PSA: Increase in review times for submissions to the Chrome Web Store
Sebastian Benz
Hey everyone,
I want to provide an update on the current state of extension reviews in the Chrome Web Store. We’ve experienced a surge in new extensions being submitted to the Chrome Web Store causing longer-than-expected wait times for new submissions and updates to be approved. We are aware that predictability in the review process is crucial for your planning. We sincerely apologize for this friction and appreciate your patience during this time.
While our review team works to process the queue, we recommend the following best practices to help expedite your specific review and avoid unnecessary resubmissions:
Schedule Publication in Advance: Please build additional buffer time into your release cycles and submit early for important updates. You can stage your release so you can put it live at a time of your choice.
Do Not Resubmit Pending Items: Refrain from canceling and resubmitting pending items in an attempt to speed up the process. Doing so resets your position in the queue and will always be slower than waiting for a response on your current submission.
For new extension submissions you should also check the following:
Minimize Permissions: Audit your extension before submission to remove unused permissions. For example, use the activeTab permission or optional host permissions to reduce the access your extension needs immediately at install time, which can speed up review.
Review Permission Usage: Check the list of commonly misunderstood permissions to ensure you are using them correctly.
Clean Up Code and Files: Don't include unnecessary files or dead code in your submission. This can slow down review, make your extension a larger download, and unused code can even lead to rejections if it violates policies.
Remove Remote Hosted Code: Check for Remote Hosted Code before submission.
Verify Contact Information: Make sure you can receive emails from all email addresses associated with your Developer Dashboard account and publisher, as this is where rejection emails and warnings are sent.
Check URLs: If you provide a privacy policy on your listing, ensure it is up to date and the URL works, as broken links are a common reason for rejection.
Thank you for your patience,
Sebastian, on behalf of the Chrome Web Store team