Can i change android app Certificate on play store

Question

I have Uploaded around ten application on play store from same account. because of lack of knowledge that time i have created separate certificate of all application but now i just want to make it single certificate and assign different alias to all application. is it possible to change it? if yes whats will be the procedure.

Answer 1

During Google Play I/O 2019 (here and here), Play team announced new feature (as an extension to Android App Bundle mechanism) which allows to upgrade the signing key for new installs and their updates. This is the only backwards-compatible way to upgrade the keys for existing apps signed with old signing keys.

From accompanying blog post:

In addition to efficiency and modularity, the Android App Bundle also now offers increased security with the launch of app signing key upgrade for new installs. With this feature, you can upgrade the cryptographic strength of your signing key for new installs and their updates on Google Play. Many developers sign their apps with keys generated a long time ago, and this new feature is the only backwards-compatible way to increase their strength.

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Play's documentation goes into more details:

In some circumstances, you can request an app signing key upgrade. Your new key is used to sign new installs and app updates. Your legacy app signing key is still used to sign updates for users who installed your app before the key upgrade.

Each app can only have its app signing key upgraded once in its lifetime. In the unlikely event that you have multiple apps using the same signing key specifically to run in the same process, you won’t be able to use key upgrade for those apps.

Here are a couple of reasons to request an app signing key upgrade:
- You need a cryptographically stronger key.
- Your app signing key has been compromised.

Important considerations before requesting a key upgrade:

Before requesting a key upgrade, it’s important to understand the changes that you may need to make after the upgrade is complete.
- If you use the same app signing key for multiple apps in order to share data/code between them, you need to update your apps to recognize both your new and legacy app signing key certificates.
- If your app uses APIs, make sure to register the certificates for your new and legacy app signing key with API providers before publishing an update to ensure the APIs continue working. Certificates are available on the App signing page on the Play Console.
- If many of your users install updates via peer-to-peer sharing, they’ll only be able to install updates that are signed with the same key as the version of your app which they already have installed. If they’re unable to update their app because they have a version of your app that’s signed with a different key, they have the option of uninstalling and reinstalling the app to get the update.

Request a key upgrade for new installs:

1. Sign in to your Play Console.
2. Select an app.
3. On the left menu, select Release management > App signing.
4. In the “Upgrade your app signing key for new installs” card, select Request key upgrade.
5. Select an option. Depending on the option you select, you may need to contact support to complete your request.
6. Have Google to generate a new app signing key (recommended) or upload one. After upgrading your app signing key, if you were using the same key for your app signing and upload key, you can continue using your legacy app signing key as your upload key or generate a new upload key.

Answer 2

As i know you can't change the certificate until you not upload new fresh application on play-store, even you cant change by updating same application.

you have only 2 option

• Keep old one application as it is, or

• upload new application

this will help you see in details

Answer 3

Another option is to upload your key(s) to the Console and generate your developer signing key. So you can have single developer key which you use to sign the APK. Then you simply upload the APK and Google will use original key to sign the APK before publishing to Play. This procedure is irreversible.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/7384423?hl=en https://developer.android.com/studio/publish/app-signing

Use Google Play App Signing When using Google Play App Signing, you will use two keys: the app signing key and the upload key. Google manages and protects the app signing key for you, and you keep the upload key and use it to sign your apps for upload to the Google Play Store.

When you opt in to use Google Play App Signing, you export and encrypt your app signing key using the Play Encrypt Private Key tool provided by Google Play, and then upload it to Google's infrastructure. Then you create a separate upload key and register it with Google. When you are ready to publish, you sign your app using the upload key and upload it to Google Play. Google then uses the upload certificate to verify your identity, and re-signs your APK with your app signing key for distribution as shown in figure 1. (If you do not already have an app signing key, you can generate one during the sign-up process.)

When you use Google Play App Signing, if you lose your upload key, or if it is compromised, you can contact Google to revoke your old upload key and generate a new one. Because your app signing key is secured by Google, you can continue to upload new versions of your app as updates to the original app, even if you change upload keys.

Answer 4

For those who seek key upgrade in 2021:

1. Go to Console => Select an app
2. Go to Setup => App Integrity
3. Somewhere in the middle of the page you will see 'Upgrade your app signing key for new installs' and the link