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A private app is an app that’s only available to an enterprise’s users. Private
apps are fully compatible with managed Google Play. An enterprise can publish
private apps to its managed Google Play store and install private apps remotely
to users’ devices. To learn more, see Distributing private apps to
users.
Google-hosted private apps
Enterprise customers aren't required to host their private apps on managed
Google Play, but it offers several key benefits. See Google-hosted private
apps for more
details.
Google-hosted private apps can be installed on devices running any mode of
operation (profile owner, device owner, or legacy), and there are no additional
features you need to implement in your EMM solution to support them.
Self-hosted private apps
Enterprise customers also have the option of hosting their private apps
themselves and only using the managed Google Play infrastructure to manage app
installation.
Self-hosted private apps can be installed on devices running the profile owner
mode of operation, but they aren’t compatible with legacy
devices and can
only be push installed to devices running the device owner mode of operation.
To successfully publish a self-hosted private app, an enterprise customer must
first build an APK definition file that contains metadata captured from the
app's manifest in JSON format. This definition file replaces the APK within
Google Play and needs to be uploaded during the publishing process. More
detailed guidance on how to generate an APK definition file and access to
downloadable sample code is available on GitHub (see externally hosted
APKs).
Integrate private app management into your console
The simplest way to add private app publishing capabilities to your EMM console
is to embed the managed Google Play iframe.
The iframe's Private apps page silently creates a Play Console account on behalf
of an enterprise and waives the $25 USD registration fee.
Another option is to add private app publishing to your console using the
Google Play Custom App Publishing API.
This API is only compatible with Google-hosted private apps, and the apps
published through this method can't ever be made public. To integrate additional
publishing and app management tasks, use the Google Play Publishing API.
You or your enterprise customer can also publish
and update
private apps directly from the Google Play Console.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003ePrivate apps, exclusive to enterprise users, are fully compatible with managed Google Play, allowing for publishing and remote installation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle-hosted private apps offer key benefits and work on any device operation mode, while self-hosted apps have limitations regarding device compatibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSelf-hosted private apps require an APK definition file in JSON format containing app metadata for publishing.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEMM consoles can integrate private app publishing using the managed Google Play iframe or the Google Play Custom App Publishing API, with the latter only supporting Google-hosted apps.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003ePrivate apps can be directly published and updated from the Google Play Console by the enterprise or their EMM provider.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Support private apps\n\n| **Note:** Additional guidance on private apps is available from the [managed\n| Google Play Help Center](https://support.google.com/googleplay/work/topic/6145152).\n\nA private app is an app that's only available to an enterprise's users. Private\napps are fully compatible with managed Google Play. An enterprise can publish\nprivate apps to its managed Google Play store and install private apps remotely\nto users' devices. To learn more, see [Distributing private apps to\nusers](/android/work/play/emm-api/distribute#distribute_private_apps_to_users).\n\nGoogle-hosted private apps\n--------------------------\n\nEnterprise customers aren't required to host their private apps on managed\nGoogle Play, but it offers several key benefits. See [Google-hosted private\napps](https://support.google.com/googleplay/work/answer/6145197) for more\ndetails.\n\nGoogle-hosted private apps can be installed on devices running any mode of\noperation (profile owner, device owner, or legacy), and there are no additional\nfeatures you need to implement in your EMM solution to support them.\n\nSelf-hosted private apps\n------------------------\n\nEnterprise customers also have the option of hosting their private apps\nthemselves and only using the managed Google Play infrastructure to manage app\ninstallation.\n\nSelf-hosted private apps can be installed on devices running the profile owner\nmode of operation, but they aren't compatible with [legacy\ndevices](/android/work/play/emm-api/prov-devices#modes_of_operation) and can\nonly be push installed to devices running the device owner mode of operation.\n\nTo successfully publish a self-hosted private app, an enterprise customer must\nfirst build an APK definition file that contains metadata captured from the\napp's manifest in JSON format. This definition file replaces the APK within\nGoogle Play and needs to be uploaded during the publishing process. More\ndetailed guidance on how to generate an APK definition file and access to\ndownloadable sample code is available on GitHub (see [externally hosted\nAPKs](https://github.com/google/play-work/tree/master/externally-hosted-apks)).\n\nIntegrate private app management into your console\n--------------------------------------------------\n\nThe simplest way to add private app publishing capabilities to your EMM console\nis to embed the [managed Google Play iframe](/android/work/play/emm-api/managed-play-iframe#private-apps).\nThe iframe's Private apps page silently creates a Play Console account on behalf\nof an enterprise and waives the $25 USD registration fee.\n\nAnother option is to add private app publishing to your console using the\n[Google Play Custom App Publishing API](/android/work/play/custom-app-api).\nThis API is only compatible with Google-hosted private apps, and the apps\npublished through this method can't ever be made public. To integrate additional\npublishing and app management tasks, use the [Google Play Publishing API](/android-publisher).\n\nYou or your enterprise customer can also [publish](https://support.google.com/googleplay/work/answer/6145139)\nand [update](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113476)\nprivate apps directly from the Google Play Console."]]