Google's terms forbid automated access that goes against the rules in files such as robots.txt. The robots.txt of play.google.com leaves app pages open, but it closes store search, reviews and every address that starts with /_. A store page shows another country's price when only its gl setting changes, so seeing a listing abroad needs no proxy. Your Play country is another matter: Google wants you in that country, with a payment method from it.
What the terms say
The Google Play Terms of Service are dated July 29, 2026. They apply together with the Google Terms of Service, which took effect on July 30, 2026. Four rules bear on scripts and proxies:
| rule | what the terms say |
|---|---|
| automated access | No "using automated means to access content from any of our services in violation of the machine-readable instructions on our web pages (for example, robots.txt files that disallow crawling, training, or other activities)". |
| who you are | No "hiding or misrepresenting who you are in order to violate these terms". |
| suspension | Google may suspend or end access when conduct causes harm, and its examples include scraping content that does not belong to you. |
| security | The Play terms forbid attempts to "circumvent, disable or defeat any of the security features" that protect Google Play or its content. |
What robots.txt says
The robots.txt of play.google.com has one group, for every crawler. It does not close the app pages under /store/apps/details. It does close /store/search, /store/getreviews, /store/xhr and every address that starts with /_. The robots.txt standard, RFC 9309, says its rules "are not a form of access authorization". Google's terms are what tie them to use.
Prices by country
Developers set a price for all countries or per country. Play then converts it to the local currency and adds tax in some countries. We read one paid app page, Minecraft, three times from our server in St. Louis. Only the gl setting in the address changed:
| gl | price | stars | age label |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | USD 6.99 | 4.3 | Everyone 10+ |
| GB | GBP 6.99 | 4.3 | PEGI 7 |
| IN | INR 40.00 | 4.6 | Rated for 7+ |
The review count was 5.85M on all three. The British page says all prices include VAT, and the Indian page says they include GST. One server saw three countries, so a listing abroad needs no proxy.
Your Play country
Google's help says your Play country "determines what content you find in the store and in apps". To set a new one, "you must be in that location and have a payment method from the new country or region". After a change, you wait at least 90 days for the next one. Purchases fail when the Play country does not match your country of residence. A proxy gives an address, not a payment method or a residence, so it does not change a Play country by itself.
Reviews: the official routes
For your own app, Google offers two routes:
- The Reply to Reviews API gives reviews with comments for apps in production. It allows 200 GET requests per hour per app and returns only reviews created or changed in the last week.
- Play Console exports all reviews in monthly CSV files, in a private Cloud Storage bucket. Data is posted within 3 to 7 days.
For other apps' reviews, the Google pages we read name no route.
The libraries on GitHub
A search of GitHub for "google play scraper" lists 497 projects. The most starred, google-play-scraper for Node.js, has 2,977 stars. Its country option defaults to us, and its README warns that many requests in a short time hit "Google Play's throttling limit". Requests then get 503 responses with a captcha, and the address "can be banned from making further requests for a while (usually around an hour)". By default, it applies no throttling. Its reviews method sends requests to an address under /_/, a path robots.txt closes.
Scraping and proxy companies publish guides to it as well. The ones we read do not quote robots.txt.
Where a proxy fits
For Google Play, a proxy rarely fits. To see a listing as another country sees it, change gl in the address. For your own reviews, use the API or the monthly reports. For your Play country, Google wants you there with a local payment method. Scripts that ignore robots.txt go against Google's terms from any address.
For other work where a proxy is allowed, what a residential proxy is explains the type. How to check if a proxy is working shows how to test one. Residential traffic without city targeting starts at $0.44/GB, and every plan is on our pricing page.
The limits of this page
We read the Play terms, Google's terms, robots.txt, three help pages and one developer page. We read them from our server in St. Louis on 4 October 2026. We read one app page three times, loaded no search or review address, ran no scraper, did not sign in, bought nothing and called no API. One app on one day does not speak for every app. We do not know how Google applies its terms to the libraries. This page is due for a check by 4 January 2027.
Sources
Every page below was read on 4 October 2026, from our server in St. Louis.
- Google, Google Play Terms of Service, July 29, 2026.
- Google, Google Terms of Service, effective July 30, 2026.
- The robots.txt of play.google.com.
- Google Play Help, How to change your Google Play country.
- Google for Developers, Reply to Reviews.
- Play Console Help, Download and export monthly reports and Set up your app's prices.
- IETF, RFC 9309: Robots Exclusion Protocol.
- GitHub's repository search for "google play scraper" (not linked).
