Google Play App Search API
Scrape Google Play App Search data with one API call. Returns a unified AppList of Google Play apps matching a keyword: title, icon, developer, rating, price/is_free, and store URL on every item, on the same canonical `App` shape used across every app marketplace (`app.store` = "google_play"). `app.rank` is the position of the app in the results (1 is the first). Detail-only fields (description, screenshots, installs) are null on search items; fetch /v1/google_play/app-info for the full record. Some storefronts send no star rating on search rows (on 19/10/2026, 21 of 21 rows in South Africa, `country=ZA`); when no app on the page has a rating, `_warnings` carries `ratings_unavailable`. Served from the Google Play catalogue: a first, uncached call is task-polled upstream and typically takes 3 to 15s, with a review pull at high `depth` reaching 40s. Set a client timeout of at least 60s.
Last updated October 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Returns Google Play apps matching a keyword: title, icon, developer, rating, price or free flag, and store URL for each result.
Use it to find an app's package name by keyword; description, screenshots, and install counts come from app-info.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the App Search API?
The App Search endpoint gives you structured Google Play data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/google_play/app-search: 5 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 24: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 24 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/google_play/app-search?query=photo+editor&country=United+States&depth=30" && cat response.json# GET /v1/google_play/app-search: 5 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 24 # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/google_play/app-search"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"query": "photo editor",
"country": "United States",
"depth": "30",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/google_play/app-search: 5 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 24_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/google_play/app-search");
url.searchParams.set("query", "photo editor");
url.searchParams.set("country", "United States");
url.searchParams.set("depth", "30");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters worth sending
country=United StatesResults for one country.
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | Yes | Search keyword (e.g. 'photo editor'). |
| country | No | Storefront country as an ISO code ('US'), a full name ('United States'), or a numeric location code ('2840'). Defaults to the US. |
| language | No | Language code (e.g. 'en'). Defaults to 'en'. |
| depth | No | Number of results to retrieve (default 30, rounded up to multiples of 30, max 300). Note: Google Play's organic keyword search typically exposes only ~30 ranked results, so higher depth values rarely return more. To page deeper for app discovery, use /v1/google_play/app-listings-search (a filterable title/description database with real limit/offset/total). |
What does the Google Play App Search API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "google_play",
"endpoint": "/v1/google_play/app-search",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"app": {
"id": "photo.editor.photoeditor.photoeditorpro",
"store": "google_play",
"url": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=photo.editor.photoeditor.photoeditorpro",
"title": "Photo Editor - Polish",
"subtitle": null,
"icon": "https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/q-z-Sbn2WLCUb4MSmmdhVr9KRfJ4qTlgoQEUGEKsnfVEEMNPxsabpr-yngqQ15o5b6gLhaBOhGZNv6oBWDMl",
"description": null,
"developer": {
"id": null,
"name": "InShot Inc.",
"url": null,
"email": null,
"address": null,
"website": null
},
"rating": {
"value": 4.8,
"max": 5,
"count": null
},
"price": {
"current": 0,
"original": null,
"currency": "USD",
"is_free": true,
"displayed": null
},
"reviews_count": null,
"category": null,
"categories": null,
"installs": null,
"version": null,
"minimum_os_version": null,
"size": null,
"released_at": null,
"updated_at": null,
"update_notes": null,
"image_urls": null,
"ext": {
"appdata": {
"type": "google_play_search_organic",
"rank_group": 1,
"rank_absolute": 1,
"position": "left",
"app_id": "photo.editor.photoeditor.photoeditorpro",
"title": "Photo Editor - Polish",
"url": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=photo.editor.photoeditor.photoeditorpro",
"icon": "https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/q-z-Sbn2WLCUb4MSmmdhVr9KRfJ4qTlgoQEUGEKsnfVEEMNPxsabpr-yngqQ15o5b6gLhaBOhGZNv6oBWDMl",
"reviews_count": null,
"rating": {
"rating_type": "Max5",
"value": 4.8,
"votes_count": null,
"rating_max": 5
},
"is_free": true,
"price": {
"current": 0,
"regular": null,
"max_value": null,
"currency": "USD",
"is_price_range": false,
"displayed_price": null
},
"developer": "InShot Inc.",
"developer_url": null
}
}
}
},
{
"app": {
"id": "com.adobe.psmobile",
"store": "google_play",
"url": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.psmobile",
"title": "Photoshop Express Photo Editor",
"subtitle": null,
"icon": "https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/rCGZtLm-ksJ87FtI_3YsfYyQMLnv68_YoZsS_Ax0r8UvWrXSg3--vt7WR3iZsN-ImQSgMYz3RKQTCf5_eIiv1g",
"description": null,
"developer": {
"id": null,
"name": "Adobe",
"url": null,
"email": null,
"address": null,
"website": null
},
"rating": {
"value": 4.5,
"max": 5,
"count": null
},
"price": {
"current": 0,
"original": null,
"currency": "USD",
"is_free": true,
"displayed": null
},
"reviews_count": null,
"category": null,
"categories": null,
"installs": null,
"version": null,
"minimum_os_version": null,
"size": null,
"released_at": null,
"updated_at": null,
"update_notes": null,
"image_urls": null,
"ext": {
"appdata": {
"type": "google_play_search_organic",
"rank_group": 2,
"rank_absolute": 2,
"position": "left",
"app_id": "com.adobe.psmobile",
"title": "Photoshop Express Photo Editor",
"url": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.psmobile",
"icon": "https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/rCGZtLm-ksJ87FtI_3YsfYyQMLnv68_YoZsS_Ax0r8UvWrXSg3--vt7WR3iZsN-ImQSgMYz3RKQTCf5_eIiv1g",
"reviews_count": null,
"rating": {
"rating_type": "Max5",
"value": 4.5,
"votes_count": null,
"rating_max": 5
},
"is_free": true,
"price": {
"current": 0,
"regular": null,
"max_value": null,
"currency": "USD",
"is_price_range": false,
"displayed_price": null
},
"developer": "Adobe",
"developer_url": null
}
}
}
}
],
"total": 26,
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 5,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": null,
"has_more": false,
"page_size": 26
},
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"source": "captured",
"captured_at": "2026-10-02T13:08:52.779Z",
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the Google Play App Search API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I search Google Play apps with an API?
What fields does Google Play app search return?
How is app search different from the listings endpoint?
How much does Google Play app search cost?
Can I search Google Play by country or language?
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