Google Play Console: Android listing and reviews

Connecting Play Console gives Appwin the Android side of ASO: store listing, reviews, ratings, and history.

It is the counterpart of App Store Connect. The two are configured independently: you can wire only one, and ASO then shows the connected platform alone.

Access goes through a Google Cloud service account that you then invite into Play Console. Two consoles, and that is where almost every misconfiguration comes from: the key is created on one side, permissions are granted on the other.

1. Package name

1. 1

   Collect the package name

   Open the Google Play Console and select your app. On the dashboard, the package name sits under the app title.

   It is also the applicationId in your build.gradle, and the ?id= in the Play Store URL.

   

2. Service account

1. 1

   Enable the Android Publisher API

   In the Google Cloud console: APIs & Services → Library → enable Google Play Android Developer API.

   

2. 2

   Create the service account

   IAM & Admin → Service accounts → Create service account (e.g. "appwin") → Done.

   

3. 3

   Generate the JSON key

   Open the account you created → Keys → Add key → Create new key → JSON. The file downloads. It cannot be re-downloaded: if you lose it, create a new one and delete the old.

   

4. 4

   Invite it in Play Console

   Play Console → Users and permissions → Invite users.

   Paste the service account email (also in the JSON as client_email, e.g. appwin@my-project-1a2b3.iam.gserviceaccount.com).

   

5. 5

   Restrict to your app

   Under Permissions → Add app, select your app.

   

6. 6

   Grant the useful permissions

   Tick at least:

   Permission	Why
   View app information and download bulk reports	Store listing, ratings, stats
   Reply to reviews	Reading reviews, and replying from Appwin

   Stay on those two. A service account with publish rights can push a release: that is not what we ask of it. Then Apply and Invite user.

   

   Play Console permission propagation sometimes takes several minutes. A 403 right after the invite does not mean the setup is wrong - retry a quarter of an hour later.

7. 7

   Import the JSON in Appwin

   Settings → Projects → your app → Integrations → Google Play Console.

   Field	Value
   Package Name	com.yourstudio.yourapp
   Service Account JSON	The full file contents

   The Import a file button reads the downloaded JSON and fills the field: more reliable than paste.

   

The file looks like:

{
  "type": "service_account",
  "project_id": "my-project-1a2b3",
  "private_key_id": "…",
  "private_key": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n…\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n",
  "client_email": "appwin@my-project-1a2b3.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
  "…": "…"
}

The two fields Appwin requires are client_email and private_key. A truncated or hand-copied JSON is rejected on save, with the missing field named.

What it unlocks

Android downloads and revenue do not go through here: on the revenue side, RevenueCat is the source of truth across platforms.

Troubleshooting

Next

• App Store Connect - the iOS side
• ASO - what the product does with this data