New Android Market allows you to choose your Google account

By Jerry Hildenbrand
last updated

Google just showed us the new updated Android Market client that brings a UI overhaul, as well as Google Books and Movies for folks in the states.  Not long after, we gave you a way to download the new Market for yourselves, and you guys got to work checking it out.  It has a lot of different features, including one that a lot of us have been wanting -- the ability to switch to any Google account on your phone for Market use.  You can even choose a Google Apps account.  This could be a pretty handy feature, but also opens up the possibility of abuse via shared account credentials.  We'll have to see how it all unfolds.

Source: Android Central forums

Jerry Hildenbrand
Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.

45 Comments
  • I don't see this lasting long either.
  • This is HUGE! I can finally access my apps from my previously used profile! Google needs to keep this function.
  • You are gonna get spammed Phil!!! :-)
  • I just gotta say lol @ your t/bolt being low on battery....guess you didn't opt for the big battery.....could you please explain this a bit more.....can I have a diff Google acct on my tab than my phone??? What use is this....I guess I don't get it or the abuse side....
  • This is relevant for anyone who has ever switched the email address that they use as their main google profile when signing into their android device. Apps purchased under the first account were not accessible when they switched to using a different account unless they contacted each developer and worked with them to migrate them to the new account.
  • ah, thank you...dunno why you'd want more than one though....
  • Business account and personal account for one. Plus if you ever used an account and purchased $200 in apps, and then switched your email address for whatever reason, you would have had to purchase them all again. This way you can at least use the old account to get your paid apps.
  • Where's the option to add another account?
  • It grabs from your google accounts Home->Settings->Accounts
  • Got it .... thanks!
  • Do all apps have access to this? What I think android needs is some kind of 'change user' facility where there is a Home->Settings->... heirarchy for all saved app settings. For example, I have a Nook Color running CM7. It's not a 'personal' device. It sits on the coffee table for anyone to use. I'd like to be able to play, say, Words with Friends as myself and let my partner use it as himself. But WwF has no such 'accounts' feature. But if the system had basic multi-user settings, it would just work. Does honeycomb have that?
  • Definitely a cool feature, but definitely one that could get abused.
  • Why does this new market run a 30 MB sync service???
  • Because it has to... are you an engineer do you even know what its doing?!!
  • i believe this is an answer to tons of people that bought apps on an email they no longer use such as myself now we can setup our phone with email that we want to use for gtalk etc and add the email for apps as a secondary and turn off everything syncing for it
  • You are getting spammed phil.....
  • Now if they would just enable the ability to transfer your google checkout account to another email...I hate the fact I used a stupid gmail address I made up on the spot when I first got my phone(I use hotmail as my main) and would love to transfer the paid apps to the actual gmail account I now use. You have always been able to sync whatever accounts you wanted as far as calendar/mail/contacts so not having it choose your "good" account didn't really matter anyway.
  • I_am_incredible: You give Android users a bad name. Just sayin.
  • But i cant update my apps!!!!!
  • how do you update an app...when its said you have an update for the new market...because i cantfind it?
  • I cant update apps either!
  • Lol there is no option to update apps in "My Apps"
  • i had to uninstall the new market, just to update my apps!!!
  • The All About Android TWiT episode Phil was a guest on brought up the issue of inadvertent in-app and market purchases (mostly by young kids). Maybe this could be used is such a way to prevent that, by setting up a separate profile with no payment info or something along those lines...
  • I've updated my apps multiple times in the My Apps section of the new Market. What are you guys talking about?
  • A few people in here including me do NOT see an option to “update” the app when there are updates available.
  • Tkun, how do you update apps? This new .apk file shows updated apps, but when you tap on that app, there's no update button. There's only an "open" button and "uninstall" button.
  • Keep checking it. I had this problem but it seems to fix itself now. Now there IS an “Update” button.
  • Did you have to re-install the Market app to get this to work? What do you mean by re-checking? Close the market app and open it again?
  • I have the update button. Sounds to me like it's a phone glitch. Have you tried reinstalling the Market app?
  • I've uninstalled the Market app to the factory version, and I've re-installed it two or three times today just so I could update my apps. It can't be a phone glitch; I'm on an unrooted Nexus S!
  • I can't even figure out how to uninstall it????
  • Maybe I'm thinking of Market on my Honeycomb tablet, but it seems like this was already a feature anyway...
  • I think most (all?) of you are missing the probable real intention here: to use separate market accounts on separate devices. "Sorry, but if you want to run that paid-for-app on both your tablet AND your phone, you'll need to purchase it twice."
  • I don't think Google would force users to create another Gmail. Google has always been about everything syncing across all devices through a single Gmail. I mean, it's still possible that you're right, but I have my doubts about it.
  • Not true, I've been able to install on my paid apps from my Evo to my Transformer.....just sayin
  • FINALLY.....I can access my old apps from my old account...geesh that was annoying as heck.....
  • I refreshed a bunch and couldn't get an update option to show up either. Weird.
  • And still no way to gift an app to someone? Meaning my kid will still be using nothing but free apps. Alas.
  • Typical for the Thunderbolt...... the battery is almost dead!!! :-D
  • I've been waiting for something like this to purchase a personal domain and upgrade to a full paid Google Apps account (to be able to have remote wipe capability) Glad they finally came up with a solution!
  • Looks great, works on my Vibrant 3G, but it is so much slower than the previous version. As others have said there is too much going on and unless you're on WiFi or 4G it isn't worth it. I went back to the previous version.
  • Play store
  • Play store
  • Free games and songs