Start monitoring right now
You don't need to connect any API to get started. On the free plan AppWatch scrapes the public Play Store and gives you useful data straight away.
- 1Open Settings → Google Play
- 2Enter your developer name or comma-separated package IDs
- 3Save — AppWatch starts capturing on the next cycle
What you get for free:
Want crash rate, exact installs and demographics? Connect the Developer API below →
Google Play Developer API
Connecting your developer account unlocks data not available on the public Play Store.
| Data | Not connected | With API | With API + GCS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installs | 1,000,000+ | 1,000,000+ | 1,247,832 exact |
| Active users | — | — | Yes |
| Recent reviews | Global rating | Full text | Full text |
| Crash rate (7 days) | — | 0.42% | 0.42% |
| ANR rate (7 days) | — | 0.08% | 0.08% |
| Country breakdown | — | — | Top 5 countries |
| Star distribution | — | — | ★★★★★ / ★★★★ / ... |
| Private/beta apps | — | Yes | Yes |
Option A — Automatic script
Recommended · Mac & Linux · ~5 minutes
Download the script and run it in your terminal. It does everything automatically: creates the Google Cloud project, enables APIs, creates the service account and downloads the credentials JSON.
⬇ Download scriptWhat the script needs: gcloud installed (it installs it for you if missing) and a Google account. No credit card required.
Option B — Manual steps
For those who prefer doing it in the browser · ~10 minutes
Create a Google Cloud project (free)
Go to console.cloud.google.com/projectcreate
Give it any name, e.g. appwatch-play. No billing account needed.
Enable APIs (free)
With your project selected, enable these two APIs:
Create a Service Account
Go to IAM → Service Accounts → Create
- Name: appwatch-reader
- Description: AppWatch read-only access
- For permissions, no role needs to be added — Play Console permissions are assigned in the next step
Download credentials JSON
In the newly created service account:
- Keys tab → Add key → Create new key
- Type: JSON → Create
- A JSON file downloads — keep it temporarily
Link Service Account in Play Console
Note: the 'API access' menu option no longer exists in Play Console. Use Users and permissions instead:
- Play Console → Setup → Users and permissions → Invite new users
- Email: your service account email (appwatch-reader@YOUR-PROJECT.iam.gserviceaccount.com)
- Permissions: View app information and download bulk reports
- Click 'Invite user'
Paste the JSON into AppWatch
In Settings → Google Play, paste the full content of the JSON file into the "Google Play Service Account JSON" field.
⚠️ After pasting and saving, delete the JSON file from your computer. AppWatch stores it encrypted.
Optional — Exact installs and demographics (GCS)
Requires setting up a Google Cloud Storage bucket. Cost: practically zero (Play Console exports small CSV files that fit within Google Cloud's free tier of 5 GB/month).
⚠️ The Play Console bucket is Google-owned — cannot be shared with a Service Account
The pubsite_prod_rev_* bucket is managed by Google. Attempting to add IAM permissions via gsutil or the console returns 403. The solution is to use your own OAuth2 developer credentials.
Get the bucket URI from Play Console
Play Console → Download reports → Statistics section. Click "Copy Cloud Storage URI".
You'll get something like: gs://pubsite_prod_rev_XXXXXX/stats/installs/
The bucket name is the part between gs:// and the first /. In the example: pubsite_prod_rev_XXXXXX
Generate OAuth2 credentials with your developer account
The bucket already has native access for the Google account managing Play Console. Generate an OAuth2 token by running this command in your terminal:
gcloud auth application-default login \ --scopes=openid,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.email,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/androidpublisher,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/playdeveloperreporting,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform
Sign in with the Google account that has access to Play Console. When the browser shows the permissions screen, select ALL the permissions shown and click "Allow". They are needed to read your apps, reviews and the reports bucket.
The command generates ~/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json with "type": "authorized_user".
Paste the OAuth2 credentials into AppWatch
In Settings → Google Play, paste the contents of ~/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json into the "Google Play Service Account JSON" field.
AppWatch accepts both service_account and authorized_user credentials. With authorized_user you get full API and GCS bucket access with no extra configuration.
Enter the bucket name in AppWatch
In Settings → Google Play, enter the bucket name in the "GCS Bucket" field (name only, without gs:// or paths).
⚠️ After pasting the JSON and saving, you can delete the local copy. AppWatch stores it encrypted with AES-256.
Frequently asked questions
▶Do I need a credit card?
No for reviews and crash rates (Levels 1 and 2). Not for GCS either in practice, since Play Console CSV reports are small and fit within Google Cloud's free tier (5 GB/month).
▶Can AppWatch modify my apps or publish on my behalf?
No. Only read permissions are requested. The service account cannot publish updates, edit listings or perform any action on your account.
▶Is it safe to paste the JSON into AppWatch?
Yes. The JSON is encrypted with AES-256 before being stored in the database and is never sent to the browser. AppWatch only uses it server-side to call the Google API.
▶What happens if I revoke the service account?
AppWatch will stop receiving data from the Google Play API. Data already saved in previous snapshots is preserved. You can delete credentials in Settings at any time.
▶Does it work without setting this up?
Yes. AppWatch continues to work with public Play Store scraping. This integration is optional and adds data not publicly available.