Once your Google Play Store account is created, you'll need to pass management of your app to VTS by inviting VTS to your app and assigning them a management role. You'll still be the Account Owner, but VTS needs administrative access to your app(s) to push updates and enhancements. Otherwise, your app won't be up to date for your users.
If you have not set up a Google Play store account, refer to this article before continuing.
Then, use the links below to jump to your specific set-up:
- This is our first time setting up an Activate white-label app with VTS
- We have set up an app with VTS before
Accessing Google Play Console
To access your Google Play Console, navigate to https://play.google.com/console and log in using the account you set up previously. (Setting up Activate White-label on Google Play Store)
First time deployment
Pre-Setup Process: Inviting VTS as Full Admin vs. Limited Admin
Before you begin, you need to decide which level of access to grant VTS: Account Owner, Full Admin (access all apps), or Limited Admin (restricted to certain apps). As the original owner of the app, you are the Account Owner. When adding VTS to your app, we strongly recommend you choose "Full Admin," however, "Limited Admin" will also grant VTS the necessary access.
See the chart below to choose which VTS role will best suit your organization.
| Developer Role | Role Description | VTS Permission |
| Full Admin (Access to all apps) | Allows access to all apps in your Google Play store as well as the ability to create new apps. | This is our recommended option, as it allows VTS to handle more during the initial setup and ongoing app maintenance. This is a good option if you want to be more hands-off during the process, or if your organization only has one application in the app store. |
| Limited Admin (Access to restricted set of apps) |
Allows access to selected apps, and does not allow the ability to create new apps.
|
Choose this option if your organization has strict security requirements, or if your organization has multiple apps and only wants VTS to access the Activate white-label. This means you will be required to do more during initial app setup and transfer additional information to VTS. |
After making your selection, use the links below to jump to the applicable instructions.
Option 1) Add VTS as Full Admin (All apps)
Adding VTS as a Full Admin (All apps) ensures that we can create new apps ourselves. However, as the Account Owner, you will need to 1) Add VTS as an Admin to your Google Play Store account, 2) Generate and transfer to VTS a Google Authentication key and 3) Add this service account to your Google Play store as an Admin. Follow the instructions below:
Step 1: Invite VTS as Full Admin
1. In your Google Play Console, navigate to the Users and Permissions tab.
2. Click on Invite new users.
3. In the email field, add VTS email mobiledeveloper@vts.com. Then under App permissions, click Add app.
- In the pop-up box, click Select All, then Apply. Once you have selected your apps, you will see the Invite User button appear in blue in the lower right.
5. On this menu, under App Access, select Admin (all permissions). Click Invite user in the bottom right, and then Send Invite to finish.
Step 2: Create Service Account and generate key for automatic app delivery
Now that you have added VTS as an Admin, you will need to generate a Google Authentication API Key and transfer it securely to VTS so that we can update the app automatically. This step will first require creating a new service account, adding a key, and then adding that account to your Play Store. Follow the instructions below:
1. Note: This step is in Google Play Console, which is part of your Google account. Use the link below to access your Google Play Console account.
Open the Google Play Console. Navigate to the Account Details (or Developer Account) section, and note the Developer Account ID listed (you will need to reference this ID in step 3 to make sure you are in the correct project).
2. Note: This step is in now in Google Cloud, which is a different part of your Google account. Use the link below to access your Google cloud account to create a new project.
Click the following link to create a new project in Google Cloud. Enter "VTS Fastlane" for the project name and click CREATE. Then return to these instructions for the link to the next step.
3. For this step, click the following link to access your service accounts on Google Cloud and select the project you just made.
| Confirm you're in the correct project by looking for the Developer Account ID from step 1 in the light gray text of the second input, before.iam.gserviceaccount.com. If not, open the picker in the top navigation bar and find the project with the correct ID. |
4. Click the + Create service account button.
5. Under Service Account Details:
- Add the service account name “vts-fastlane”.
- Add the service account ID "vts-fastlane"
- [Optional] Add a description of the service account and what it is for, such as "To deliver VTS production builds"
- Click DONE.
6. On the newly created service account for this project, note and copy the email address (you will need it later to add the service account as an admin to your Play Store).
7. Click on the triple dots under Actions and choose manage keys.
8. In the Keys panel, click ADD KEY, then when prompted, click Create New Key.
9. Make sure JSON is the key type, then click CREATE.
10. Save the file on your computer—and remember where you save it! You will need to securely share this key with VTS via secure channels.
Step 3: Add service account to Google Play store
Lastly, you need to add this service account to your Google Play store as an Admin.
- Open the Google Play Console and select Users and Permissions.
- Click Invite new users.
- Paste the email address we saved earlier from the service account setup step 6 into the email address field.
- In the App Permission step, choose Admin (all permissions).
- Click Invite user to finish.
Review the below checklists to confirm you have completed all action items and provided all necessary data items.
| Actions to complete |
| Invite mobiledeveloper@vts.com as an Admin and select all apps |
| Create Google Authentication API Key (.json) and send it to VTS via secure transfer channels. |
| Add Google Developer Service account to your app store as an Admin |
| Data items to send to VTS | |
| Google Authentication API Key (.json) | Send to VTS via secure channels such as implementation forms or WeTransfer.com |
Option 2) Add VTS as an Limited Admin (Restricted apps)
Adding VTS as a Restricted Admin (Limited apps) will allow us to edit and manage your app. As the Account Owner you will need to: 1) Create a draft app as a placeholder that we can edit, 2) Add VTS as an Admin to your Google Play Store account, 3) Generate and transfer to VTS a Google Authentication key, and 4: Add service account to Google Play store.
Follow the instructions below:
Step 1: Create placeholder app
As a Limited Admin, VTS will not have the ability to create new apps in your Play Store. Therefore, you must create a draft app as a placeholder and then assign VTS access as an admin. VTS will then be able to edit this app to become your Activate white-label. Follow the instructions below to create a draft app:
- In your Google Play Console, navigate to Home, and then click on Create app.
2. In the Create app screen, enter the information requested.
- App name: Provide a name for your draft app that references VTS or Activate.
-
Package name: Package names must follow the format:
-
com.vts.activate.[brand]- The
[brand]suffix must not begin with a number - Only letters and English characters are allowed
-
The suffix must be less than 33 characters
appname123--> valid
123appname--> invalid
- Before submitting, confirm the whitelabel name is not already in use in the Play Store to avoid duplicates. If the name is already in use, Google will display an error message and you will not be able to save the draft.
- If this is an app swap or rebrand, contact VTS before proceeding.
- The
-
- App or game: Select ‘App’
- Free or paid: Select ‘Free’
- Click on the Create app button at the bottom to finish.
| Note regarding package names: VTS reserves the right to request a change to the package name. If you are uncertain your package name meets our guidelines, please confirm your chosen package name with VTS before proceeding. |
Once the new draft app has been created, you will be directed back to the Google Play Console home page. From there, proceed to the steps below to add VTS as an Admin to this new app.
Step 2: Add VTS as Admin to draft app
1. In your Google Play Console, navigate to the Users and Permissions tab.
2. Click on Invite new users.
3. In the email field, add VTS email mobiledeveloper@vts.com. Then under App permissions, click Add app.
3. In the pop-up box, select your app from the drop down list and click Apply. Once completed, you will see the Invite user button appear in blue in the lower right. Click Invite User.
4. On this menu, under App Access, select Admin (all permissions). Click Invite user in the bottom right, and then Send Invite to finish.
Step 3: Create Service Account and generate key for automatic app delivery
Now that you have added VTS as an Admin, you will need to generate a Google Authentication API Key and transfer it securely to VTS so that we can update the app automatically. This step will first require creating a new service account, adding a key, and then adding that account to your Play Store. Follow the instructions below:
1. Note: This step is in Google Play Console, which is part of your Google account. Use the link below to access your Google Play Console account.
Open the Google Play Console. Navigate to the Account Details (or Developer Account) section, and note the Developer Account ID listed (you will need to reference this ID in step 3 to make sure you are in the correct project).
2. Note: This step is in now in Google Cloud, which is a different part of your Google account. Use the link below to access your Google cloud account to create a new project.
Click the following link to create a new project in Google Cloud. Enter "VTS Fastlane" for the project name and click CREATE. Then return to these instructions for the link to the next step.
3. Open service accounts on Google Cloud and select the project you just made.
| Confirm you're on the correct project by looking for the Developer Account ID from earlier in the light gray text of the second input, before.iam.gserviceaccount.com. If not, open the picker in the top navigation bar and find the project with the correct ID. |
4. Click the + Create service account button.
5. Under Service Account Details:
- Add the service account name “vts-fastlane”.
- Add the service account ID "vts-fastlane"
- [Optional] Add a description of the service account and what it is for, such as "To deliver VTS production builds"
Click DONE.
6. On the newly created service account for this project, note and copy the email address (you will need it later to add the service account as an admin to your Play Store.)
7. Click on the triple dots under Actions and choose manage keys.
8. In the Keys panel, click ADD KEY, then when prompted, click Create New Key.
9. Make sure JSON is the key type, then click CREATE.
10. Save the file on your computer—and remember where you save it! You will need to securely share this key with VTS via secure channels.
Step 4: Add service account to Google Play store
Lastly, you will need to add this service account to your Google Play store as an Admin.
- Open the Google Play Console and select Users and Permissions.
- Click Invite new users.
- Paste the email address we saved earlier from the service account setup step 6 into the email address field.
- In the App Permission step, choose Admin (all permissions).
- Click Invite user to finish.
Review these checklists to make sure you have completed all action items and provided all necessary data items.
| Actions to complete |
| Invite mobiledeveloper@vts.com as an Admin and select all only specific apps |
| Create Draft App and invite mobiledeveloper@vts.com as App Access Admin (all permissions) for only the draft app. |
| Create Google Authentication API Key (.json) and send it to VTS via secure transfer channels. |
| Add Google Developer Service account to your app store as an Admin |
| Data items to send to VTS | |
| Google Authentication API Key (.json) | Please share this with VTS via secure channels such as implementation forms or other channels such as WeTransfer.com |
Subsequent app deployment
Refer to this checklist if you have previously set up a white-label with VTS (for example, at another property in your portfolio with a different white-label).
Full Admin (access to all apps)
- Confirm existing Google Play Store name with VTS
- Confirm that VTS has the Google Authentication API Key (.json)
- If hotswapping, VTS will have to generate a new key and you will need to reset it on your end. Please contact your VTS implementation manager for more information.
Limited Admin (access to restricted apps)
- Confirm existing Google Play Store name with VTS
- Confirm that VTS has the Google Authentication API Key (.json)
- When creating additional apps: You will need to create a new draft app and provide VTS access to the app by adding it to the access list.
- If hotswapping, VTS will have to generate a new key and you will need to reset it on your end. Please contact your VTS implementation manager for more information.