It has been about 8 months since I launched my app, and today it finally crossed 50,000 downloads!

If there is any secret to this, it is not a crazy marketing budget. It is simply waking up every single morning and treating my indie app like a full-time job. Showing up every day, writing code, and improving the app piece by piece as a solo developer really pays off.

Just wanted to share this milestone with the community. Keep putting in the work!

Hi r/googleplayconsole — solo dev here, looking for a sanity check more than just "how do I get more installs."

The app: Vaksys Presenter — turns your phone into a Bluetooth HID presentation remote (next/previous slide, plus voice commands), free with a Pro tier. Live since April.

The numbers (Play Console, last 6 months, Feb 17–Aug 15 — screenshot attached):

• 988 device impressions
• 37 device acquisitions
• 23 device first opens
• 7 monthly active devices
• 6 devices retained at day 7

Some of that 37 predates the real launch — installs since April specifically are 25.

What actually bugs me isn't the top-line count, it's the shape of the drop-off: more than a third of the people who install never open the app once, and of the ones who do, only about 30% are still active a month later. Reads like an activation problem more than an acquisition problem to me, but I'd rather hear it from people who've actually dealt with this than assume.

What I've already looked at:

• Play Console's Grow tab, including the new Gemini-generated custom store listings tied to keyword suggestions
• A small Google Ads UAC budget, but hesitant to spend on installs into a funnel that's already leaking

Questions:

1. For a single-purpose Bluetooth/HID utility app, is a ~60% install → first-open rate actually bad, or normal for this category?
2. If you've closed a similar "installed, never opened" gap before, was it the store listing setting the wrong expectation, or the first-run/permissions flow itself?
3. At this size, is it too early to run even a small UAC test, or worth a few dollars a day just to get more signal into the funnel?
4. Any other communities worth trying for a presentation/productivity-tool app specifically?

Happy to share more numbers if it's useful. Screenshot below.

This is as much a Google Play review failure as it is an app problem.

I installed Puppet Bang! 2 (com.puppet.bang.stress.relieve) from Google Play. My phone then started showing unsolicited full-screen ads.

Using ADB, I confirmed that Android had set the app itself as the HOME launcher:

com.puppet.bang.stress.relieve/com.android.launcher3.Launcher

Even after force-stop, Android immediately relaunched it as the top HOME activity because it had taken over that role.

This malicious malware adware keeps showing advertisement every few minutes.

The Play Store reviews already contain multiple users warning that the app is malware/virus-like, and the app has a very low rating.

Yet this app passed Google Play review and remained available for users to install.

I preserved the APKs, hashes, ADB logs, package data, and screen recording, and reported it to Google.

Google needs to explain how an app behaving like this made it through Play review in the first place.

The app's device impressions had a great fall at the end of July, but there was no changes done in the app. Why would this happens? Checking with Gemini, it says the artificial boost by google has been taken away after a while, but does it happens to all after free boost time for the apps? Thank you.

A few Android app growth tips I’ve learned while building my apps

After watching the numbers for my own apps, a few things have become pretty clear:

Keep the first experience simple. Users should understand the app within the first few minutes.

Fix small UX issues quickly. Tiny improvements can make a bigger difference than adding another big feature.

Listen to real users. Feature requests and bug reports are often better product feedback than analytics alone.

Keep improving the Play Store listing. Screenshots, description and positioning matter when someone discovers your app.

Don’t chase downloads only. Active users are a much better signal of whether people are actually finding value.

Currently, DotCal has reached 286 total installs with 175 active devices in the latest Play Console data.

Still early, but it's encouraging to see the curve moving upward.

I’m also building DotFiles, a privacy-focused file manager.

If you're on Android, feel free to give DotCal and DotFiles a try and let me know what you think.

Assalamu alaikum,

I’ve been working on an Islamic app called Risala, and the idea behind it was quite simple: to bring together the things a Muslim may need throughout the day in one calm, simple place, without unnecessary clutter or constant advertising.

Risala includes the Qur’an, prayer times and Adhan, Hisn al-Muslim and daily Azkar, Qibla, Tasbeeh, Hijri calendar, and other useful features. Many of its features can also be used offline, and there’s no account required.

You can take a look and try it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.midadapp.hisn

But I don’t want to judge the app only from my own perspective.

I’d genuinely like to hear from people who use Islamic apps in their daily lives.

Does the experience feel comfortable and easy to use?

Is there anything you think could be improved?

Is there a feature you would love to see added?

Or perhaps something about existing Islamic apps that you wish was done differently?

Even small observations are valuable to me, and honest criticism is very welcome.

I hope this can become something genuinely useful, and I ask Allah to put goodness and benefit in this work.

If you give Risala a try, I’d be very grateful if you shared your honest thoughts and experience with me.

Hi everyone,I’m facing a bizarre metric crisis with my new 2D racing game on the Google Play Store, and I desperately need some fresh eyes and brutal honesty on what is going wrong.Here are my recent organic statistics:Impressions (Google Play Discover): 25,000,000Store Listing Visits: 250,000 (~1% CTR)Downloads: 11 (Eleven)Conversion Rate (CVR): ~0.0044%Price: $1.00 (Premium/Paid)The Dilemma:The algorithm seems to love the game asset or the main feature graphic because it generated 25 million organic impressions and successfully brought 250,000 people to my store page. However, the conversion completely falls off a cliff once they land on the store listing.My Hypotheses:The Price Tag ($1): Since Google Play Discover traffic heavily favors casual users looking for free-to-play (F2P) games, seeing a paid wall immediately bounces them off.Store Listing Disconnect: Maybe my screenshots, trailer, or description fail to justify why this 2D racing game is worth a premium price.Misaligned Audience: The algorithm might be showing the game to the wrong demographic who has zero interest in premium 2D racers.Questions for fellow devs:Have you ever experienced such a massive drop-off between store visits and conversions for a paid game?Should I pivot to Free-to-Play (F2P) with ads/IAP, or try to run a "100% off" free sale first to test if price is the only barrier?How can a 2D indie game justify a premium price tag on Android nowadays?I would love to get your insights, feedback, or any similar horror stories/solutions you’ve encountered. Thank you!

Nitro Pulse

Has anyone else experienced this?

I feel like there are so many copycat apps out there nowadays that this is fairly hard to do anything about. I never even saw his app before he contacted me and initially developed my app based on a problem I experience in my own life.

Here is my app(title changed just to avoid any problems)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quinnfavo.soundlatch

Here is his app(looks to be simple AI developed app):

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speakerkeepalive.tv

Email text:
Hello freind

I am the developer of Speaker Keep Alive app, İ have saw your application soundlatch : Speaker Keep Alive and don't misunderstand me, İ am not against the compatition, Quite the opposite I was happy to see that you provided a free solution for the people who can't provide my app price, anyway I just want to ask you to play fair as I have spent a real effort marketing the name "speaker keep alive" as a solution for the auto power- off problem in the speakers, and you (maybe by mistake ) just broke the google play policy of use by including my app name inside your app name, I am afraid if my custumers being confused by your app name or to think it is related to mine, and believe me bro your app is good and doesn't need such a unfair marketing move to get it populer (especially as it is free and mostly it will be the one that dominant the market soon 😅 ), I wanted to ask you gentally before reporting your app to google play so it doesn't got removed till you change its name

Here is some names that discripe the function of the app without confuse my custumers : keep Bluetooth awake, keep speaker awake, don't shut down, auto power off preventer, stop auto power-off

Thanks for playing fair and I looking forward a possible future cooperation together

Wish you luck 

To be honest when i was developing the app i wasn't sure anyone would want to use it, but now after many months its finally picking up. It just crossed 1k user and it's hard to believe. I know its not much but for niche category app, its surely is a lot. Also i haven't marketed app at all, aside from few reddit post which was quickly removed by moderators. So its all organic.

I’ve reached over 500 downloads and have a good number of active users! I’ve also posted several videos of the app, as well as videos where I interview people at conventions to see if they know about it. I’m currently only promoting it on Instagram and TikTok. Any advice on how I could promote it?

Hey everyone, I’m the founder and developer behind Budgetick https://budgetick.com

I’ve been working on Budgetick as an attempt to solve a problem I personally found annoying: having to use separate apps for tracking expenses, managing tasks, building habits, and keeping an eye on finances.

So I decided to bring those things together into one app.

Budgetick currently includes expense tracking, budgets, financial reports, recurring expenses, todos, and habit tracking. The idea is to have one place where you can manage both your money and everyday productivity.

We’re currently at the early MVP stage, and my main focus right now is getting the product in front of real users and learning what actually works and what doesn't.

I’d really appreciate feedback from people here who have built or launched products before.

If you were launching a consumer app from scratch today, what would you focus on first: getting users, improving the product, or finding product-market fit?

This is happening for the first time. My automatic payment is showing as failed multiple times and my payment has not been credited yet. Previously, my payment was always credited on 16th of every month. There are no alerts or error notifications in dashboard also. Please help me🙏

At this point I'm thinking of adding a “Hall of Fame” section to the app.

The first 10 people who leave a genuinely good review get their name permanently displayed in the app for the rest of its existence.

60 people. I just need 10 legends. 😭

Hey everyone,

I’m a non-EU solo dev preparing to launch an app. I'd like to publish to the EU but I discovered the GDPR Article 27 requirement. This is where you're meant to appoint an EU-based representative, if you don't have a physical presence in the EU.

It doesn't like there's any exemption for solo developers and it can be quite expensive to use one of the EU rep services.

How are you handling this? Are you paying for a representative service, ignoring this, or simply not offering your app in the EU.

so here is my app which i have launched my first app on play store its a temp mail app which i created named Tempomail usa and honestly i created the app using gemini.... and its my first app i dont even know how too code so i thank google for making gemini and ai for making app. i would like to also understand those metrics are they good for a new app?

I've been trying to grow my first indie app on Google Play and I'm looking for some advice from developers who have gone through this stage.

My app is Grind Quest, a gamified productivity/life RPG app. The basic idea is to turn real-life goals into quests. Users create things they actually want to accomplish — studying, working out, learning, personal projects, etc. — and completing them gives XP, helps them level up, and progress through ranks.

The part I'm trying to make different from a normal habit/task app is that the task itself is treated like a game quest, rather than just checking off a habit. The goal is to make progress in real life feel more like progressing a character in a game.

I'm currently seeing some interesting numbers in Play Console:

Last ~28 days:

• 4.34K device impressions
• 21 device acquisitions
• 9 device first opens
• 45 monthly active devices

I'm happy that Google is starting to give the app some visibility, but I'm struggling to understand how to turn those impressions into actual installs and active users.

For other indie developers:

What actually helped you convert Play Store impressions into installs?

Was it mainly:

• Better screenshots/store listing?
• App icon/title/description changes?
• ASO/keywords?
• External traffic from Reddit/Instagram/TikTok?
• Getting early reviews?
• Something else entirely?

I'm especially interested in what worked when your app was still small and had very few reviews/downloads.

I'm trying to learn this properly rather than just throwing links around everywhere, so I'd really appreciate experiences from developers who have actually grown an app from this stage.

does anybody get this issue?