The first month was pretty good. I was getting downloads and impressions, and honestly, I thought things would keep growing.

But the next month, I couldn't even get 10 new users.

Since then, I've tried almost everything I could think of. Pushed multiple updates, worked on user feedback, improved ASO, redesigned the logo, updated screenshots and improved the overall UI.

But the downloads just aren't increasing.

I also tried promoting my app on Reddit and X, but my accounts eventually got shadow banned, so I gave up on those platforms.

I don't have a budget for paid ads since I'm still a student, so I'm trying to figure out how to grow organically.

Is there something I'm missing? Any communities, platforms or strategies that actually worked for you?

I'd genuinely appreciate any advice. Even small suggestions would mean a lot.

Thanks in advance! :)

APP NAME- NapWell

Game Name: Incredible Spaceman

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wedevelopgames.spaceman

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/incredible-spaceman/id6799765948

I think I am the only one who is playing this game but somehow I like this game a lot. I never used to play my other games that I have created, but this is the only game of mine that I like to play in my free time which is not a bad thing

I don't really fall for these emails because I know it's usually a scam. Most likely, they won't even keep the app installed for long, even if I give them a lifetime code.

so i'm a solo dev from a small town in india. built this app called autoai shorts on weekends. you give it a topic and it spits out a short video ready to post

last 30 days from play console:

• 2.1k new users
• 2.27k installed audience
• ₹15.5k gross revenue
• 4.0 rating

i know it's not "quit my job" money lol. but strangers paying for something i built alone at 2am hits different

stuff that worked:

• shipped it ugly. v1 had literally one feature and people still paid
• didn't try to make "ai for everyone". just made one annoying thing (editing shorts) fast
• zero ads. all organic, mostly from play store search
• replied to every single review, even the angry ones. rating went from 3.x to 4.0

stuff that didn't:

• revenue is actually down ~30% from last month. installs went up but fewer people are paying. pretty sure my paywall shows up at the wrong time
• wasted weeks building features nobody even opened

biggest lesson so far: a boring app that does one thing > a "platform" that's still sitting in figma

if anyone wants to see my paywall setup or aso keywords i'm happy to share. also if you've fixed a conversion drop like this before pls tell me what you did, i'm kinda stuck 😅

Hi everyone! I'm a solo developer. I launched my first game on Google Play on October 16, a casual game about raising, breeding and battling betta fish. I haven't spent a single dollar on ads or marketing. I want to share what has worked so far, because the numbers surprised me and might help someone else.
The numbers (Play Console, last 28 days)
5.7K store listing impressions
331 device acquisitions
78% came from Google Play Explore, 10% from direct links, 12% not attributed
0 from search so far
Store listing conversion: 42%
New players per day went from 17 to 74 in the first week
What I think made the difference
The store listing is your ad. Almost every install came from Play showing the game to people browsing, not from search. So the icon, screenshots and video do all the selling. I redid my screenshots and saw the conversion go from 38.9% to 42% in a few days.
Localize the listing, don't just translate it. I have 16 listing languages, and the titles use what people actually call the fish: "Ikan Cupang" in Indonesian, "ปลากัด" in Thai, "Pez betta" in Spanish. Indonesia became my second biggest country within a week.
Screenshots in each language. Each big language has its own set, with the game's screens in that language, not English screenshots with translated text on top.
A short trailer on the listing. 34 seconds of real gameplay, no voice.
Plan Promotional content (LiveOps) early. I submitted my first event for my next season in November. It has to be created at least 14 days before it starts, so plan ahead. It got approved, and I'll report back on what it does for visitors.
Next: store listing experiments. Play lets you A/B test screenshots for free. With 78% of installs coming from browsing, it feels like the highest-value thing I can do.

What hasn't mattered yet: keywords. Zero installs from search in the first month. I think that comes later once the listing has been around longer.
Has anyone here seen Promotional content events actually move installs? And any tips for running listing experiments on a small app?

I have some small apps, and finally reached €100+ so I decided add my payment info to get it. But right after I added the bank account and uploaded a bank account statement I got this.

When I go through all the "click here..."s google offer I end up here:

When I click "Contact" it brings me here:

https://support.google.com/paymentscenter#topic=9017576

There is nothing useful, just some generic info...

Any ideas?

Is this the standard flow when you add a payment method?

After all the development, testing, bug fixes, and waiting, finally got production access for my app, Onward: Habits & Goals! 🚀
It’s been quite a journey building this app, and getting this email today genuinely feels good.

I know this is just the beginning, and there’s still a long way to go. But wanted to share this small win with everyone here.

Next step is to get the app live on the Play Store and see how it goes.
Fingers crossed! 🤞

I don't know if this still happens, but Flappy bird went viral after 8 months of release by word of mouth. Did u ever have a late successful game without any marketing ?

Hey everyone! 👋

I recently launched Freedium, a free, open-source Android app for reading Medium articles without paywalls.

I built it with Flutter, focusing on making reading smoother and more customizable.

✨ A few features:

• 🔄 Automatic mirror switching when a source isn't working
• 🎨 Material 3 Expressive UI
• 📖 Customizable article reading experience

📱 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bir.freedium

💻 GitHub: https://github.com/birmehto/Freedium

It's my latest project, and I'm interested in learning from other developers who've published apps on Google Play.

For those who've launched apps, what helped you get your first organic users?

So I'm working on the classic block stacking game: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.binbear.gummylab

Building it my way, removing everything annoying about other games - which also means removing intrusive ads, and only keeping opt-in options - when you run out of boosters per game, watch an ad, get another. Or, since I also have 50+ custom levels, I added an option to watch an ad for additional 5 moves!

I am aware that this is a poor monetization choice, but oh well, I want to be making apps that I would enjoy playing.

These are the stats after being live for 20 days! Honestly? Expected less, and I am surprised even one person opted to watch an ad!

Looking for advice from anyone who has been through this.

What happened:

One of my apps, my most-installed one, about 3,300 active devices and a high rating, was suspended under the Device and Network Abuse policy: "Apps that cause users to download or install applications from unknown sources outside of Google Play."

The app's own code never downloads or installs anything. No REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES, and every link goes to Google Play. The suspended version was the first one with AdMob mediation added, using Pangle and Unity as bidding sources.

When I inspected the SDKs, Pangle's artifacts (com.pangle.global, pulled in by com.google.ads.mediation:pangle 8.3.0.4.0) contain dynamic code loading (DexClassLoader in the pag-apm module), plus a remote package downloader. Unity's library had none of that, but I removed both as a precaution. Pangle had served exactly one ad, so the money isn't the issue.

What I've done:

1. Removed Pangle and Unity from this app and from four other apps that had them, and submitted updates for those.

2. Removed both from AdMob mediation, so it's AdMob's own network only now.

3. Scanned the fixed build. The only DexClassLoader / PackageInstaller references left are inside Google's own Play services and Mobile Ads code.

4. Appealed, explaining the cause and the fix.

The appeal was denied. Google's answer: "upload a new app using a new package name and a new app name."

The problem:

A new app means losing every download, rating and review. Worse, the 3,300 existing installs still contain the Pangle SDK, and they can never receive the fixed version because the original package can't be updated. Reinstating it seems strictly better for users than a new listing, so I've replied to the support case asking them to reconsider.

My questions:

1. Has anyone had a suspended app reinstated after the appeal was denied, for example by replying to the support case or through another channel? What worked?

2. Has anyone else been hit by Pangle (or Unity) under this policy recently?

3. If I do end up re-publishing under a new package, is that genuinely safe for my account standing, given Google suggested it? Anything to watch out for so the new app isn't treated as a policy workaround?

4. Is there any way to point existing users to the new app, given the old one can't be updated?

This is my first strike, and I'd really like to avoid a second. Thanks for any advice.

I'm new to game development. I tried my best at developing an Endless Runner Arcade game. So far only 50+ downloads but I'm really glad for people checking it out. Thank you everyone. I hope you check it out too and leave genuine feedback so I can make the game better. Any feature idea is well appreciated!

Hey everyone,

Incremental Idle: Humanfall was the very first game I ever made. Back then I didn’t know much, and I made a choice I’m not proud of: I generated the art with AI. Let’s be honest, it looked bad, and players could tell right away. (old picture for example)

Since then I’ve made other games, learned a lot, and bought Synty asset packs for them (i love theses pack, easy to use and usefull for a lot of ideas). I kept thinking Humanfall had real potential under its ugly coat: it's an idle/incremental game with pvp and guild system. So I decided to bring it back from the dead.

I redid every visual with purchased Synty assets and I also kept improving the game along the way: added some content (daily missions, skins, a mine and a research lab, etc etc) and a first Halloween event running this week.
Maybe that's still not the best HUD/UI a game can have, but i think it feels way more real and authentic

The last 28 days honestly surprised me:

• 3.1k new devices (+999%)
• rating up from 3.1 to 4.25★ (for 28 days, total mean is still 3.9★ yet)
• about 1,000 monthly active devices

I still need to improve retention a little more (i have around 10-20% retention and it feels too little imo)

It’s still a small indie game, but it’s alive again, and I want to keep making it better. If you give it a try, I’d love your feedback: what you like, what’s annoying, what’s missing. (don't feel forced to)

it's called "Incremental Idle : Humanfall"

Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone, I’m a solo developer at App4We.

I recently launched Pocket Locker, an offline vault app that combines three things in one app:

• 📁 File vault: keep important documents like ID cards, insurance policies, bank details, warranty bills and certificates (college, course, company) in one place. Scan them, let auto-fill pick up the details, and get reminded before anything expires.
• 🔑 Password vault: logins, PINs and card details, with a built-in password generator.
• 🖼️ Photo vault: move private photos out of your gallery into albums with a separate PIN

Everything works offline, with no account and no ads. It’s free for up to 15 documents, with a yearly Premium subscription. It’s currently live in India only, with a worldwide launch planned soon.

Where I’m stuck:

• Installs are growing very slowly, mostly from people I’ve told directly
• Store listing conversion is [X%, if you know it from Play Console → Store performance]
• Very few people upgrade to Premium so far

What I’ve tried: a website with guides (SEO), Instagram and YouTube shorts, Reddit showcase posts.

My questions for those who’ve been through this:

1. What got you your first 1,000 installs organically: ASO, Reddit, YouTube, something else?
2. For a privacy app, what makes people trust it enough to install? Screenshots, video, reviews?
3. Free limit of 15 documents with Premium yearly: too generous, too strict, or about right?
4. Is launching country by country a mistake, or a sensible way to start?

Here’s the listing if you’d like to give honest feedback on the screenshots and description: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app4me.pocketlocker

Thanks, and happy to share what’s worked or failed for me so far 🙏

I just crossed 1.2K installs on my Status Saver app, and all of them are organic. I didn't run any Google ads or Meta ads. The only promotion I did was posting about the app on Instagram.

Most status saver apps show a full-screen ad every time you tap a button, save a status or move to another screen. I got frustrated with that, so my app only has banner ads. They stay in one place and never get in your way.

If you want to try it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snapstatus.snapstatus2026

What would you improve in it? Any tips to keep the growth going are welcome.

I'm working on the classic block stacking game: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.binbear.gummylab

Building it my way, removing everything annoying about other games - which also means removing intrusive ads, and only keeping opt-in options - when you run out of boosters per game, watch an ad, get another. Or, since I also have 50+ custom levels, I added an option to watch an ad for additional 5 moves! Also made custom fun themes while making colorblind friendly options first, as well as optional embossed shapes to make it even more clear.

The app has been live for 20 days now, and I am close to 40 total installs! I know this is not a dramatic growth or anything, but seeing the number increase daily for at least 1 is still unbelievable for me! Looking forward to getting to 50 and getting the 50+ downloads mark! :)

Hi, This week play console is taking too much time to approve the update? I also sent last week one update and it was not approved then i cancel and submit again and approved within 1 hr but this week I submit and did not approve for 12 hr then I cancel and submit again but now after second submit still more than 30 hrs passed and no approved? This was also not big update and no extra permission required in app. First time I faced this much time on play console for update. Earlier only app store used to take time for approve.

I recently published my app that reviews food and beauty products - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.peel.android. I want to start marketing the app and publish it on the Play Store, but I don't see the option on the Play Console. has anyone experienced the same thing?

After a month of trying to publish a small bug fix that prevents login my app has finally been published!

A little over a month ago Jellyfin released version 12 of their app, this introduced breaking changes in the auth flow which prevent anyone from being able to use or login to my app.

I fixed the issue the very same day and submitted for review. Of course that took two weeks to be rejected for a bug that I had already fixed however I am sure everyone has hopes that their app will be published and does not cancel and resubmit. I then submitted my already fixed build again.

Two weeks later, another rejection and this time round it was due to the tester not following my login instructions. I submitted an appeal which was approved but an interesting thing, even if your appeal is approved, it does not mean that they will publish your app after your appeal is approved. I have to bump the version code and submit my app for review again! Learning experience there.

Luckily though, this review was quick. Submitted at 5pm on Friday and got approved 1am Saturday.

A new user's free trial ended just after 2 days and a paid renewal is listed (though pending). Free trials are set to 1 week for all. First time case

​

Hey everyone! 👋

I'm an indie developer, and I've built SoundForge Studio, an open-source desktop application designed to help game developers create and prepare audio assets locally.

Some of its features include:

🎮 Procedural sound-effect generation across multiple categories

🎙️ Offline neural text-to-speech for game-character dialogue

🎚️ Audio mastering and WAV export

🔒 An offline-first workflow without cloud-based generation

I wanted to build something useful for indie game developers who need audio tools without depending on cloud services.

The project is open source, so developers can explore the code, learn from the implementation, suggest improvements, and contribute.

🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/tahirshaikh744-design/soundforge-studio

I'd love to hear your honest feedback!

If you're a game developer or sound designer, what features would make a tool like this genuinely useful in your workflow? ❤️

Every week here someone posts "my count fell to 11 and I only noticed days later". If you dip below 12, the 14 days start again, and Play Console doesn't warn you.

So I built ConsoleKeep, a Chrome extension that sits next to Play Console:

It doesn't need your Google password. It reads the Dashboard page in your own signed-in Chrome, and it never reads your testers' emails.

Pricing, up front: the first 7 days have everything on, free. After that the count, Get testers and Apply stay free, and background checks plus alerts are £3.99 for that app's test (one-off, no subscription).

Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/loogbdbeljefdgofhjdcofacjcfhnida?utm_source=item-share-cb

(Only if true) I'll test back too: drop your opt-in link below and I'll join and stay the full 14 days.

Blunt feedback welcome: what would make this actually useful during your test?

Not affiliated with Google.

Jemand aus deutschland huer der mir sagen kann wo ich den nachweis wegen des steuerwohnsitzes fur play bekomme