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Overview

The Google Play Store integration imports reviews of your Android apps from Google Play, with each review’s star rating, device and app version details, and any developer reply that exists when the review is imported. Each app you select becomes a dataset. Google makes only the last seven days of reviews available through its API, so the source starts with recent reviews and then keeps up with new ones. To analyze older reviews, see Older reviews. A workspace admin creates the Google Play Store source once for the whole workspace, and channels then add its apps. Learn more about Sources →

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Before you start

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In Dovetail

  • A workspace admin creates the source. Other users can request it.
  • The credentials you connect with are shared by the whole workspace. See Shared credentials for how to choose an account.
  • One source can import reviews for every app the connected Google account can access.

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In Google Play Console

  • A Google account with access to your apps. The account needs two permissions in Play Console on each app you want to import. See Grant Play Console permissions.
  • An account your team controls. The source runs on this Google account for the whole workspace. Consider a shared Google account that your team manages, with access to only the apps you want Dovetail to read. See Authentication and permissions.

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Grant Play Console permissions

The Google account you connect needs these permissions in Google Play Console: A Play Console admin or the account owner can grant them:
  1. In Google Play Console, go to Users and permissions.
  2. Select Invite new users and enter the email address of the Google account you’ll connect to Dovetail, or select an existing user.
  3. Under App permissions, select Add app and choose the apps you want to import. We recommend app permissions over account permissions, so Dovetail can read reviews only for those apps.
  4. Turn on View app information and download bulk reports (read-only) and Reply to reviews, then save.
A new user must accept the email invitation and sign in to Play Console before they can connect Dovetail. For more detail, see Google’s guide to adding users and managing permissions.

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Create the Google Play Store source

1

Open Sources and select Google Play

In the sidebar, select Sources, then select Google Play.
2

Connect Google Play

Select Continue. You’re taken to Google to sign in and approve access. Sign in with the Google account that has access to your apps in Play Console.
3

Choose apps and an import period

In Select apps to import reviews from, choose the apps whose reviews you want to import. Then choose an Import period. See Import period. Google provides reviews from the last seven days only, so a longer import period doesn’t bring in older reviews.
4

Choose who can use the source

Choose who can use the source, then select Next. See Create a source.
5

Create the source

Choose whether to auto-redact sensitive information in the source’s data, then select Create source. The first import starts right away. See Redact data from sources.

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Authentication and permissions

Google Play connects with Google sign-in (OAuth). Dovetail requests the userinfo.email scope, to identify the Google account, and the androidpublisher scope, to read reviews. The androidpublisher scope is the only scope Google offers for reading reviews, and it covers every app the account can access in Play Console. Dovetail uses it only to read reviews. It doesn’t reply to reviews or change anything in Play Console. To limit what the source can reach, give the connected Google account app permissions for only the apps you want to import. The source runs on the Google account of the user who connects it. To change the account or credentials, see Reconnect a source.

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Datasets

Each app you select becomes its own dataset and syncs on its own, so a problem with one app doesn’t stop the others. A channel can add some or all of the source’s apps. The source can import reviews only for apps the connected Google account can access in Play Console. If your apps belong to more than one Play Console developer account, give the connected Google account access in each of them. To add more apps later, open the source and select Add app. See Add datasets.

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What gets imported

Each Google Play review becomes one data point.

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Always imported

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Imported when present

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Not imported

  • Reviews that weren’t created or edited in the seven days before Dovetail syncs. Google doesn’t provide them through its API.
  • Reviews with a star rating but no written comment.
  • Reviewer email addresses. Google Play doesn’t provide them, so Google Play data points aren’t linked to contacts.
To rename the fields above or change their types, see Source fields. Need a field that isn’t on this list? Let us know.

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Sync behavior

The first import starts when the source is created. After that, the source syncs about every hour. See Manage a source.
  • Seven-day limit. Google’s API returns only reviews created or edited in the last seven days, whatever import period you choose. The first import brings in reviews from that window.
  • Ongoing sync. Each sync imports new and updated reviews. When a reviewer edits a review, Dovetail keeps the most recent version.
  • Pauses and interruptions. If the source is paused or can’t sync for more than seven days, reviews from early in that gap may no longer be available from Google when syncing starts again. See Pause and resume syncing.

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Older reviews

Because Google provides only the last seven days of reviews through its API, the source can’t import anything older. To analyze older reviews, download them as a CSV file from Play Console and upload the file to the channel that needs them. See Get older data and Upload a CSV.

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Troubleshooting

No reviews appear after I create the source. Google provides reviews from the last seven days only, and reviews with a star rating but no comment aren’t imported. If none of your apps received a written review in that window, there’s nothing to import yet. Also check that the connected Google account has both permissions on each app. See Grant Play Console permissions. An app is missing from the app picker. The picker lists only apps that the Google account you signed in with can access in Play Console. Ask a Play Console admin to give that account access to the app, then open the picker again. Fewer reviews imported than I see in Play Console. Play Console shows your full review history, but the source can import only reviews from the last seven days. For older reviews, see Older reviews. The source stops importing reviews from one or more apps. If the connected Google account loses access to an app in Play Console, the source shows an error saying it no longer has access to one or more apps. Restore that Google account’s permissions on the app in Play Console, then select Sync now. See Sync a source now. If Dovetail’s access was removed from the Google account itself, see Reconnect a source. Google Play Store isn’t available when I set up a channel. See Troubleshoot sources.

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Revoke access in Google Play Store

Pausing or deleting the source in Dovetail doesn’t remove Dovetail’s access to the Google account. To cut off access on Google’s side, do either of the following:
  • In the Google account the source is connected with, open the account’s third-party connections, find Dovetail, and remove its access.
  • In Play Console, remove that Google account’s access to the apps.
After you revoke access, the source can’t import new reviews. To pause or delete the source in Dovetail, see Manage a source. To take its data out of one channel, see Channel setup.

Sources

What a source is, and how its data reaches channels.

Channel setup

Add the source’s apps to a channel, or upload older reviews as a CSV.

Manage a source

Check a source’s status, sync it, pause it, or add apps.

Voice of customer

Bring app reviews together with other customer feedback in Channels.