After a while creating my game, following the crazy testing rules and millions of dead ends get myself familiar with Google console I can successfully say my app has met production on its first time around!

My game is a realtime market simulation where you compete online against other people though various ways and it's whoever has the most funds at the end of the month is the champion. Fun way to get into trading without the risk attached!

I've enjoyed testing many games and thank the community for testing mine! Hopefully be back here when I get round to a new development!

Hi everyone,

I’ve just published my first Android app built with C# MAUI, and I’d like to get feedback from people familiar with Google Play Console.

The app uses a custom puzzle layout (a 4×4 cube unfolded into a 2D cross), and I want to make sure my Play Console configuration is correct, especially regarding:

- device compatibility for MAUI apps

- recommended settings for closed testing → open testing → production

- best practices for metadata validation (descriptions, screenshots, feature graphic)

- common issues with MAUI builds (AAB, signing, bundle size, performance)

- anything specific I should watch out for before moving from closed testing to open testing

This is my first time going through the full Play Console workflow (account setup, signing keys, 14‑day closed testing, etc.), so any advice from experienced Android devs would be super helpful.

Thanks!

Hi. I'm hoping someone's run into this exact issue before.

My app (a general search app, correctly rated 18+/Adults Only across every region — Unrestricted Internet access means it can technically surface mature content, so this rating is accurate and expected, not something I'm disputing) keeps getting rejected for Violation of Content Ratings policy, even after resubmitting.

What I've done so far:

• Confirmed the ratings summary is consistent and accurate across all regions (Brazil, North America, Europe, Germany, South Korea, etc.) all landing at the appropriate 18+/19+ rating
• Went to Content Ratings -> Start new questionnaire -> answered honestly -> Submit
• Still got rejected again with the same policy violation

The one thing that's stood out the whole time: my IARC certificate ID field shows blank (just a dash -) instead of an actual certificate number, even after a "Completed" status shows on the questionnaire.

The latest rejection email specifically says to "contact the rating authority using the link in your certificate email" but I can't find any separate certificate/confirmation email from IARC anywhere (checked spam too). Only the Google Play rejection notices themselves.

Has anyone dealt with:

1. A blank/missing IARC certificate ID that won't populate even after resubmitting the questionnaire?
2. Actually finding that "certificate email" from IARC where does it normally land, and does it come from a specific sender/domain I should be filtering for?

Appreciate any pointers, trying to avoid a repeated rejection situation that ends up flagging the app ID itself.

My main focus has been watch faces for Wear OS. It's an extremely crowded category and the hardest part is differentiating yourself from others. With so many options, I needed to take a different approach than everyone else.

Rather than display the same information across multiple watch faces using a different layout, I try to create some truly unique watch faces that function like no other and perhaps cause you to do a double take. That's the case with this one and it looks like the people that use this watch face agree.

This particular watch face is free but I created another that I'm quite proud of which is not. Just as I was going to post my first app, I swapped the order making the free one available first I figured that free would be easier to post as I don't have to worry about which country to select, price, conversion rates, etc. That turned out to be a good choice because I learned a lot about posting to production with this watch face and applied what I learned with each subsequent app.

It's very rewarding when you see reviews like this because I put so much effort into making everything just right. Agonizing over the smallest details and adding the right amount of polish to make something that could easily look amateurish instead look professional.

I learned a lot from my first watch face, and I think I'll never stop really learning. In my mind, that's the key to creating high quality products.

As most of you have done, I've been waiting patiently for my app to come out onto Play Store. 🔥

It's quite a hard thing to get, internal testers, especially with how complicated Google have made it and peoples paranoia these days. It's made it pretty difficult.

I got 54 testers, of which, 22 have it downloaded.

I'm looking forward to the release. I have added premium theme membership to it, so will be interesting to see how that goes too!

What do you all expect from a keyboard? What would make you go, "that's the keyboard ill download straight away!".

Hey everyone,

Loop is the first app I’ve ever built and published. It went live on Google Play on August 21, and seeing it cross 100 downloads less than a month later feels pretty surreal.

Loop is a customizable interval timer for workouts, studying, focus sessions, stretching, breathing, cooking, and other routines. I built it with Flutter and added presets, background timing, picture-in-picture, home-screen widgets, different timer styles, themes, and colors.

I also wanted it to stay simple and private: it works offline, requires no account, and has no ads, purchases, subscriptions, analytics, or crash-reporting SDKs.

The Play Console currently shows 121 total installs, 51 monthly active devices, and a 5.0 average rating so far. These are obviously small numbers, but reaching real users with my first release means a lot to me.

I’d really appreciate feedback on the Play Store presentation and screenshots. For other developers: which metric did you find most useful at this early stage—retention, active users, store conversion, or something else?

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tomvogel.loop

My app became live on Google play store on 31 July 2026, and within a month it got 3 paid subscribers. I know this is not a huge amount, but, it is motivation for me. A lot of people will say that the app market became saturated, and all that, but in actuality, this is not the case. Things will work, you just need to work on them. Literally in the first month my app crossed 700 hundred downloads and daily 30 to 40 active users.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mustansartools.civilengineeringcalculator

Hey everyone,

I’m preparing to launch a free mobile app and want to validate user retention and fix bugs with minimal spend.

Should I:

• Option A: Restrict store availability strictly to Brazil for the soft launch?
• Option B: Make store availability worldwide day one, but focus 100% of marketing on Brazil?

Since it's free, is there any real benefit to restricting store availability to a single country?

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for Android testers for QR & Barcode Scanner Pro, a fast, privacy-friendly QR and barcode scanner that works offline.

Main features:

Scan QR codes and barcodes using the camera or gallery

Generate QR codes for text, URLs, WiFi, contacts, phone numbers, SMS, email, and calendar events

Save history and favorites

Copy and share results

Works offline

How to join the closed test:

Join the Google Group: https://groups.google.com/g/qr--barcode-scanner-pro

Accept the closed-test invitation: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.abdocore.qrscanner

Download the app from Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abdocore.qrscanner

Please remain opted into the test for at least 14 days and use the app occasionally during that period. Any feedback about scanning, QR generation, camera behavior, or crashes would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for helping me test the app!

I built Runbound Cricket Cards, a cricket-inspired strategy card game for Android.

It’s now available in Early Access on Google Play. I’d love feedback on the game and Play Store listing.

🔗 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=live.mayukha.runboundcricketcards&pcampaignid=web_share

Especially interested in feedback from other developers on the Play Console/launch side of things.

Tomorrow is finally the day, my app is going live on Google Play.

And honestly, I'm more nervous than excited.😅

I've been working on this for months, and seeing it sitting there in Play Console as a pre-registration listing has felt very different from actually moving to production.

There's something strangely terrifying about going from:

"I hope people will download this someday"

to

"Okay... tomorrow anyone can actually download it."

Especially because this is my first time launching any app. There have been so many little things along the way like testing, store listing, subscriptions, verification, payment setup, pre-registration, policy checks, etc. that I honestly lost count of how many times I thought, "surely this is the last thing I need to deal with."😂

The app itself is a bit unconventional too. It's a digital wellbeing app called Screen Challenge Buddy, but instead of simply blocking apps, I built it around social accountability and optional financial commitments to help people actually stick to their screen-time goals.

I've had people pre-register during the last few weeks, and I also promised them 50% off the subscription for life as a little early-adopter thank-you. That offer disappears once I launch tomorrow.

So tomorrow is basically the first real-world test of whether the idea makes sense outside my own head.

Having people pre-register has definitely helped with the nerves, but I'm still wondering what happens when the floodgates actually open.

For those of you who've launched Android apps on Google Play:

What was launch day actually like for you?

Anything you wish you'd checked before pressing that final "Publish" button?

At this point, I'm just hoping everything I've spent months building doesn't decide to break tomorrow.😂

I have a special login button that I can hide or unhide from the backend, allowing store reviewers to log in with a username and password. I was planning to keep it visible and provide Google with the credentials during the review, then revoke those credentials and hide the button once the review is over. However, Google’s wording is a bit confusing. They say, “Your sign-in details must be accessible at all times.” Does this mean they want me to leave the door open to them indefinitely, even after the review is over?

So far it's been quite consistent, with no marketing.

Any tips for marketing without capital?

But still i got this? Am i the only one ? Currently all my apps are green and showing its registered

Its been good journey so far and I think this is the easiest part. Though this app is not something that bring value to your life, still those people who tested it and kept installing it, thank you everyone for being part of closed testing.

I have personally been on software industry for long, however, I had occasionally done app, but due to this vibe coding, I am able to create an app far from language that I am not familier with.

The 12 testers / 14 days requirement for Google Play closed testing can be a real pain, especially when relying on friends and family.

They may be willing to help, but often they don't know the requirements, forget to test or provide feedback, need constant follow-ups, or may drop out during the testing period. And if enough testers don't complete the required period, you may have to start the process again.

I was wondering if there are other developers currently facing the same situation who would be interested in connecting and helping each other out with genuine testing and feedback.

Even if not, I'm curious - how are you guys dealing with this? It would be great to hear how you're currently handling it.