Google Cloud is Google's platform for managing projects, services, and API keys — separate from your regular Gmail or Google account settings. It's where you'll generate and manage things like your Google Maps API key and In-App Purchases setup, which allow your app to display maps and location features, and sell tours or games within the app.
You don't need any technical or cloud computing experience to use it for this purpose — you'll only be using a small part of Google Cloud specific to these features.
A few things to know:
- You'll need a Google account (ideally your business account) to access Google Cloud Console.
- Google Cloud may ask for billing/credit card details when enabling certain services (like Maps SDK) — this is standard and you won't be charged, since upgrading to a paid plan isn't required for this process.
- Everything you do here (creating a project, generating a key) is specific to your app and doesn't affect your regular Google account or Gmail.
- Google Cloud is different from Google Play Console — Google Play Console is where you manage your app's store listing and developer account; Google Cloud is where you configure technical services like Maps and In-App Purchases.