Managed Google Play

Pick your team's apps from Google Play. They install themselves.

Managed Google Play in NounDesk lets you search the real Google Play catalog from inside the app, with icons, ratings and descriptions, and add an app to your catalog by clicking it. No package names. Mark it Required in a security policy and it installs on every phone that follows that policy, with nothing for the employee to do. You can also publish a company-built app privately so only your devices see it, turn a website into an installable app, and choose how the store is arranged for staff. It needs company-owned Android devices and a one-time Google connection.

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Required apps installing across the fleetapp.noundesk.comRequired apps · Field WorkerGoogle Maps7/7Jobber6/7Slack7/7Authenticator5/71 device missing Jobber · 2 outdated (min 6.1)0 failed installs
Managed Google Play in NounDesk.

Search for it the way you would on your phone

Adding an app used to mean finding it on Google Play, copying the developer identifier out of the URL, and pasting that in. Something like com.microsoft.teams. Nobody thinks in package names, and it was the one genuinely awkward step left in the product. Now you browse the real managed Play catalog inside NounDesk, with icons, screenshots, ratings and descriptions, and adding an app is one click.

  • Before: find the app on Google Play, copy the id from the URL, paste it in.
  • After: search Slack, click it, done.
  • Icons and screenshots mean you pick the right app first time, rather than guessing between five with similar names.
  • Anything you add lands in your catalog, ready to mark Required, Available or Blocked.

Publish your own app to your team only

If you had an app built for your business, upload its APK file in the same screen. It is published privately through managed Google Play, free, in about 10 minutes. It is visible only to your company's devices and never appears in the public Play Store. It then behaves like any other app in your catalog: mark it Required, Available or Blocked, and employees get it without needing a Google account.

  • A field service company with its own job app.
  • A franchise with an ordering tool built for its sites.
  • A logistics firm with a scanner app nobody else should see.
  • Publishing runs through Google's own flow, so licensing and approvals work the way Google intends.

Turn a website into an app

Not everything your team uses is on the Play Store. Point NounDesk at a web address and it becomes an app on the home screen that opens full screen, with no browser bar and no tabs. It installs and updates like any other app in your catalog.

  • A dispatch dashboard for drivers.
  • A booking page for a counter tablet.
  • An intranet or timesheet page staff use every day.
  • Pairs naturally with kiosk mode when a tablet should do one job and nothing else.

Decide what the store looks like for staff

Choose what employees see when they open the Play Store on a work device, and group apps into collections such as Daily tools or Safety. They see the apps you chose, arranged the way you want, and nothing else. There is no catalogue of games to say no to, because there is no catalogue of games.

  • Group apps into named collections that match how people actually work.
  • Order the collections so the app someone opens twenty times a day is first.
  • Employees browse a short, relevant list rather than the whole store.
  • Change it whenever you like; devices pick it up at their next check-in.

Your own apps, published privately

Upload the APK your developer gave you. Managed Google Play publishes it privately, and only your company's devices can see it.

  • About 10 minutes

    From upload to an app your devices can install, at no cost.

  • Only your devices

    It never appears in the public Play Store.

  • No Google account needed

    Employees get it like any other required or optional app.

Private apps →App management →Remote support →

Related features

App management

Install and manage apps on company Android phones: mark Google Play apps required, available or blocked per policy, and spot missing or outdated apps.

Security policies

Android security policies in plain English: pick a template, set screen lock, updates, camera, Wi-Fi and encryption, and preview changes before publishing.

Kiosk mode

Android kiosk mode with no kiosk app to install. Lock a tablet or phone to one app, a few apps or a web page in a four-step wizard, and see each kiosk's health.

From the blog
ArticleHow to Stop Employees Installing Apps on Work PhonesBlocking apps on company Android phones by controlling what is available rather than policing what gets installed, plus how to handle the requests that follow.ArticleAndroid Enterprise Explained for Small BusinessesAndroid Enterprise is Google's device management built into Android itself. What it is, why there is no agent app, and the three things that actually matter.ArticleGemini Notebook on Work Android Phones: What Admins Should SetGemini Notebook now records audio on Android and is on by default for Workspace. What that means for shared and field phones, plus Drive's new data rules.

Read the complete guide to Android MDM for small business →

User guide
Guide · Apps and contentManaged Google PlayBrowse the real Google Play catalog inside NounDesk, turn websites into apps, publish your own app and choose what employees see in the Play Store.Guide · Apps and contentUpload your own app (private apps)Upload your company's own Android app (APK) in NounDesk and publish it privately through managed Google Play so only your devices can install it.

Browse the full user guide →

Managed Google Play: questions answered

Do I need a Google Play developer account?

No. Browsing the catalog and assigning apps to your devices needs nothing extra. To publish your own app, upload the APK in the same screen and it is published privately through managed Google Play, free, in about 10 minutes.

Do employees need to install anything?

No. An app marked Required installs automatically the next time the phone is online. Nobody taps install and nobody signs in to Google Play with a personal account.

Can I block apps?

Yes. Mark an app Blocked in a policy and it cannot be installed. If it is already on a device, you get an alert.

What about paid apps?

Purchasing and licences are handled by Google Play, the same way they work for any managed Android fleet.

Can employees install whatever they like?

That is your choice, per policy. Allow the whole store, or only the apps you have approved.

Does this work on personal phones?

Not today. NounDesk manages company-owned Android devices only.

Ten phones. Ten minutes. Protected.

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