Android Developer Console - Change app owner

Question

I've two accounts as Android Developer at Play Store: Account1 and Account2. I have an App with package com.example.miapp associated to Account1 from long time ago. I need to associate the App to the Account2; that Account2 will be the owner of this app. In other words, migrate my app from an account to another. Is posible? If I need something similar but between two different persons accounts, is it posible? How I can do that?

Motoneuron

I don't think, that this is possible. You could mail the Android developer support though and hope for the best: support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/… – Gourley

Answer 1

Yes it's possible. I've done it.

Details can be found here: http://phandroid.com/2012/06/21/getting-acquired-how-to-transfer-ownership-of-your-android-app-or-game/

or here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/checklist/3294213

The problem is not transferring an app to another account (and it doesn't matter if that's between two of your own accounts or between two different persons's or company's accounts), that's a matter of less than a day, but transferring the signing key. If the signing key is used for no other apps, then there's no problem. If other apps are signed with the same key and if the transfer happens to another person/company then you'll have to share the key, which isn't always desirable.

My recommendation is therefore to sign each app with another key, because that makes such a transfer easier.

Safranine

I read that the recommendation is to use the same key for all apps of the same account. This way, the apps can share stuff between them in a more private way. – Vestavestal

Google recommends using the same key for different reasons: developer.android.com/tools/publishing/…. It depends if it's more important to you to be able to e.g. use signature based permissions or to easily sell your app. – Safranine

Not sure if I need to post this as a new question. I will anyway go ahead and ask it here: Will my app continue to receive push notifications after the transfer? If not, what will I need to do? – Underlet

What push notifications are you talking about and what does that have to do with transferring an app to another account? – Safranine

Answer 2

There is now a checklist and special form for transferring some (or all) of one account's apps to another. See here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/checklist/3294213

You will need the Google Wallet transaction IDs you received after Google Play developer registration on each account.

Taam

Answer 3

Here is a chat transcript I just had with Google on this topic. I may seem redundant with other answers, but I only intend this to be for people to be a little more confident in moving forward with this solution:

Me:

I want to change the email address of the account owner on my google play console. It is the same person, (me), but I want to use my new G-Suite account.

Google:

Once a developer account is created, the email address used to register is permanently tied to the account. However, you can create a new developer account under a different email address and request an app transfer here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/checklist/3294213?ref_topic=3450986 Once the transfer is complete, we can close and refund your original account.

Me:

That seems like it might have some undesirable side effects like changing the URL of my apps or other downsides. Please detail the potential side effects that my users might see.

Google:

So users will be unaffected, the app URL doesn't change, you maintain all the stats, ratings and reviews. The only thing that doesn't get transferred is financial data since the revenue in the past went to the original account.

Lifer

Thanks a lot for sharing. It's really helpful. So, google just make it troublesome for us to move the account. – Eudoxia