Google Play setup

Play is a Google sign-in, the same as Business Profile. There is no key to generate, no file to upload, and no Google Cloud project or service account for you to create.

The access you approve at sign-in is used to list your apps and to read and reply to their reviews. What decides whether replies can go out is the Play Console permission on that Google account. It needs Reply to reviews on the apps you care about.

So the question to answer before you start is not "which credential do I need", it is "does this Google account already have reply permission in the Play Console". If it does, you are three minutes from done.

Integrations → Google Play, sign in with the Google account that has Play Console access, then pick your apps from the list.

If the app list cannot be loaded for that account, you see a warning and can add apps by hand by package name instead. The review sync works the same either way.

In the Play Console → Users and permissions, find the Google account you just connected and confirm it has Reply to reviews for each app you want answered.

An account can read reviews without being able to answer them, which is why this is worth checking before your first send rather than after a failed one. If a reply fails with a permission error, ask your Play Console admin to grant the permission, then reconnect.

At the end of the wizard you can paste each app's Play Console URL. You can also add it later from the app card.

It is optional. With it, Report on platform opens the exact review in the Play Console instead of the Console home page, which saves time when you report spam.

Use Reconnect on the connector. It runs the Google sign-in again, brings every app on that account back, and keeps your review history attached.

Deleting the connector and adding it again also works, and costs you everything the connector had collected. Reconnect first. More fixes are on connecting your platforms.

Reviews and ratings for the apps you selected, readable translated if they were not written in your language. A developer reply already posted in the Play Console comes in with the review, so the inbox does not ask you to answer something you have answered.

Play limits how long a developer reply can be, so drafts are written to fit that limit rather than being cut off at send time.