Google Play

**Google Play**, also branded as the **Google Play Store** and formerly **Android Market**, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating system and its derivatives as well as Chrome OS, allowing users to browse and download applications developed with the Android software development kit (SDK) and published through Google. Google Play also serves as a digital media store, offering music, books, movies, and television programs. Content that has been purchased on Google Play Movies & TV and Google Play Books can be accessed on a web browser, and through the Android and iOS apps.

Applications are available through Google Play either free of charge or at a cost. They can be downloaded directly on an Android device through the proprietary Play Store mobile app or by deploying the application to a device from the Google Play website. Applications utilizing hardware capabilities of a device can be targeted to users of devices with specific hardware components, such as a motion sensor (for motion-dependent games) or a front-facing camera (for online video calling). The Google Play store had over 82 billion app downloads in 2016 and reached over 3.5 million apps published in 2017, while after a purge of apps is back to over 3 million. It has been the subject of multiple issues concerning security, in which malicious software has been approved and uploaded to the store and downloaded by users, with varying degrees of severity.

Google Play was launched on March 6, 2012, bringing together Android Market, and the Google under one brand, marking a shift in Google's digital distribution strategy. The services included in Google Play are being discontinued in favor of YouTube Music in December 2020. Following their re-branding, Google has gradually expanded the geographical support for each of the services.

## Catalog content

### Android applications

Further information: Android (operating system)
By 2017, Google Play featured more than 3.5 million Android applications. After Google purged a lot of apps from the Google Play store, the number of apps has risen back to over 3 million Android applications. As of 2017, developers in more than 150 locations could distribute apps on Google Play, though not every location supports merchant registration. Developers receive 70% of the application price, while the remaining 30% goes to the distribution partner and operating fees. Developers can set up sales, with the original price struck out and a banner underneath informing users when the sale ends. Google Play allows developers to release early versions of apps to a select group of users, as alpha or beta tests. Users can pre-order select apps (as well as movies, music, books, and games) to have the items delivered as soon as they are available. Some network carriers offer billing for Google Play purchases, allowing users to opt for charges in the monthly phone bill rather than on credit cards. Users can request refunds within 48 hours after a purchase.

### Games

Main article: Google Play Games
At the Google I/O 2013 Developer Conference, Google announced the introduction of Google Play Games. Google Play Games is an online gaming service for Android that features real-time multiplayer gaming capabilities, cloud saves, social and public leaderboards, and achievements. Its standalone mobile app was launched on July 24, 2013.

### Books

Main article: Google Play Books
Google Play Books is an ebook digital distribution service. Google Play offers over five million ebooks available for purchase, and users can also upload up to 1,000 of their own ebooks in the form of PDF or EPUB file formats.
Template:As of, Google Play Books is available in 75 countries.

### Movies and TV shows

Main article: Google TV
Google Play Movies & TV was a video on demand service offering movies and television shows available for purchase or rental, depending on availability.

Template:As of, movies are available in over 110 countries, while TV shows are available only in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom.

In October 2020, Google Play Movies & TV was renamed Google TV.

### Play Pass

Main article: Google Play Pass
On September 23, 2019, Google launched its Google Play Pass games and apps subscription service in the US. As of September 2019, subscribers could access the games and apps without ads and in-app purchases. The program is invitation-only for app developers, who then can integrate the service into their existing apps.

### Device updates

Google introduced Project Mainline in Android 10, allowing core OS components to be updated via the Google Play Store, without requiring a complete system update.
Android 10 supports updates for core OS components including:

* **Security**: Media Codecs, Media Framework Components, DNS Resolver, Conscrypt
* **Privacy**: Documents UI, Permission Controller, ExtServices
* **Consistency**: Time zone data, ANGLE (developers opt-in), Module Metadata, Networking components, Captive Portal Login, Network Permission Configuration

On December 4, 2019, Qualcomm announced their Snapdragon 865 supports GPU drivers updated via the Google Play Store. This feature was initially introduced with Android Oreo but vendors had not added support yet.

### Teacher Approved

In 2020, Google launched a new children-focused 'Teacher Approved' section for the Google Play Store. Apps marked as 'Teacher Approved' meet higher standards approved for educational purposes.

## History

 File:Google Play logo (2012-2015).svg
Google Play (previously styled **Google play**) originated from three distinct products: Android Market, Google Music and Google eBookstore.

Android Market was announced by Google on August 28, 2008, and was made available to users on October 22. In December 2010, content filtering was added to Android Market, each app's details page started showing a promotional graphic at the top, and the maximum size of an app was raised from 25 megabytes to 50 megabytes. The Google eBookstore was launched on December 6, 2010, debuting with three million ebooks, making it "the largest ebooks collection in the world". In November 2011, Google announced Google Music, a section of the Play Store offering music purchases. In March 2012, Google increased the maximum allowed size of an app by allowing developers to attach two expansion files to an app's basic download; each expansion file with a maximum size of 2 gigabytes, giving app developers a total of 4 gigabytes. Also in March 2012, Android Market was re-branded as Google Play.

The Google Play Store, including all Android apps, came to Chrome OS in September 2016.

In May 2021, Google Play announced plans to implement a new section with privacy information for all applications in its storefront. The project is similar to App Store's privacy labels and is expected to be released in full in the first half of 2022. The feature will show users what kind of information each app collects, whether the data it stores is encrypted and whether users can opt out of being tracked by the application.

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