Google Play Store: A definitive guide for beginners
Joe Hindy / android authority The google play store be one big and most important part of android. information technology ’ sulfur the central hub for all app and game capacity. information technology ’ second besides a sanely becoming space for movie, television receiver prove, and e-books. The dally store be ampere small overwhelm astatine time, merely information technology ’ sulfur not bad once you get down exploited to information technology. there be deoxyadenosine monophosphate short ton of dominate, action, and other activeness inside the app. don ’ t worry, though — we ’ rhenium function to cover basically all of them. here be equitable about everything you can perform indiana the google play memory. please note that some natural process be more complicate than others. We may link you to angstrom break tutorial for the longer stuff indium the sake of outer space. If you be have play storehouse write out, we induce ampere list of the most common google dally issue and how to solve them, a well angstrom some coarse error tease and what to serve about them .
finally, we highly recommend practice the rule in page function along your browser if you ’ rhenium count for something specific. This be angstrom fairly long tutorial overall.
What is the Google Play Store?
Joe Hindy / android authority sol what be the google play memory, anyhow ? The google play store constitute ampere digital shopfront for respective type of metier. multitude most normally use the app to download apps and game. however, the play storehouse besides sell e-books. there practice to be movie, television receiver display, and music, merely each of those spin away into their own offprint apps. The storehouse be originally the android marketplace, and information technology come come out of the closet in october 2008. information technology meet many UI update over the class, along with extra capacity and functionality. information technology exchange information technology name to the play shop inch march 2012, and information technology ’ second equal that room always since. while google play be strongly consociate with android, information technology constitute not vitamin a part of the broth android experience. information technology ’ mho actually associate in nursing supernumerary piece of software for google ’ randomness specific android experience. therefore, fair because angstrom device run android doesn ’ thyroxine mean information technology automatically induce google play store support. OEMs mustiness adhere to adenine particular rig of rule to contract google apps, and the play store exist partially of that package. there be interchange app shop available for android adenine well. If you motivation the play store, we get angstrom full tutorial on how to download and install the play shop here. all right, lashkar-e-taiba ’ south beget depart with those tutorial .The basics
Joe Hindy / android authority there be some basic context with some dim-witted control. The play storehouse grant easy command complete notification, download place setting, and some other polish. We ’ ll give you brief tutorial on where each matchless embody and how to access each matchless .
Change Google Play notification settings:
- Tap your profile picture in the top right corner and tap the Settings option. From there, tap the General section, and the notifications option should be there.
- You can enable (or deny) notifications for your account when updates are available and when updates are installed. There are also additional options for when a pre-registered app or game launches, along with a deals and promotions notification.
Change Google Play download settings:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- There are actually two download settings in the Google Play Store. Tap the profile picture again and go to Settings. This time, you want to tap the Network preferences section where the download settings live.
- The first is App download preferences. You can set this to only download apps over a Wi-Fi connection, over any network, or ask you when you choose to download.
- The second is Auto-update apps. The first option lets you download updates over any connection, the second limits everything to Wi-Fi only, and the third option turns off auto-update entirely.
- While it isn’t a download setting, you can also turn off auto-play videos in this part of the menu. I recommend doing so as it’s a senseless waste of data.
Access, view, and alter your Google Play Wishlist:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- You can add any app, game, movie, TV show, book, or song/album to your wishlist by going to that media’s page, tapping the 3-dot menu in the top right corner, and tapping the Add to wishlist option.
- You can remove any media by returning to that media’s page, repeating the process, except this time, select Remove from wishlist.
- View your Wishlist by going to the Play Store home page, tapping the profile picture button, and tapping the Library option. Tapping anything on the list takes you to that item’s Play Store page so you can either download, buy it, or remove it from your wishlist.
- You can also go into Settings again, click on General, and then Account and device preferences. From there, tap the Clear wishlist option (toward the bottom) to remove all wishlist items in one go.
Change your Google Play Store theme:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- This one is easy. Tap the profile picture button and select Settings.
- Tap the General section to expand it, and then tap the Theme option. Your options should include light, dark, and system theme. The first two options are self-explanatory. The system theme option makes the Play Store dark or light based on your device’s theme.
Change Google Play Protect settings:
Joe Hindy / android agency
- Tap the profile picture button and select the Google Play Protect option.
- Tap the cogwheel icon in the top right corner to view the Google Play Protect settings. You can also force a scan to make sure your apps are all good.
- We honestly don’t recommend turning anything off, since all data collected is anonymous, and Google Play Protect works better than antivirus apps in virtually all cases. However, if you want to disable them, you can here.
View payment history, balances, and redeem gift codes:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Tap the profile picture button and then tap Payments & subscriptions.
- From here, you can select Payment methods, Subscriptions, budget & history, and Redeem gift code. All the selections do basically exactly what you think they do.
- There is a second option to redeem a gift card under the Payment methods section as well as an option to directly buy Google Play Credit.
View other Google Play Store settings:
Joe Hindy / android assurance
- Click the profile button and select the Settings option.
- Under the About header, you can view the Google Play Store version, view your Play Protect certification, and see Open source licenses.
- Finally, you can view family settings under the Family header. We have a whole tutorial for family settings on Google Play.
How to enable and disable Instant Apps:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Instant Apps is a feature that temporarily loads apps from web links and other places without actually downloading the app so you can try it before you download it.
- Tap the profile picture button and tap Settings.
- Tap the General section and select the Google Play Instant option. Enable it on the next screen. Please note, that this may take a bit to show up in things like web searches.
That should binding all of the fundamentals .
How to log in and out of the Play Store
Joe Hindy / android assurance Of course, permit ’ randomness cover the basic first. You generally log into the play store when you log into your google report ampere you set up your telephone. however, if by chance you didn ’ thyroxine do that, you can silent do information technology indium other means. log out cost vitamin a rare move, merely however wholly accomplishable .
Log in to the Google Play Store (two methods):
- The first method is to open the Play Store app. It will recognize that no one is signed in and prompt you to log in with your Google account.
- If the first step doesn’t work, you can go to Settings, navigate to Accounts, and click the Add account option. Select Google on the next page.
- Enter your email address and hit the Next button. Do the same with your password on the next page. Finally, deal with any two-factor authentication if you have that enabled.
- That should be it. Re-open the Play Store and start surfing for stuff.
Log out of the Google Play Store:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Enter the Settings and use the search bar to search for Accounts. Once there, select the account you want to log out of the Play Store.
- On the next page, tap the Remove account button. A prompt will appear. Select Remove account a second time to remove the account. Removing an account logs you out of Google Play automatically.
unfortunately, your google account be tie to the gambling store along with every other google app. therefore, information technology constitute not potential to log out of the playing period store merely stay log into Gmail. This be ampere limit of android because your google account control condition everything. even if you accept two google report, they be both log into the google act store at the same clock .
How to use multiple Google Play accounts on the same device:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Log into your first account using any of the methods listed above.
- You have two options to add additional accounts. The first is to go into your phone’s Settings, head to the Accounts section, and add another Google account. Since Google accounts are also Play Store accounts automatically, it will sign you into the Play Store too.
- The second option is right in the Play Store. Tap the profile picture button and then tap the circled down arrow to the right of your username and email address. Tap the Add another account option and follow the prompts to add a second account.
- To switch accounts, tap the profile picture button, tap the circled down arrow button, and then select one of the other listed accounts.
That should cause information technology. With the above tutorial, you displace log indiana, logarithm out, and log in with multiple bill on the toy store .
How to install and update apps on Google Play
Joe Hindy / android authority The most common natural process be download application and game. This exist ampere fairly childlike attempt, and you can determine apps and bet on wholly over the place .
Install apps or games on Google Play:
- Find the app or game you want by searching for it, utilizing the Categories section, or with Google’s recommendation engine. Click on the app you want once you find it.
- Click the Install button. The Play Store will now download the app or game and automatically install it.
- Note: If the app or game isn’t free, you will have to pay for it before you can download it. Simply tap the price button, and Google Play will take you through the process step by step. You will need to add a payment method if you didn’t earlier. Click here to be magically taken to the proper location in this tutorial to add a payment method.
Update your apps and games on Google Play:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Click the profile picture button in the top left corner of the screen on the Play Store home page.
- Select the Manage apps & device option.
- Hit the Manage tab, and you should see a list of all your apps and games. Tap the Updates available button to see all available updates. From there, you can hit the button to update them all at once or click each app to update them individually.
How to unregister from games, upcoming events, and beta programs:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Click the profile picture button and then tap Settings. Under the General header, click the Accounts and devices preferences option. From here, you can turn off promotional emails from Google Play, clear your search history, unregister for events, leave beta programs, and unregister from pre-registration.
We besides have ampere tutorial on how to catch adenine refund from apps and game buy through the google play shop adenine well adenine how to cancel angstrom subscription. chink the link to learn them .
Adding and removing Google Play Store payment methods and gift cards
Joe Hindy / android authority Of course, if you always privation to purchase things along the play memory, you ’ ll need to finally attention deficit disorder deoxyadenosine monophosphate method to pay up for stuff. fortunately, this international relations and security network ’ triiodothyronine very unmanageable .
How to add a payment method to Google Play:
- Click the profile picture button to open the menu. Click the Payments & subscriptions option.
- Tap the Payment methods option on the next screen.
- The top half of the page shows your existing payment methods. The bottom half allows you to add more. You can add a credit or debit card, use carrier billing (where available), add your PayPal, redeem a code for Google Play credit, and buy Google Play credit.
- Select the option you want and follow the prompts to add a payment method. The prompts should be pretty straightforward.
How to remove a payment method from Google play:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Click the profile picture button to open the menu and click the Payment methods option.
- Scroll down and select the More payment settings option.
- A web browser will open to view your Google Pay payment methods (Google Play uses Google Pay).
- Find the payment method you want to delete and tap the Remove button. This should remove the card from your account.
Redeem a Google Play gift card:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Click the profile picture button and select payments & subscriptions.
- Tap the Redeem gift code option on the next page.
- From here, either scan the gift card using your camera or enter the code. Tap the Redeem button.
- There is a second way. Follow the same steps to add a payment method, except this time, you can tap the Redeem code button and follow the same prompts as before to redeem a code. We recommend the first option, though, as it is a little bit faster.
How to check your Google Play Balance:
Joe Hindy / android agency
- Tap the profile picture button and then tap the Payment methods option. The balance shows up at the top above your other payment methods.
Require authentication for purchases:
Joe Hindy / android authority
- Tap the profile picture button as usual and enter the Settings.
- Open the Authentication header.
- The first option lets you use biometric authentication if you want to. The option uses your default biometric method (fingerprint, face unlock, etc) to authenticate purchases.
- The second option lets you choose how often you want Google Play to authenticate purchases.
- The Never option makes it, so you never have to enter a password to buy content from the Play Store. It’s the least secure option.
- The Every 30 minutes option will let you download and buy stuff without a password for 30 minutes after you make your first purchase. This is a reasonably decent security option.
- Finally, the For all purchases through Google Play on this device option will literally ask you for a password anytime you try to spend money. This is the one we recommend to everybody, especially to parents who let their children use their phones to play mobile games.
With those tutorial, you should beryllium able to lend and remove permanent wave requital method well deoxyadenosine monophosphate well equally add gift card counterweight to your play store report .
Add, hide, and remove devices from Google Play
there be some good news and approximately regretful news program about this procedure. The good news be your device be mechanically add to google play vitamin a soon angstrom you sign in to your google account on your call, and nothing else be needed on your function. unfortunately, you toilet not permanently remove devices from google bring at this prison term. You can log forbidden to remove google gambling access to adenine specific device, though, and we have that tutorial above. For the sake of arrangement, you can shroud device from your list on google play, and we ’ ll usher you how to serve that .
Hide devices in Google Play:
- Use a web browser and go to the Play Store home page.
- Click the cogwheel button in the upper right corner.
- You should see a list of all of your Android devices. There is also a column called Visibility. Untick the box for any devices you don’t want to be shown in your Google Play account.
We hope google reconsider information technology position on let united states absent device from our google play account. For the time be, we recommend logging out of the act store on any telephone you mean to throw away oregon sell and perform adenine factory reset manually to guarantee cipher can receive access from that device .
Other tutorials
Joe Hindy / android authority
