. Google lets you request an extension until November 1, 2026 if you need more time. The previous rule (API 35, from August 31, 2025) no longer applies to new submissions.

How to fix it

1. Raise targetSdk and compileSdk

android {
    compileSdk = 36
    defaultConfig {
        targetSdk = 36
    }
}

Use an Android Gradle Plugin and Android Studio version that support compileSdk 36; the build warns when the plugin is too old for the SDK. Flutter, React Native and other frameworks set these values in their own Gradle files: set the number there, or upgrade the framework to a version whose default is high enough.

2. Go through each skipped Android version

Every Android version brings behavior changes that only apply once you target it (foreground service types at API 34, android:exported at API 31, and so on). Read the behavior-change page of each version between your current target and 36, and test on a device or emulator running API 36.

3. Check the merged manifest

A library cannot lower your target, but a stale targetSdkVersion left in AndroidManifest.xml or a flavor override can. Open the Merged Manifest tab in Android Studio, or read the value in the built file with aapt2 dump badging app.apk.