Google Play Console Roles for Service Accounts - Which One to Choose

Google Play Console provides several predefined roles for managing access to apps and features.
Choosing the correct role for a service account is critical for security and for granting only the permissions that are actually required.
Below are the main roles and their capabilities.

Main Roles

Administrator

Full access to everything.

What it can do:

• Manage users and permissions
• Access all apps
• Publish releases
• Change payments, subscriptions, and prices
• Access all APIs

When to use:

• ❌ Not recommended for service accounts
• Only for account owners

Release Manager

Release Manager is the optimal role for automation.

What it can do:

• Upload builds (AAB/APK)
• Manage tracks (Internal / Closed / Open / Production)
• Publish releases
• Work with staged Rollouts

API:

• Android Publisher API (releases, tracks)

Recommended for:

• CI/CD
• Auto-publishing
• ASO.dev / Fastlane / GitHub Actions

Store Listing Manager

Store Listing Manager - metadata management.

What it can do:

• Edit store listing
• App name, full description, short description
• Screenshots, icons, feature graphic
• Localizations

API:

• Store Listing API
• Localizations

Recommended for:

• ASO
• Bulk metadata editing
• Localization

View App Information

View App Information - read-only access.

What it can do:

• View app information
• Read metadata
• View statistics

What it cannot do:

• Make changes
• Publish releases

Recommended for:

• Analytics
• Dashboards
• Read-only integrations

View Financial Data

View Financial Data - financial analytics.

What it can do:

• View revenue
• Purchases
• Subscriptions
• Reports

API:

• Financial Reports API

Important:

• ❌ Does not allow price changes
• ❌ Does not provide access to releases

Pricing Admin

Pricing Admin (limited) - working with prices and subscriptions.

What it can do:

• Change prices
• Manage subscriptions and IAPs

Limitations:

• Usually not used for service accounts

Custom Roles (Recommended)

Google Play allows you to create Custom Roles and include only the required permissions.

Example roles for ASO / automation:

• ASO Automation Role

  • Edit store listing
  • Manage translations
  • Upload screenshots
  • View app information

• CI/CD Role

  • Manage releases
  • Upload artifacts
  • Manage tracks

This is the best option from a security perspective.

Minimum Permissions for Common Tasks

Important Service Account Limitations

• ❌ Cannot accept the Developer Agreement
• ❌ Cannot manage the payments profile
• ❌ Cannot own the account
• ❌ Works only via API
• ✅ Can be restricted to specific apps

Recommendation

Best practices for service accounts:

• Do not use the Administrator role
• Use the minimum required role
• Create separate service accounts for different tasks:
  • Releases
  • ASO
  • Analytics