Legacy Documentation: Version 2017.2 (Go to current version)
Android Scripting
Building and using plug-ins for Android
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Advanced Unity mobile scripting

Device properties

There are a number of device-specific properties that you can access when developing for mobile. See the Unity Scripting API pages for SystemInfo.deviceUniqueIdentifier, SystemInfo.deviceName,SystemInfo.deviceModel, and SystemInfo.operatingSystem for more information.

Anti-piracy check

Pirates often hack an app by removing DRM protection and then redistributing it for free. Unity comes with an anti-piracy check, which is used to determine if your app was altered after it was submitted to the Google Play Store.

To check if your app is genuine (meaning it is not hacked), use the Unity Scripting API Application.genuine property. If this property returns false, you can inform the app user that they are using a hacked app or you can disable access to some functions of your app.

Note: Use Application.genuineCheckAvailable along with Application.genuine to verify app integrity. Accessing the Application.genuine property is a resource-intensive operation, so do not call it during frame updates or other time-critical code.

Vibration support

To trigger a vibration, call Handheld.Vibrate in your code. Devices lacking vibration hardware ignore this call.

Activity indicator

Mobile operating systems have built-in activity indicators that you can activate during slow operations.

Refer to the Activity Indicator Unity Scripting API documentation for examples.

Screen orientation

When creating Projects for iOS, Android, and Tizen, you can control the screen orientation of a user’s device. Detecting a change in orientation or forcing a specific orientation is useful for altering game behavior depending on how the user is holding their device.

To retrieve device orientation, use the Screen.orientation property. Orientation can be one of the following:

Orientation Behavior
Portrait The device is in portrait mode, with the device held upright and the home button at the bottom.
PortraitUpsideDown The device is in portrait mode but upside-down, with the device held upright and the home button at the top.
LandscapeLeft The device is in landscape mode, with the device held upright and the home button on the right side.
LandscapeRight The device is in landscape mode, with the device held upright and the home button on the left side.

Control screen orientation by setting Screen.orientation to one of the above options, or to ScreenOrientation.AutoRotation.

When using auto-rotation, you can disable some orientations on a case-by-case basis. See the Scripting API pages for Screen.autorotateToPortrait, Screen.autorotateToPortraitUpsideDown, Screen.autorotateToLandscapeLeft, and Screen.autorotateToLandscapeRight for more information.


  • 2017–05–25 Page published with editorial review

  • Updated functionality in 5.5

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Android Scripting
Building and using plug-ins for Android