This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by UI Animation
If you're using Rive animations in a Flutter app, you may run into a frustrating blocker when uploading your app to Google Play. After Google’s new 16KB page size requirement rolled out, many developers started seeing unexpected build rejections—without any clear explanation.
Recently, developers discovered that the issue comes from Rive’s native library alignment, specifically the librive_text.so file. This post explains the problem, why it happens, and how to fix it with a simple (but breaking) package upgrade.
âť— The Issue: Rive Ships with 4KB Alignment (Not 16KB)
Google Play now requires that all native libraries support 16KB page size alignment for apps targeting Android 15+ and API 34+.
However, some Rive packages (e.g., rive: 0.13.x) include native .so libraries built with 4KB alignment. When you upload your APK/AAB, Play Store rejects it with errors similar to:
APK does not support 16 KB devices
librive_text.so - 4 KB LOAD section alignment, but 16 KB is required
If you inspect your APK using Android Studio’s APK Analyzer, you will see exactly this misalignment on Rive’s native libs:
librive_text.so → ❌ 4KB alignment
Other .so files → mostly OK, but one bad file is enough to fail publication
This causes Google Play to block your release, even if everything else is properly configured.
🧠Why This Happens
Rive’s stable package versions still use an older native runtime whose libraries do not satisfy the new Android page size requirement. Flutter apps package these .so files by default, so if Rive is misaligned, your entire release is considered non-compliant.
âś… The Fix: Upgrade to Rive Pre-Release v0.14.0-dev.14 (or newer)
The Rive team fixed this issue in their new native runtime.
To resolve Play Store errors, upgrade your Rive dependency:
dependencies:
rive: ^0.14.0-dev.14
This version ships with:
âś” Proper 16KB-aligned native libraries
âś” A new Rive runtime
âś” Updated API
âš Some breaking changes that require code updates
🔧 Required Code Changes (Breaking)
Initialize Rive’s Native Runtime in main()
void main() async {
WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
await RiveNative.init(); // Required for the new runtime
runApp(MyApp());
}Replace Old API: RiveAnimation.asset()
The old widget is deprecated.
Use the new RiveWidget API:
RiveWidget.asset(
'assets/animations/splash.riv',
artboard: 'Main',
)
If you’re using multiple artboards, state machines, or controllers, you’ll need to migrate accordingly.
The upgrade path is straightforward, but still a breaking change.
🧪 Developer Feedback
As shared on LinkedIn:
Many devs spent hours debugging Play Store errors caused by Rive.
Some nearly removed Rive animations entirely from their apps.
Upgrading to dev.14 resolved the alignment issue instantly.
So if your release is suddenly failing with vague alignment errors—you’re probably hitting the same issue.
🎉 Final Thoughts
The new Google Play page size requirement caught a lot of teams off guard. If your Flutter app uses Rive animations and you’re targeting modern Android devices, upgrading your Rive package is now mandatory.
TL;DR
Google Play rejects apps with native libraries <16KB alignment.
Rive’s older versions include a misaligned librive_text.so.
Upgrade to rive: ^0.14.0-dev.14 to fix the issue.
Be aware of breaking API changes when updating.
This should save you several hours of head-scratching debugging. 🚀
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by UI Animation
UI Animation | Sciencx (2025-11-29T17:47:29+00:00) 🚨 PSA for Flutter Developers Using Rive Animations: Fixing Google Play’s New 16KB Page Size Error. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/11/29/%f0%9f%9a%a8-psa-for-flutter-developers-using-rive-animations-fixing-google-plays-new-16kb-page-size-error/
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