Old vs. New Google Play Developer Accounts: What's Better — Buying or Building?

Faced with frequent account suspensions, many software developers consider purchasing existing accounts to avoid release failures caused by account closures. However, they often overlook the question of whether purchased, existing accounts are truly trustworthy. Is maintaining an account the key to long-term stability? This article will analyze the differences between purchasing and maintaining an account, as well as some practical tips for maintaining an account.

I. Differences between old and new Google Play accounts

(1) Basic concepts

• Old account: It has been registered for a while, has a certain amount of historical activity data, and may have uploaded applications. Many people think that old accounts are more stable to use.

• New account: A newly registered account with no history of operation. It needs to go through a cold start period to gradually build trust.

(2) Differences at the business level

1. Package success rate

• New account: It is easier to pass the listing review for white packages (i.e. risk-free or lightly compliant applications) because the account history is clean

• Old accounts: There is no problem in listing compliant applications, but if they involve sensitive categories or are frequently uploaded, Google may refer to historical behavior for more stringent review.

2. Stability

• Old accounts: Due to the traces of use, they are relatively more stable under normal and compliant operations, but if there are any illegal operations in the past, they may also be hidden.

• New accounts: Clean but fragile, easily triggering risk control in the early stages, requiring a gradual account maintenance process

3. Applicable scenarios

• Old account: Suitable for teams that want to go online quickly, especially those with compliant applications to deploy

• New Account: Suitable for developers who want to build a stable account for long-term planning

II. Advantages and Disadvantages of Raising and Purchasing Google Play Accounts

(1) Buy an account

1. Advantages

• Time saving: no need to wait for the registration review cycle

• Quick results: You can use the old account directly after purchasing it, which is suitable for teams that are in urgent need of accounts.

2. Disadvantages

• Unknown source: Many account registration information is not real, which may lead to the risk of being blocked.

• Account environment inconsistency: After purchasing an account, logging in will switch to a new IP/device, which can easily trigger Google risk control.

• No after-sales guarantee: once the account is lost, the loss is difficult to recover

(2) Account maintenance

1. Advantages

• High controllability: full participation in the registration process, more authentic and reliable information

• Long-term stability: Accounts are developed from scratch, making it easier to match your own business environment

• Low cost: only need to pay the official registration fee ($25)

2. Disadvantages

• Time-consuming: New accounts require a cold start and account maintenance process, and cannot be put into business immediately

• Certain technical requirements: You need to know how to gradually raise an account, otherwise it is easy to trigger risk control

III. How to maintain a Google Play developer account?

Whether you buy or maintain an account, you must use it with caution after you get it. Don't violate the rules just because it's an old account. Try to simulate real-life operations as much as possible to avoid abnormal behavior triggering risk control. Here are some practical tips:

1. Registration stage

• The information used during registration must be real, do not use fictitious information, to avoid the dilemma of not being able to provide materials during verification. After binding the developer information, do not rush to upload the application.

• During registration and subsequent use, pay attention to the security and stability of the operating environment, and avoid using networks marked as abnormal or switching frequently.

• It is recommended that developers keep the account environment pure and use a pure real IP when using the account. For example, I use the residential proxy of IPFoxy. The account line is quite stable and the packet upload rate is OK.

  

2. Account maintenance stage

• Week 1: Log in to the console regularly every day and do some basic operations, such as browsing the backend page and reading the policy terms.

• Week 2: Upload a lightweight app for testing (can be an internal debugging version). Don't rush to release it publicly. Keep the login time at 10-20 minutes per day. Don't suddenly operate frequently.

• From the third to the fourth week: Upload app updates and gradually increase version iterations to allow the account to accumulate normal developer operations. You can invite some real users to test in the test app to increase data traces.

• Week 5 and beyond: Launch your first official app. Choose a compliant and safe category. Don’t immediately import a large amount of traffic after launch. Start with a small amount of organic downloads and user reviews, and then gradually increase the traffic.

  

IV. Summary

Although purchasing an old account saves time and effort, it comes with various invisible risks. Registering by yourself can consolidate the account foundation, and compliant use is the long-term solution. I hope this article can help you understand the types of developer accounts and reduce the risk of being blocked.