Hacker Remix

Ask HN: Can't publish on the Play Store without a physical office?

7 points by olalonde 2 days ago | 10 comments

I'm in the process of registering for the app stores (Google/Apple), and both now require a D-U-N-S number. I applied for one, and a few weeks later, I received a link from "Truepic Vision" asking me to download an app to verify my business address.

I have a registered business in Delaware but no physical office. In fact, I've been traveling for the past few months and don’t have a fixed address. I'm wondering if anyone else — especially digital nomads — has faced this situation, and how you managed to solve it.

mcsniff 2 days ago

I have a registered agent as my office (they provide a "physical" address for use) with D&B for D-U-N-S with no issues, and same address on Google Play and Apple App Store.

Never used this TruePic Vision app either, is this a new requirement?

pickle-wizard 1 day ago

I was going to suggest this too. I use my registered agent's address on all official business stuff.

olalonde 2 days ago

I guess it is, I just applied last month. When did you get your D-U-N-S number?

mcsniff 20 hours ago

Last year, but as another poster mentioned, I'm not in the US either.

The whole process was extremely easy, I must say. I was not looking forward to jumping through the hoops, but a few emails and it was done -- very smooth, no issues for me at all.

yen223 2 days ago

Is this Truepic Vision thing a US requirement?

I signed up for a virtual office here in Sydney, and obtained a DUNS number using that address with no issue. This was last year.

caprock 2 days ago

You can pay a small fee to have a "registered agent" service and that can include an address you can use.

olalonde 2 days ago

I do have a registered agent but D-U-N-S does not accept registered agent or P.O. addresses. Plus, I have to physically take a picture of the office/address using the TrueVision app.

MollyRealized 2 days ago

Just as a small bit of information, Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) does this because they are called upon to assess risk and prevent fraud - it's about 10 times more likely with virtual addresses or registered agents.

olalonde 2 days ago

I guess it raises the cost of fraud a bit (e.g. having to be physically present in the US during the DUNS application). But I'm wondering what kind of fraud the Play Store is trying to prevent with that requirement. Malware?

callamdelaney 2 days ago

We tried to verify our online only e-commerce store on google, they have since said that since we have no physical store they won’t verify us and deleted our 50+ 5 star reviews. Meanwhile our competitors and defunct businesses I registered a decade ago and operated for a year still show as verified.

Joke of a process, good luck