Some Firebase Android SDKs depend on Google Play services, which means they will only run on devices and emulators with Google Play services installed. These Firebase SDKs communicate with the Google Play services background service on the device to provide a secure, up-to-date, and lightweight API to your app. Certain Android devices, such as Amazon Kindle Fire devices or those sold in some regions, do not have Google Play services installed.
Which Firebase Android SDKs require Google Play services?
Firebase SDKs can be divided into three categories:
- Play services required — These SDKs require Google Play services, otherwise they have no functionality.
- Play services recommended — These SDKs require Google Play services to have full functionality, but they still offer most functionality even without Google Play services.
- Play services not required — These SDKS do not require Google Play services to have full functionality.
The tables below are accurate only for the latest release of each SDK. Some older versions may have stricter requirements.
Google Play services not required
| Product | Library | Google Play services? |
|---|---|---|
| App Check custom and debug providers | com.google.firebase:firebase-appcheck:18.0.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-appcheck-ktx:18.0.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-appcheck-debug:18.0.0 |
Not Required |
| App Distribution API | com.google.firebase:firebase-appdistribution-api:16.0.0-beta14 com.google.firebase:firebase-appdistribution-api-ktx:16.0.0-beta14 |
Not Required |
| App Distribution | com.google.firebase:firebase-appdistribution:16.0.0-beta14 | Not Required |
| Authentication | com.google.firebase:firebase-auth:23.1.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-auth-ktx:23.1.0 |
Not Required |
| Cloud Firestore | com.google.firebase:firebase-firestore:25.1.1 com.google.firebase:firebase-firestore-ktx:25.1.1 |
Not Required |
| Cloud Functions for Firebase Client SDK | com.google.firebase:firebase-functions:21.1.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-functions-ktx:21.1.0 |
Not Required |
| Cloud Storage for Firebase | com.google.firebase:firebase-storage:21.0.1 com.google.firebase:firebase-storage-ktx:21.0.1 |
Not Required |
| Crashlytics | com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics:19.3.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-ktx:19.3.0 |
Not Required |
| In-App Messaging | com.google.firebase:firebase-inappmessaging:21.0.1 com.google.firebase:firebase-inappmessaging-ktx:21.0.1 |
Not Required |
| In-App Messaging Display | com.google.firebase:firebase-inappmessaging-display:21.0.1 com.google.firebase:firebase-inappmessaging-display-ktx:21.0.1 |
Not Required |
| Firebase installations | com.google.firebase:firebase-installations:18.0.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-installations-ktx:18.0.0 |
Not Required |
| Performance Monitoring | com.google.firebase:firebase-perf:21.0.3 com.google.firebase:firebase-perf-ktx:21.0.3 |
Not Required |
| Realtime Database | com.google.firebase:firebase-database:21.0.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-database-ktx:21.0.0 |
Not Required |
| Remote Config | com.google.firebase:firebase-config:22.0.1 com.google.firebase:firebase-config-ktx:22.0.1 |
Not Required |
| Vertex AI in Firebase | com.google.firebase:firebase-vertexai:16.0.2 | Not Required |
Google Play services required or recommended
| Product | Library | Google Play services? |
|---|---|---|
| AdMob | com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:23.6.0 | Recommended* |
| Analytics | com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics:22.1.2 com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics-ktx:22.1.2 |
Recommended* |
| App Check Play Integrity provider | com.google.firebase:firebase-appcheck-playintegrity:18.0.0 | Required |
| App Check SafetyNet provider | com.google.firebase:firebase-appcheck-safetynet:16.1.2 | Required |
| App Indexing | com.google.firebase:firebase-appindexing:20.0.0 | Required |
| Cloud Messaging | com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:24.1.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging-ktx:24.1.0 |
Required |
| Dynamic Links | com.google.firebase:firebase-dynamic-links:22.1.0 com.google.firebase:firebase-dynamic-links-ktx:22.1.0 |
Required |
| Firebase ML Vision | com.google.firebase:firebase-ml-vision:24.1.0 | Required |
| Firebase ML Custom Model | com.google.firebase:firebase-ml-model-interpreter:22.0.4 | Required |
* The Firebase SDK for Google Analytics can send events on any device, but some automatic insights such as demographics are only available on devices with Google Play services.