# What Google Play moves when you sell an Android app

> Google Play moves an app's users, ratings and subscriptions to the buyer's developer account. Orders from before the transfer, the earnings reports and the links to Firebase and ad SDKs stay behind. What to prepare, and the currency setting that can unpublish an app.

Source: https://dealstonic.com/sell-android-app-google-play-transfer/
Author: Andrew Levenko, Off-market M&A
Publisher: Deals Tonic, off-market M&A for apps and SaaS from $20K in monthly revenue
Updated: 2026-09-24

Google Play moves an Android app to the buyer's developer account with its users, its ratings and its subscriptions. The orders it took before the move stay in the seller's account.

## Before the request

A transfer request can be submitted only once both developer accounts are registered and active. A buyer who opens a new account pays the US$25 registration fee, and Google can refund the seller's fee if the old account is closed after the transfer. The request itself needs the registration transaction IDs of both accounts, found in the receipts for the developer registration fee.

Earnings, payout and bulk export reports stay in the old account, and Google suggests downloading the ones you will need later. A paid app, or one with in-app products, also needs an active payments profile on the buyer's side.

## After the transfer

Integrations do not follow the app on their own. Firebase projects are unlinked from the old Play Console and linked to the new one, the buyer's account gets permissions in Google Analytics, and it is added as an owner of the Google Developers Console projects.

Ad SDKs such as AdMob are updated in the app itself, so that ad traffic is credited to the buyer's account.

With Play App Signing, the same upload key and app signing key serve the app before and after the transfer. If either side is uneasy about that, the buyer can request a new upload key, or a new app signing key for new installs through a key upgrade.

The buyer approves the request, and Google's support team replies within two business days. For developers in the 15% service fee tier, an app moved between account groups counts that year's earnings in both groups' totals toward the first $1M.

Deals Tonic sells apps and SaaS from $20K a month off-market, Android and iOS alike. The transfer is planned before signing, including which reports the seller keeps and when the ad SDK switch ships.

Source: Google, Play Console Help, "Transfer apps to a different developer account". Checked 24 September 2026.