You also need Google Play Services to manage them. It’s a packaged deal. Thus, it is extremely important to not only have it, but also keep it up to date. In most cases, it should update on its own in the background. It’s an app in the Google Play Store and you can even view it by clicking here.
Let’s be clear: even though Play is heavily marketed to Android users, any Google user can use the service to take advantage of cloud-based content management. So, you can rent a movie, upload and purchase music, and buy books on one computer, and access it all on any other desktop.
It also hides sensitive information from apps and manages basically every other background task for the sake of battery efficiency. Basically, it just lets apps from the Google Play Store connect to Google APIs and it helps do a lot of background stuff. It’s important because you can’t just have the Google Play Store on your Android device.
What is Google Play Services?
Google Play services is a background service for Android devices that is used to update Google apps and other apps from Google Play such as Maps, Google+ and more.
Why does Google Play services need so many permissions?
It needs so many permissions because Play Services acts as a hub where other apps rely upon for security services provided by Google. Google Play Services have system-level access to provide multiple internal features and hides sensitive information from other apps.
Should I disable Google Play Services?
A look into our google-play-services tag-wiki will give you some details and explain some of the permissions this app requires. For example it requires access to your location as it offers location services to other apps. If you’d disable this, several of your apps will probably no longer function the way they did before.
Why is Google Play Services not working on my phone?
Play Services issues aren’t nearly as common as they used to be. However, generally speaking, the cause is usually an issue between your phone’s OS and the version of Play Services you have or an issue between Play Services and an app you installed. Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of the Google Android experience.
How to update Google Play Services on Android devices?
Tap the Update button on the Google Play Services page. This method may not work on every smartphone. Go to your phone’s Settings menu and tap on the Apps & notifications setting. On some devices, it may just be Apps. Scroll down and tap Google Play services and then tap on App Details.