[android] How to enable Google Play App Signing

I think a lot of developers are trying to learn more about the new Google Play App Signing feature presented at Google I/O 2017.

The ability to store the keystore to sign the apps inside Google Play save you the effort to safely store the keystore and can help the system to optimize the APKs served to every device, based on hardware and OS characteristics.

You can read more about this topic in the official documentation here : https://developer.android.com/studio/publish/app-signing.html#google-play-app-signing.

With the following answer, i will explain a bit better the steps you need to follow to upload your original keystore and how to create the new upload keystore, which you will need to sign your APK from this point onwards.

The answer is


I had to do following:

  1. Create an app in google play console enter image description here

2.Go to App releases -> Manage production -> Create release

3.Click continue on Google Play App Signing enter image description here

4.Create upload certificate by running "keytool -genkey -v -keystore c:\path\to\cert.keystore -alias uploadKey -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000"

5.Sign your apk with generated certificate (c:\path\to\cert.keystore)

6.Upload signed apk in App releases -> Manage production -> Edit release

7.By uploading apk, certificate generated in step 4 has been added to App Signing certificates and became your signing cert for all future builds.


Do the following :

"CREATE APPLICATION" having the same name which you want to upload before.
Click create.
After creation of the app now click on the "App releases"
Click on the "MANAGE PRODUCTION"
Click on the "CREATE RELEASE"
Here you see "Google Play App Signing" dialog.
Just click on the "OPT-OUT" button.
It will ask you to confirm it. Just click on the "confirm" button

There is a much simpler solution that will take a minute.

  1. In google play console, select Release management -> App signing
  2. Choose the first option, the one with Generate encrypted private key with Android Studio (or something like that; I cannot turn back to see that page anymore)
  3. In Android Studio generate your Android App Bundle (.aap file) from Build -> Generate Signed Bundle / APK..., choose Android App Bundle option and don't forget to check Export Encrypted key (needed to enroll your app Google Play App signing) option. If you do not have a keystore generated, generate one ad-hoc.
  4. Now the "tricky" part. After the .aap is generated, Android Studio will pop up a notification in the bottom right corner containing a path to the location where the .aap file is saved. In the same notification, if you will expand it you will find another link to the path where the private key was saved (called private_key.pepk). If you miss this notification, don't worry, just open Event Log window by clicking the Event Log button on the bottom right side and you will find the same info. Open that location.For me was C:\Users\yourUser\.android

enter image description here

  1. Go back in browser and press APP SIGNING PRIVATE KEY button and browse to the private key location on your computer.

Done!

Now you are able to upload your release that you generated earlier :) Good luck!


While Migrating Android application package file (APK) to Android App Bundle (AAB), publishing app into Play Store i faced this issue and got resolved like this below...

When building .aab file you get prompted for the location to store key export path as below:

enter image description here
enter image description here In second image you find Encrypted key export path Location where our .pepk will store in the specific folder while generating .aab file.

Once you log in to the Google Play Console with play store credential: select your project from left side choose App Signing option Release Management>>App Signing enter image description here

you will find the Google App Signing Certification window ACCEPT it.

After that you will find three radio button select **

Upload a key exported from Android Studio radio button

**, it will expand you APP SIGNING PRIVATE KEY button as below

enter image description here

click on the button and choose the .pepk file (We Stored while generating .aab file as above)

Read the all other option and submit.

Once Successfully you can go back to app release and browse the .aab file and complete RollOut...

@Ambilpura


When you use Fabric for public beta releases (signed with prod config), DON'T USE Google Play App Signing. You will must after build two signed apks!

When you distribute to more play stores (samsung, amazon, xiaomi, ...) you will must again build two signed apks.

So be really carefull with Google Play App Signing.

It's not possible to revert it :/ and Google Play did not after accept apks signed with production key. After enable Google Play App Signing only upload key is accepted...

It really complicate CI distribution...

Next issues with upgrade: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/69285256