Is there a way I can use a plugin in my project without having to request it in the “build.settings” file?
I want my app to not necessarily require the “com.android.vending.BILLING” permission (added with Google IAP plugin), but only when the user wants to make a purchase within the app.
I want to do this because Google is showing me a warning in the developer console saying that my app may lose visibility due to the request for this permission.
You shouldn’t include com.android.vending.BILLING in your build.settings file. plugin.google.iap.billing does not require it. the BILLING permission was deprecated with plugin.google.iap.v3.
Well, I have check my build.settings file and I don´t have added it the com.android.vending.BILLING permission. The documentation of the plugin.google.iap.v3 says that that plugin will add the com.android.vending.BILLING permission to your app.
Hmm… So it does. I just checked my manifest and com.android.vending.BILLING is definitely there.
I use the new Google IAP plugin (not that there’s a choice anymore) and let it automatically request com.android.vending.BILLING instead of including it in build.settings, and I have never gotten a warning from Google regarding losing visibility because of requesting the permission.
I guess give that a try?
Ok, the app that is receiving the warning is my best app, it has more than 100K downloads.
This is the warning:
1 MESSAGE FOR VERSION CODE 83
Anomalous Permission Usage
Your app is requesting permissions which are used by less than 1% of functionally similar apps:
Users prefer apps that request fewer permissions and requesting unnecessary permissions can affect your app’s visibility on the Play Store. If these permissions aren’t necessary, you may be able to use alternative methods in your app and request fewer permissions. If they are, we recommend providing an explanation to users of why you need the permissions.
Note: This guidance is based on a comparison with functionally similar apps, which change over time as new apps get published and existing apps change behavior. Therefore the warning may change even if you don’t change your permission usage.
Maybe the reason for the warning is the phrase “functionally similar apps”. My apps are games. It could be that whatever group of apps Google Play has lumped your app into don’t have in-app purchase.
Or is could be that you are specifically requesting the BILLING permission in build.settings. Google’s official migration guide has the following direction:
Remove the
com.android.vending.BILLINGpermissionThe Google Play Billing Library embeds the
com.android.vending.BILLINGpermission inside its manifest. It is no longer necessary to explicitly add this permission inside your app’s manifest.
Other than that, I’m fresh out of ideas. 
It may be the first one, because I do not include the BILLING permisssion in build.settings.