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This guide describes how to use the anti-piracy feature to secure your
Android games.
The anti-piracy feature is available for Android games only. If anti-piracy
is turned on for your game, the Google Play Games Services checks if a user is licensed to
play your game. If none of the user accounts on a device are licensed for your
game, the Google Play Games Services calls sent by your game fail and return a
LICENSE_CHECK_FAILED status code.
To be licensed for your game, users must install it from Google Play. The
license checking takes place regardless of whether your game is a free or paid
app. The checking is only performed if the game is published. Users with test
accounts can play the game without purchasing it.
Enable anti-piracy
To turn on the anti-piracy feature for your Android game:
Follow the steps described in
Set Up Your Game to add your Android game
to the Google Play Console, if you have not done so already.
In the Google Play Console, open the Games services tab, then
select your Android game from the list.
Open the Linked apps tab, then select your existing Android game or
link to a new Android game.
Turn the Enable anti-piracy option to ON.
Click Save and continue.
Publish your game in order for license checking to be
activated.
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-01-30 UTC.
[[["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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-01-30 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Anti-piracy for Android games\n\nThis guide describes how to use the anti-piracy feature to secure your\nAndroid games.\n\nThe anti-piracy feature is available for Android games only. If anti-piracy\nis turned on for your game, the Google Play Games Services checks if a user is licensed to\nplay your game. If none of the user accounts on a device are licensed for your\ngame, the Google Play Games Services calls sent by your game fail and return a\n`LICENSE_CHECK_FAILED` status code.\n\nTo be licensed for your game, users must install it from Google Play. The\nlicense checking takes place regardless of whether your game is a free or paid\napp. The checking is only performed if the game is published. Users with test\naccounts can play the game without purchasing it.\n\nEnable anti-piracy\n------------------\n\nTo turn on the anti-piracy feature for your Android game:\n\n1. Follow the steps described in\n [Set Up Your Game](/games/pgs/console/enable-features) to add your Android game\n to the Google Play Console, if you have not done so already.\n\n2. In the Google Play Console, open the **Games services** tab, then\n select your Android game from the list.\n\n3. Open the **Linked apps** tab, then select your existing Android game or\n link to a new Android game.\n\n4. Turn the **Enable anti-piracy** option to **ON**.\n\n5. Click **Save and continue**.\n\n6. Publish your game in order for license checking to be\n activated."]]
