Managing public applications via the Play Store
How to install, uninstall and update applications from the Managed Play Store?
From June 2023, note that Google has made changes to the way app updates are managed. As a result, it will no longer be possible to trigger application updates (private or public) via TinyMDM security policies, since they will be managed entirely by Google (on the other hand, it will still be possible to remotely trigger application updates from the TinyMDM Store). More information below.
Approve and install a public app
There are three types of application managed by the Play Store via an MDM: public applications, private applications and web applications. For the record, it’s also possible to bypass the Play Store and push private apps through the TinyMDM Store.
To approve a public application visible on the Play Store, click on Public applications and then OK.
Search for the application in the Play Store, click on its icon, then click on the Select button.
Then, if you want to save time by approving, or even approving and installing this application on one or all of your policies directly, that’s also possible. To do this, select Approve or Approve and install (depending on your choice), then select the policy(ies) to apply your choice to. To apply your choice to all your policies, check the box Add app to all policies. If you don’t select any policy, the application will simply be approved at the level of your corporate catalog, and it will still be possible to approve and install the application on your security policies later.
To install an application via the security policy, simply approve it by clicking on the icon (it will turn green), then on 
and Install.
Update an application managed by the Play Store
When updating applications managed by the Managed Play Store (public, private and web), it is now possible to define a general update mode for all of them:
- By choosing Automatic, when a new app version is available, Google will update it on devices as a priority, but “without any time commitment, depending on conditions”. End-users will still be able to download the update from their device’s managed Play Store if their device is not locked to the kiosk.
- By choosing Automatic when Wi-Fi, when a new app version is available and the device is on Wi-Fi, Google will update it on the devices (with no particular priority).
- By choosing Never, applications will never be updated automatically.
- By choosing Chosen by user (Play Store), end-users choose how their applications are updated, via their managed Play Store.
Whichever option is chosen, it will always be possible for the end-user, if his or her device is not kiosk-locked, to download the update from his or her device’s managed Play Store.
As a reminder, we recommend you use the TinyMDM Store to control application update times, and trigger updates on an application-by-application basis, for example.
Uninstalling or unapproving an application from the Play Store
Uninstalling an application is done via the security policy. If you have checked the box below (visible in the Advanced Application Management drop-down menu), you need to uncheck it first, as it blocks the uninstallation of applications via the console.
To uninstall one or more applications on a security policy, select the desired application(s), click on the menu and then on Uninstall.
To remove an app from your company’s Managed Play Store, or uninstall it en masse across all your security policies, go to the Enterprise Approved Apps tab, click on the app’s icon, and choose to simply disapprove it, or disapprove and uninstall it from all security policies in a single click.
