The Google Play SDK Index is a Google resource with usage and safety data for popular commercial SDKs on Google Play. It covers more than 100 widely used SDKs and helps you decide whether to add one. It shows signals such as permissions requested, version adoption and data safety guidance.
What the index shows
Per Google's page, each listed SDK can show:
- Reliability and safety signals to review before you add it.
- Version adoption, so you can see which versions are in use.
- The app permissions the SDK requests.
- Retention rates.
- Links to the provider's documentation about what data it collects and why.
- Whether the provider declares that its SDK avoids code that may cause apps to break Play policies.
The index is hosted on Google Play and linked from the Android developer site. Google does not describe the scoring method or the data behind each metric on that page, so treat the numbers as signals, not verdicts.
Four ways to use it
- Before integration. Check permissions and version adoption. If an SDK asks for a permission your app has no reason to hold, that is a question for the provider.
- For the Data safety form. Use the provider's data collection guidance to fill in your own declaration.
- For policy commitments. See whether the provider has declared compliance with Play policies.
- For warnings. Providers who register with the SDK Console can send urgent messages through Play Console and Android Studio. Google Play can warn you before you publish a release that contains a problematic SDK version.
What the index does not replace
The index covers a limited set of commercial SDKs. Your app also contains open source libraries, internal modules and transitive dependencies that are not in it. Those need a dependency inventory and vulnerability matching of your own.
| Concern | Play SDK Index | Your own dependency scan |
|---|---|---|
| Popular commercial SDK signals | Yes | No |
| Permissions requested by the SDK | Yes | Partly, via manifest review |
| Known CVEs in every library in your build | Not described | Yes |
| Transitive dependencies | Not described | Yes |
| Open source libraries outside the index | Not covered | Yes |
A short vetting routine
Look up the SDK in the index. Read the data collection documentation. Compare requested permissions to your use case. Then run your dependency scan on the build with the SDK added and read the new transitive packages it brought along.
Quick check
Is a high index signal the same as a clean security review?
No. Google's page lists reliability and safety signals, but it does not describe them as a vulnerability audit of your build.
Do I still need the Data safety form if I use the index?
Yes. The index helps you fill it in. The declaration is yours.
Safeguard covers the dependency and SBOM side: it inventories what a build contains and matches it against known vulnerabilities. It does not do mobile binary analysis. A free scan is available.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
