Google Play is an online store on Android that makes it easy for more than 2.5 billion monthly users across 190+ markets worldwide to discover millions of high-quality apps, games, books, and more.
We help keep consumers safe by building rigorous protections into Google Play and requiring developers to follow high safety standards, while investing heavily in enabling developers to thrive.
Helping developers build and grow
Google Play connects developers to billions of people around the world while investing in the platform, tools, services, and marketing opportunities that support apps and games businesses worldwide. This includes providing:
Security
Keeping users safe online with the best of Google’s technology, such as Google Play Protect which scans 125B apps per day, regardless of whether they were installed from Play or another app store. And, Play’s commerce platform prevented over $2 billion in fraudulent and abusive transactions in 2022.
Developer tools
Helping them build better apps and grow their businesses – run experiments and beta test their apps, optimize store listing, analyze user data, and utilize new AI-powered features.
App distribution
Maintaining and improving a platform which allows developers to easily reach up to 2.5 billion users in 190+ markets around the world, with the ability to optimize delivery by device and functionality and provide ongoing updates.
App monetization
Integrating Google Play’s billing system enables developers to monetize their apps in over 190 markets with our trusted and secure commerce platform. Play Commerce provides monetization tools, tax and compliance support, and the ability to seamlessly transact with millions of buyers with an extensive payment method library that includes local or offline payment methods such as e-wallets and cash. It also enables users to track purchases, manage subscriptions, and apply parental controls, in addition to providing customer support services and performing fraud checks.
Android platforms
Investing in a multi-device ecosystem by extending Android and Play to screens beyond phones such as tablets, wearables, TV, Auto, and even PCs helps devs reach their audience in new ways.
Education
Google Play shares best practices to build a successful app or game business and keep developers updated on changes in our tools. The Google Play Academy is a free-of-charge e-learning platform for Google Play developers. The courses are offered in 13 languages to anyone with a Google Account. Over 100 courses are currently offered and are updated regularly. Topics include:
- How to use Google Play Console features and distribute an app or game
- Best practices for achieving success in an app or game business
- Guidance for staying on the right side of Google Play policies
Flexibility
Because of the openness of Android, developers of course can also distribute their apps to users from a variety of sources outside of Google Play. In fact, most Android devices come preloaded with two or more app stores right out of the box.
Helping developers build and grow
Google Play connects developers to billions of people around the world while investing in the platform, tools, services, and marketing opportunities that support apps and games businesses worldwide. This includes providing:
Security
Keeping users safe online with the best of Google’s technology, such as Google Play Protect which scans 125B apps per day, regardless of whether they were installed from Play or another app store. And, Play’s commerce platform prevented over $2 billion in fraudulent and abusive transactions in 2022.
App distribution
Maintaining and improving a platform which allows developers to easily reach up to 2.5 billion users in 190+ markets around the world, with the ability to optimize delivery by device and functionality and provide ongoing updates.
Android platforms
Investing in a multi-device ecosystem by extending Android and Play to screens beyond phones such as tablets, wearables, TV, Auto, and even PCs helps devs reach their audience in new ways.
Flexibility
Because of the openness of Android, developers of course can also distribute their apps to users from a variety of sources outside of Google Play. In fact, most Android devices come preloaded with two or more app stores right out of the box.
Google Play connects developers to billions of people around the world while investing in the platform, tools, services, and marketing opportunities that support apps and games businesses worldwide. This includes providing:
Developer tools
Helping them build better apps and grow their businesses – run experiments and beta test their apps, optimize store listing, analyze user data, and utilize new AI-powered features.
App monetization
Integrating Google Play’s billing system enables developers to monetize their apps in over 190 markets with our trusted and secure commerce platform. Play Commerce provides monetization tools, tax and compliance support, and the ability to seamlessly transact with millions of buyers with an extensive payment method library that includes local or offline payment methods such as e-wallets and cash. It also enables users to track purchases, manage subscriptions, and apply parental controls, in addition to providing customer support services and performing fraud checks.
Education
Google Play shares best practices to build a successful app or game business and keep developers updated on changes in our tools. The Google Play Academy is a free-of-charge e-learning platform for Google Play developers. The courses are offered in 13 languages to anyone with a Google Account. Over 100 courses are currently offered and are updated regularly. Topics include:
- How to use Google Play Console features and distribute an app or game
- Best practices for achieving success in an app or game business
- Guidance for staying on the right side of Google Play policies
Succeeding when developers succeed
Succeeding when developers succeed
Google Play invests heavily in supporting developers, including through the creation of helpful tools and services to grow their business, features and controls that keep users safe online, and platform improvements that make our marketplace a great place for people to discover apps and games they’ll love. We fund these investments in part through a service fee applied only when a developer on Google Play sells in-app digital goods or services. We think it is a sensible model as the platform only makes money when a developer makes money, so our success is aligned with theirs. Put simply, if developers don’t make money from these transactions, then neither do we.
Apps and games developers are the engines of Google Play. We keep costs low for them to support their growth and innovation. In fact,
Apps and games developers are the engines of Google Play. We keep costs low for them to support their growth and innovation. In fact,
Google Play’s fees are the lowest among major app stores, and 99% of developers qualify for a service fee of 15% or less.
Our fee structure also avoids heavy up-front charges that would be harder for small developers to bear. For example, all developers on Play are eligible to pay 15% on the first $1M in annual revenue, and that resets each year. This is particularly beneficial for smaller developers or those just starting out. We’ve also lowered fees for developers offering subscriptions in-app, now charging just 15% from day 1. Additionally, we have a range of programs that take into account the economics of different industries and app models, and may involve reduced fees.
Providing safety for developers and users on Google Play
Users are in control of their data and permissions.
We’re dedicated to helping people understand and make informed decisions about the data that apps and games seek to access on their devices. As part of that commitment, we require developers to disclose how they collect and use personal data in their Google Play app listings.
Developers are only able to ask for sensitive user data - including SMS messages, contact list, device location, and more - when it is appropriate for the primary use of the app. For example, a messaging app might want to access a user’s contact information to be most useful. Developers need to comprehensively disclose the use of these permissions before their app is published to Google Play, and are then reviewed during the app review process. Developers cannot sell personal or sensitive data.
If the developer has an acceptable use case, they still need to ask users for permission before use. Users are always given the option of declining permission with a single click. For access to location, users have even more control with the ability to limit access to a singular instance, rather than on-going.
Visit the Developer Policy Center for more information on these and other policies.
Keeping Android devices protected, automatically.
Powerful security protections are built into Android devices. These aren’t tools that users have to find and enable on their own; they’re automatic and working from day one.
One example is Google Play Protect, the built-in malware protection for Android devices with Google Mobile Services enabled. Google Play Protect and our systems scan and analyze billions of apps to keep our ecosystem safe for users and developers.
Since launching Google Play Protect, we’ve made significant improvements in our ability to detect abuse, from impersonation and fraud to inappropriate content and malware. New machine learning models and techniques enable us to identify and reject millions of apps every year with abusive or malicious content before anyone can use them.
Google Play Protect is only one of many layers of Android security. Learn more about the many different ways Android keeps users safe.
Helping parents find safe and enriching content for kids.
We are committed to providing a safer and more positive environment for children and families. We help parents find enriching and entertaining content with our Kids tab on Google Play filled with Teacher Approved apps and games . We also empower parents to set healthy digital ground rules with Family Link parental controls.
Our Google Play policies also provide additional protections for children and families. These policies require that apps and games targeted to children have appropriate content, show ads suitable for children, and meet other requirements including ones related to personally identifiable information.
Our policies protect both users and developers from bad actors.
Our Google Play developer policies are designed to ensure that we, in partnership with our global developer community, continue to deliver the world’s most innovative and trusted apps to our users.
Key policies include restricted content, user privacy, malware, and mobile unwanted software. Our policies are generally updated quarterly and all developers are notified via email of any changes. Developers usually have at least 30 days to make any necessary updates to their apps, and longer if the updates are likely to be significant.
After the grace period, if a developer violates any of our Google Play policies, their app is removed or suspended from the Google Play store. The developer is notified by email about the specific reasons for this action, provided with instructions on how to republish their app, and provided with instructions on how to appeal the action taken against their app.
Repeated or serious violations of these policies (such as malware, fraud, and apps that may cause user or device harm) or of the Developer Distribution Agreement may result in the termination of the developer’s accounts. View more info on our enforcement process here.
Every app is thoroughly reviewed before it goes live on Google Play.
Through a combination of human reviewers globally and automated protections, we have significantly increased our ability to detect and remove malicious apps. Before any app is listed or after it’s been updated on Google Play, it undergoes an extensive review to check for compliance with privacy policies, sensitive permissions declarations, and more.Learn more about how developers can prepare their app for approval.
App reviews are typically completed within 7 days, but may take longer. If the review passes, the app is available to publish. If it doesn’t pass, the developer is contacted with the reason and can resubmit the app at any time with the appropriate updates.
An equitable Google Play starts with policies committed to fairness and extends through how we promote apps to the tools we make available to developers.
We believe that all developers should be given the opportunity to succeed and we work to provide a level playing field for everyone, large or small, third party or first party Google apps.
Our developer policies apply equally to all apps distributed on Google Play, including Google’s own apps.
We use the same principles to decide which apps to promote on Google Play, whether they're third-party apps or our own apps. In fact, we regularly promote apps by Google’s competitors in our Editors Choice picks when they provide a great user experience. Similarly, our algorithms rank third-party apps and games using the same criteria as for ranking Google's own apps.
Google Play Console is a powerful tool for bringing apps to market, and we make it accessible to all along with many other developer tools and services. However, there is data or specific features that are only made available to some developers.
Enabling consumer choice
Choice has always been a core tenet of Android. Device makers and carriers can preload competing app stores alongside Google Play on their devices. In fact, most Android devices ship with two or more app stores preloaded. And, popular Android devices such as the Amazon Fire tablet come preloaded with a competing app store and without the Google Play Store.Consumers can also “sideload” apps, meaning they can download them from a developer’s website directly without going through Google Play or any Android app store at all. People sideload successful apps like Fortnite, as well as entire app stores like the Amazon Appstore.
The Latest from Google Play
Stay up to date on Google Play with a quarterly roundup from VP and General Manager Sam Bright
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What developers say
Headspace’s new high-quality experience drove business growth on Google Play.
Meditation app Headspace has invested in improving the quality of their Android app by using insights from Google Play Console. This effort has resulted in a new app design with refreshed content and structure, bringing an increase in the number of people using their app regularly and leaving positive feedback.
InovCares
InovCares is an Atlanta-based telehealth platform that provides affordable and customized healthcare through their app, empowering doctors to maximize healthy outcomes, particularly for women of color. Using the free-of-charge e-learning courses on Google Play Academy, InovCares’ founder has been able to improve how their app listing looks on Google Play, helping them to reach more patients and doctors.
Udell Enterprises
Sterling Udell and his wife Teresa have always loved to travel and the prospect of doing so full-time was a dream for them. By kitting out their RV to support Sterling’s work as a developer, they’ve been able to realize that dream. Sterling’s apps, TerraTime and Lunescope, are inspired by his love for the outdoors and, using Google Play, he’s able to share his love with people everywhere.
Duolingo
Duolingo’s mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. By enabling distribution of their app to billions of users across the globe and across all socioeconomic levels, Google Play has helped Duolingo reach 500 million downloads and take steps toward their vision of reducing economic inequality through education.
Seekrtech
Taiwan-based company Seekrtech has used Google Play to reach over 25 million people with their app Forest Stay Focused. The app helps people take a break from their smartphones and focus on other activities, while growing virtual trees. The company then donates money to the Trees for Future organization to plant real trees.
Ludo King
Gametion Technologies, the developer of Ludo King, is an Indian business who have worked with the Google Play team to learn new design techniques, analytics, and marketing strategies. They’ve reached 600 million downloads worldwide, becoming one of the most played games in India.
Beelinguapp
Language learning app Beelinguapp enables people to read and listen to stories in different languages, side by side. Its founder and CEO, David Montiel, has single-handedly built this successful business on Google Play while traveling the world, thanks to insights he gets from the Google Play Console—which he likens to “having a whole team in his backpack”.
Daily Workouts
Daily Workouts was started by Dan Miller, a stay-at-home dad with then new-born twins. He taught himself basic coding and built a simple app, Daily Ab Workout, which people have downloaded over 10 million times. He now has 14 apps in 35 languages on Google Play, reaching users around the world.
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games develops mobile games with an eye towards diversity. Their latest game, EverMerge, which challenges the traditional fairy tale narrative with a strong leading female protagonist and a cast of characters of various ethnicities, ages, genders, and personal styles, has over 10 million downloads on Google Play.
Concrete Software
Concrete Software has 8 titles on Google Play, including PBA Bowling Challenge and My Arcade Empire. Across all of their games, they have over 25 million downloads. As part of the Indie Games Accelerator, they’re receiving education and mentorship to help them grow their business.
#WeArePlay
Discover the stories of people from all over the United States building apps and games businesses on Google Play.
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Google Play: A platform with extensive reach
2.5+ Billion Active users on Google Play each month1
150+ Billion Downloads on Google Play in the last year1
3+ Million Developers who choose Google Play to grow their businesses1
Why developers choose Google Play
Google Play is one of many ways to distribute apps and games on Android to people around the world.
Distribution and discovery
We make it easy for developers to distribute their apps and games to billions of users and earn money from people around the world. We also provide promotional opportunities and programs to help developers reach, retain, and re-engage users, such as Play Pass and Play Points.
Monetization opportunities
Developers can monetize their apps and games by offering in-app purchases, subscriptions, or paid apps. Consumers can safely pay for digital content on Google Play in their preferred forms of payment, and Google Play handles everything from receipts to subscription management to notifications.
Tools and services
We provide free training, as well as tools, services, and insights to help developers manage their app releases and performance.
A business model that works for everyone
Google Play only charges a service fee to developers who offer a paid app or sell access to in-app digital goods or services.
Only 3% of developers on Google Play are subject to a service fee. The remaining 97% can distribute their apps and take advantage of all Google Play has to offer at no charge.
There isn't a single service fee since developers operate in different industries that require different levels of support to build sustainable businesses.
97% of developers are not subject to a service fee
99% of developers qualify for a service fee of 15% or less
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- Understanding apps
- Organizing apps
Google Play needs to understand the content and functionality of an app in order to help users discover the right app at the right time.
When developers submit apps to Google Play, they provide information about the app including the app title, description, category and graphic assets. They also give information about the functionality and content of their app. Google then identifies additional characteristics and analyzes user feedback through ratings and engagement metrics. This information helps us recommend the right apps at the right time, whether people are browsing for something new or searching for a specific title.
We take a user-centric approach to organizing and ranking apps in order to create an intuitive and enjoyable experience.
Ensuring a positive experience when navigating Google Play means making it easy to find the apps our users know and love as well as new and undiscovered titles. The Google Play store gives users a variety of ways to discover the right apps, like browsing our most popular apps, searching for a specific title, or viewing recommendations.
Many ranking factors are involved in determining which apps to display:
- User relevance: The most relevant apps to a user depends on where they are browsing or the query they use in a search.
- Quality of the app experience: Apps that have strong technical performance and a good user experience are generally favored over lower quality apps.
- Editorial value: Google Play provides curated recommendations to help users find content that is noteworthy and interesting.
- Ads: Some developers choose to advertise on Google Play similar to other Google properties. These ads are well marked and shown alongside other content.
- User experience: Google Play endeavors to ensure users have a positive experience in navigating the wide range of available apps.
For more detailed information on app discovery and ranking, visit this article.
- Tools and services
- Data insights
- Monetization
- Training
Google Play’s tools and services are designed to help developers test, monitor, and iterate their apps and games to meet their users’ needs.
Helpful testing and interaction tools help developers experiment to create lasting and more meaningful connections with their users. The Google Play platform helps developers react with agility and flexibility when improving the quality of their apps and games. Tools for staged rollouts, beta testing, and early warning alerts empower developers to create better user experiences.
Learn more about how the Google Play Console can help developers:
Build a high quality app or game
Explore
Release with confidence
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Grow your audience
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Monetize with ease
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Engage and retain users
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Google Play knows that actionable data is critical for developers to improve their user experience and grow their businesses.
The data helps developers understand the lifecycle of their app: from how it is discovered in the Google Play store, to how users engage with it, and what users are willing to pay for it. Developers also have access to ratings and reviews to understand user feedback and respond to concerns.
Developers also have access to aggregated data to benchmark their performance across the ecosystem. They can access data through the Play Console, in downloadable formats, and APIs, and continually invest to make metrics and visualizations more helpful.
Google Play ensures that the data collected and shared with developers about their apps protects the privacy and security of our users via our privacy policy Our data deletion policy also empowers users with greater clarity and control over their in-app data.
For more information on the statistics and insights available to developers visit the Play Console Help Center and play.google.com/console/about/. For more information on data access visit this page.
Google Play Commerce unlocks the ability for developers to generate revenue in over 190 markets with buyer access, monetization tools, tax & compliance support, and trusted & secure purchases.
We believe the creativity and passion developers show in building incredible experiences requires a commerce platform designed to help them reach their monetization goals.
Developers have flexibility in building a monetization model that best suits their app or game, including one or more combinations of selling in-app items, subscriptions, and paid apps.
Get the latest on Google Play’s commerce platform or learn how to start generating revenue from an app or game by visiting the Google Play Commerce homepage.
The Google Play Academy is free-of-charge to developers, business people, and marketers of Google Play apps and games.
Google Play shares best practices to build a successful app or game business and keep developers updated on changes in our tools. The Google Play Academy is a free-of-charge e-learning platform for developers, business people, and marketers of Google Play apps and games. The courses are offered in 13 languages to anyone with a Google Account.
Over 200 step-by-step courses are currently offered and can be applied within minutes. Topics include:
- How to use Google Play Console features and distribute an app or game
- Best practices for achieving success in an app or game business
- Guidance for staying on the right side of Google Play policies
Free certificate in mobile marketing essentials
Google Play Store Listing Certificate is an industry recognized certificate designed to prove expertise your ability to effectively promote mobile apps and games on Google Play. After learners take the free training and pass the exam, they can join our alumni network.
Developers can also follow us via the Android developer blog, LinkedIn, Android Developer YouTube, and Twitter for news and updates.
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