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To use the Google Awareness API, you must add a Google API key to your app. The
type of API key you need is an Android API key.
All Android apps are signed with a digital certificate for which you hold the
private key. For more information about digital certificates, refer to the
Android guide on how tosign your app.
Android API keys are linked to specific certificate-package pairs. You only
need one key for each certificate, no matter how many users you have for the
app.
Several steps are required for you to get a key for your app. They're described
in detail in this guide, and are summarized as follows:
Get information about your app's certificate.
Register a project in the Google Developers console and add the User Context
API as a service for the project.
Request a key.
Add the key to your app. To do so, add an element to your app manifest.
Find your app's certificate information
The API key is based on a short form of your app's digital certificate,
known as itsSHA-1 fingerprint. To display the SHA-1
fingerprint for your certificate, first ensure that you use the right
certificate. You might have the following two certificates to choose from:
A debug certificate: The Android SDK tools generate
this certificate automatically when you do a debug build. Only use this
certificate with apps that you're testing.
Don't attempt to publish an app that's signed with a debug certificate.
The debug certificate is described in more detail in theSign your
debug buildsection in the Android developer documentation.
A release certificate: The Android SDK tools generate
this certificate when you do a release build. You can also generate this
certificate with thekeytoolprogram. Use this certificate when
you're ready to release your app to the world.
Use thekeytoolprogram with the-vparameter to display a
certificate's SHA-1 fingerprint. To do so, complete the following steps:
Locate your debug keystore file. The file name isdebug.keystore, and it's created the first time you build your
project. By default, it's stored in the same directory as your Android
Virtual Device (AVD) files:
OS X and Linux:~/.android/
Windows Vista and Windows 7:C:\Users\your_user_name\.android\
List the SHA-1 fingerprint:
For Linux or OS X, open a terminal window and enter the following:
Use thekeytoolprogram with the-vparameter to display a
certificate's SHA-1 fingerprint. To do so, complete the following steps:
Locate your release certificate keystore file. There's no default
location or name for the release keystore. If you don't specify one when
you build your app for release, the build leaves your.apkunsigned and you have to sign it before you can
publish it. For the release certificate, you also need the certificate's
alias, the passwords for the keystore, and the certificate.
Enter the following to list the aliases for all the keys in a keystore:
keytool-list-keystoreyour_keystore_name
Replaceyour_keystore_namewith the fully qualified
path and name of the keystore. Include the.keystoreextension. Enter the keystore's password when prompted. Then,keytooldisplays all the aliases in the keystore.
Enter the following at a terminal or command prompt:
The line that begins withSHA1contains the certificate's SHA-1
fingerprint. The fingerprint is the sequence of 20 two-digit hexadecimal
numbers separated by colons.
Get an API key from the Google Developers Console
To get started with the Google Awareness API, click theGet a keybutton. It
links to the Google Developers Console, which guides you through the process and
activates the Awareness API automatically.
On the "Credentials" page, create an Android key and set the API credentials.
In the 'Create key" dialog, you need to restrict your usage to Android apps.
To do so, enter your app's SHA-1 fingerprint and package name, like in the
following example:
ClickCreate. Your new Android API key appears in the list of API
keys for your project. An API key is a string of characters, like the following:
AIzaSyBdVl-cTICSwYKrZ95LoVuw7dbMuDt1KG0
Now that you have an API key, you can add it to your app's manifest, as
described in theGet startedguide.
Activate Additional APIs
The Awareness API allows you to access multiple types of contextual data, such
asbeacons. To use these types, you need to enable the corresponding
APIs in the Google Developers Console.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eTo use the Google Awareness API, you need an Android API key linked to your app's certificate.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can obtain your app's certificate SHA-1 fingerprint using the \u003ccode\u003ekeytool\u003c/code\u003e program, ensuring to use the correct debug or release certificate.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGet an API key from the Google Developers Console by providing your app's SHA-1 fingerprint and package name.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAdd the generated API key to your app's manifest to start using the Google Awareness API.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor using additional contextual data types like beacons, you need to enable the corresponding APIs in the Google Developers Console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["To use the Google Awareness API, obtain an Android API key linked to your app's certificate-package pair. This requires getting your app's SHA-1 fingerprint from either a debug or release certificate using the `keytool` program. Then, register a project in the Google Developers Console, enable the Awareness API, and request a key by entering the SHA-1 fingerprint and package name. Finally, add this key to your app's manifest and, if needed, activate other related APIs like the Nearby Messages API.\n"],null,["# Signup and API keys\n\nTo use the Google Awareness API, you must add a Google API key to your app. The\ntype of API key you need is an Android API key.\n\nAll Android apps are signed with a digital certificate for which you hold the\nprivate key. For more information about digital certificates, refer to the\nAndroid guide on how to\n[sign your app](https://developer.android.com/tools/publishing/app-signing).\n\nAndroid API keys are linked to specific certificate-package pairs. You only\nneed one key for each certificate, no matter how many users you have for the\napp.\n\nSeveral steps are required for you to get a key for your app. They're described\nin detail in this guide, and are summarized as follows:\n\n1. Get information about your app's certificate.\n2. Register a project in the Google Developers console and add the User Context API as a service for the project.\n3. Request a key.\n4. Add the key to your app. To do so, add an element to your app manifest.\n\nFind your app's certificate information\n---------------------------------------\n\nThe API key is based on a short form of your app's digital certificate,\nknown as its *SHA-1 fingerprint*. To display the SHA-1\nfingerprint for your certificate, first ensure that you use the right\ncertificate. You might have the following two certificates to choose from:\n\n- **A debug certificate** : The Android SDK tools generate this certificate automatically when you do a debug build. Only use this certificate with apps that you're testing. Don't attempt to publish an app that's signed with a debug certificate. The debug certificate is described in more detail in the [Sign your\n debug build](https://developer.android.com/tools/publishing/app-signing.html#debug-mode) section in the Android developer documentation.\n- **A release certificate** : The Android SDK tools generate this certificate when you do a release build. You can also generate this certificate with the `keytool` program. Use this certificate when you're ready to release your app to the world.\n\nFor more information about `keytool`, see its\n[Oracle documentation](http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/technotes/tools/windows/keytool.html).\nDebug certificate \n\n### Display the debug certificate fingerprint\n\nUse the `keytool` program with the `-v` parameter to display a\ncertificate's SHA-1 fingerprint. To do so, complete the following steps:\n\n1. Locate your debug keystore file. The file name is\n `debug.keystore`, and it's created the first time you build your\n project. By default, it's stored in the same directory as your Android\n Virtual Device (AVD) files:\n\n - **OS X and Linux** : `~/.android/`\n - **Windows Vista and Windows 7** : `C:\\Users\\your_user_name\\.android\\`\n2. List the SHA-1 fingerprint:\n\n - For Linux or OS X, open a terminal window and enter the following:\n\n ```gdscript\n keytool -list -v -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore -alias androiddebugkey -storepass android -keypass android\n ```\n - For Windows Vista and Windows 7, run the following:\n\n ```gdscript\n keytool -list -v -keystore \"%USERPROFILE%\\.android\\debug.keystore\" -alias androiddebugkey -storepass android -keypass android\n ```\n\nYou should see output similar to the following: \n\n```carbon\nAlias name: androiddebugkey\nCreation date: Jan 01, 2013\nEntry type: PrivateKeyEntry\nCertificate chain length: 1\nCertificate[1]:\nOwner: CN=Android Debug, O=Android, C=US\nIssuer: CN=Android Debug, O=Android, C=US\nSerial number: 4aa9b300\nValid from: Mon Jan 01 08:04:04 UTC 2013 until: Mon Jan 01 18:04:04 PST 2033\nCertificate fingerprints:\n MD5: AE:9F:95:D0:A6:86:89:BC:A8:70:BA:34:FF:6A:AC:F9\n SHA1: BB:0D:AC:74:D3:21:E1:43:07:71:9B:62:90:AF:A1:66:6E:44:5D:75\n Signature algorithm name: SHA1withRSA\n Version: 3\n```\nRelease certificate \n\n### Display the release certificate fingerprint\n\nUse the `keytool` program with the `-v` parameter to display a\ncertificate's SHA-1 fingerprint. To do so, complete the following steps:\n\n1. Locate your release certificate keystore file. There's no default location or name for the release keystore. If you don't specify one when you build your app for release, the build leaves your `.apk` unsigned and you have to sign it before you can publish it. For the release certificate, you also need the certificate's alias, the passwords for the keystore, and the certificate.\n2. Enter the following to list the aliases for all the keys in a keystore:\n\n ```gdscript\n keytool -list -keystore your_keystore_name\n \n ```\n3. Replace `your_keystore_name` with the fully qualified path and name of the keystore. Include the `.keystore` extension. Enter the keystore's password when prompted. Then, `keytool` displays all the aliases in the keystore.\n4. Enter the following at a terminal or command prompt:\n\n ```gdscript\n keytool -list -v -keystore your_keystore_name -alias your_alias_name\n \n ```\n5. Replace *`your_keystore_name`* with the fully qualified path and name of the keystore. Include the `.keystore` extension.\n6. Replace `your_alias_name` with the alias that you assigned to the certificate when you created it.\n\nYou should see output similar to the following: \n\n```carbon\nAlias name: \u003calias_name\u003e\nCreation date: Feb 02, 2013\nEntry type: PrivateKeyEntry\nCertificate chain length: 1\nCertificate[1]:\nOwner: CN=Android Debug, O=Android, C=US\nIssuer: CN=Android Debug, O=Android, C=US\nSerial number: 4cc9b300\nValid from: Mon Feb 02 08:01:04 UTC 2013 until: Mon Feb 02 18:05:04 PST 2033\nCertificate fingerprints:\n MD5: AE:9F:95:D0:A6:86:89:BC:A8:70:BA:34:FF:6B:AC:F9\n SHA1: BB:0D:AC:74:D3:21:E1:43:67:71:9B:62:90:AF:A1:66:6E:44:5D:75\n Signature algorithm name: SHA1withRSA\n Version: 3\n```\n\nThe line that begins with `SHA1` contains the certificate's SHA-1\nfingerprint. The fingerprint is the sequence of 20 two-digit hexadecimal\nnumbers separated by colons.\n| **Caution:** To protect your keystore and key, don't enter the `storepass` or `keypass` arguments on the command line unless you're confident of your computer's security. For example, on a public computer, someone could look at your terminal window history or list of running processes, get the password, and then have write access to your signing certificate. This would allow that person to modify or replace your app with their own.\n\nGet an API key from the Google Developers Console\n-------------------------------------------------\n\nTo get started with the Google Awareness API, click the **Get a key** button. It\nlinks to the Google Developers Console, which guides you through the process and\nactivates the Awareness API automatically.\n\nGet a key\n\nAlternatively, follow these steps to get an API key:\n\n1. Go to the [Google Developers Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/flows/enableapi?apiid=usercontext&keyType=CLIENT_SIDE_ANDROID&reusekey=true).\n2. Select a project, or create a new one.\n3. Click **Continue** to enable the Awareness API.\n4. On the \"Credentials\" page, create an Android key and set the API credentials.\n\n | **Note:** If you have an existing Android key, you can use it.\n\n \u003cbr /\u003e\n\n5. In the 'Create key\" dialog, you need to restrict your usage to Android apps.\n To do so, enter your app's SHA-1 fingerprint and package name, like in the\n following example:\n\n BB:0D:AC:74:D3:21:E1:43:67:71:9B:62:91:AF:A1:66:6E:44:5D:75\n\n com.example.android.awareness-example\n\n6. Click **Create**. Your new Android API key appears in the list of API\n keys for your project. An API key is a string of characters, like the following:\n\n AIzaSyBdVl-cTICSwYKrZ95LoVuw7dbMuDt1KG0\n\nNow that you have an API key, you can add it to your app's manifest, as\ndescribed in the [Get started](/awareness/android-api/get-started) guide.\n\nActivate Additional APIs\n------------------------\n\nThe Awareness API allows you to access multiple types of contextual data, such\nas [beacons](/beacons). To use these types, you need to enable the corresponding\nAPIs in the Google Developers Console.\n\n| Service | Awareness API methods | API to enable |\n|---------|--------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| Beacons | `SnapshotApi.getBeaconState()`, `FenceApi.BeaconFence` | [Nearby Messages API](https://console.cloud.google.com/flows/enableapi?apiid=copresence&keyType=CLIENT_SIDE_ANDROID&reusekey=true) |"]]
