Trust and operations
Credential custody
A Google Play service-account credential can expose sensitive catalogue access and, with sufficient permission, enable price changes. It should be handled as a high-impact secret.
Updated
Keep credentials out of ordinary product data
Store credentials should not appear in browser responses, logs, analytics, support messages, or the same records used to render an app's pricing screens. The application only needs a reference to the protected credential and the ability to request permitted store operations.
Separating credential custody limits how many parts of the system can ever handle the secret directly.
Limit what a connection can do
Least-privilege access starts in Play Console and continues inside the application. Requests should be restricted to the provider actions the product supports rather than acting as a general proxy to the account.
Reading, publishing, maintenance, and account administration are different responsibilities and should not inherit one another's authority by default.
Rotation and removal are part of custody
A secure connection must be repairable when a key changes and removable when access is no longer needed. Removing the connection should revoke the application's future access without pretending it can undo prices already accepted by the store.
The exact vault architecture and operational procedures remain in the authenticated documentation because publishing them would add little buyer value while exposing unnecessary implementation detail.