Publishing requirement for Internal Test Track - Google Play Store - android

Somehow I am not able to fathom as to why there is a requirement of publishing for even INTERNAL TEST TRACK. Obviously, I am talking about the first apk push on play store.
It is understandable that Google needs to protect its reputation and end users from bad/worse/evil apps. But, as I understand, the internal test track is only available for internal testing where a set of identified people can only test the app. And the app can be released only from Alpha/Beta tracks.
The issue is that these days the review time is enormous , like , 1 week and even more. So, I basically have to wait 1 week to even start testing. Consider if I have already reviewed myself and then uploaded on internal test track, it just means that I am doing nothing other than waiting for this review.
Is it just me blabbering or others have faced time issue too ?
Or, Am I doing something wrong !. Is there a way to make it faster.
Do keep in mind that it is my first android app.

For the first APK you should wait a lot of time... During this period also due to coronavirus (COVID-19). You should wait the reponse from Google...

Related

How long does it usually take for Google to review an app in closed testing usually?

I'm fairly new to app development and I uploaded a couple of instances of an app to closed testing in Google Play Console. The first reviews from Google went quite fast and was approved, but now it is over 4 hours since I uploaded the most recent APK for closed testing and it still says that it is under review. I think I published around 5 APKs today for closed testing. I was just wondering if this is common? How long does it usually take? Does it take longer for them to review if you upload more APKs in a short amount of time? If so, is there a way to avoid this kind of behaviour?
Best regards
The time of review can vary a lot. From an hour to a few days.
If one of your APK is in the queue for review and you upload another APK that overrides the first one (i.e. on the same track), the first APK will no longer be reviewed, only the last one will be reviewed and enters the queue again. So if you upload APKs faster than they can be reviewed, nothing gets published.
I would suggest not to publish so frequently. Use the internal test track rather than a closed track if you want to iterate quickly within the same day. There's no review time for this track so it will be much faster. Use a closed track for the first round of testing within the company, internal QA, etc., by uploading an APK only every few days.
Play Console and fast releases are not compatible things, at the end of 2022 our apps sometimes getting published within 10 minutes, and sometimes it takes more than 10 days to review new update, sometimes some apps age getting rejected with reasons like "You app should not have in app deposits, kinda looks like you are casino app and so on" when in fact we develop crypto wallet, sometime we just republish app and it getting approved. Some updates are still fast but when we add something like referral program it takes weeks.
That is why many apps like Telegram who deliver via Play store ask users to download APK directly from their website (with a message like "If you want to receive updates faster") and then they have auto-update component which re-downloads APK and shows user APK installation system dialog. This works pretty fine, no additional permissions apart of the allowing Android to install pure APK files, which has a "risk" warning.

Submit android app to play store for approval and not make it public yet

I have quite a simple question, but I cannot find the answer.
I have made an Android app, and I want to check if Google will accept on the Play Store, but I'm not ready to release it. If google will make issues I want to know now before going further. Is there any way I can send it for approval, and then publish it at a later date?
I know I can do Alpha and Beta testing, but I don't know if that means Google will approve the app for the store.
Thanks!
Edit: The feature seems to have been renamed Managed publishing.
There is a feature called Timed publishing which may be of help.
How does timed publishing work?
When you select timed publishing, your
update needs to be processed before it can go live. Processing takes
up to a few hours.
When your update is processed, you'll see a Go live button. When you
select Go live, you'll make the update available on Google Play within
a few minutes.
As there is no release "sign off" on google play, releasing an app to alpha or beta will trigger the whole process. You will get the malware scan as well as the pre-launch-report to tell you about stuff that didn't work.
There is nothing more that i know of.
You can upload your artifact (APK) in your artifact library, after the upload finishes the Google Play Console will tell you if your APK is valid for rollout. However once an artifact is uploaded it cannot be removed (at least I don't know how). The important thing is to NOT roll out your APK to avoid it to be listed as an app in the Play Store.
PlayStore doesn't have an "approval" phase like Apple's AppStore does, when you first launch your app it takes about six hours to be processed and appear to all PlayStore users.

App not updating for Alpha testers on Play Store for some Internal users

After releasing our app for a few internal users via the Play Store Internal test track, we moved to closed Alpha testing. However, for some of our Alpha testers, the new update of the app is not visible at all. All of these users have opted-in to be part of this test track too but, when they access the app listing on Play Store app, they see an older release and not a build that was released several hours ago.
Some of these users even see the update that was pushed a week ago! Even for one of the developers who has access to the Play Console who got the notification of the update gone live when tried to go to the app listing sees an older version only. What's surprising is that these same users can see the latest version on the web version of Play Store.
I've tried multiple solutions based on this SO question like Play Store Force Stop + cache clear + data clear + network change, etc. Nothing worked for me.
Having faced a similar problem, I had a chat with one of the Play Console support rep. After verifying the release sanity using the app package name, the rep gave me following answer:
Please note, due to device connectivity and varying server load, it may take several days (in some cases a week) for app updates to reach all devices. The behavior you are seeing with the update being available on the web is common for apps. The mobile store will update in due course.
However, at the end he asked me to try out one thing - since its mostly the internal users who are not seeing the update, I should ask all of these users to opt-out of the internal test track and then re-opt-in to the alpha test track. He hypothesised that since I'm only releasing updates in the alpha track now, Internal track may be creating an issue with app updates for these users.
It actually worked for us! Give it a try.

App not showing on google play

I had a app submitted to google play store and it had been on there a while it was really buggy and i decided to pick back up development on it and completely revamp it.
Problem: i have forgot my keystore sign that i did the first app with so i decided to unpublish it and do a completely new upload of the app under a different name.
Now the new app doesn't seem to be showing on the google play store now matter how hard i look?
With the old app is it possible to delete this or is unpublishing it the right thing to do.
Can anyone give me some steps on possible ways to resolve this or ways in which you can check the status of your app submission?
I also experienced this with some of my apps. It seems that there are some kinds of caching strategies in place that prevent the item from appearing.
Just wait another couple of hours and check your application again. As long as the market says that the app is compatible with your device there shouldn't be a serious error.
The delay isn't consistent at all. It can range from 45 minutes to several hours in my experience. I tend to upload before bed and when I wake up it has appeared. I guess it is one of those "a watched pot never boils" type things
Refer: App not showing up in android market place/google play

Submitting apps to Android Market and Amazon Appstore

I have an application signed and all ready to go public. But I want to stage it and make a simultaneous release on both Amazon Appstore and Android Market. I have a few questions which I couldn't find a right answer anywhere.
After I pay 25$ to create my account at android market, how long does it take for the account to be active?
I know there is no review process. But is it possible to upload my .apk file and not publish it?
Now regarding Amazon appstore -
How long does it take for my account to be active after I create it?
How long does the application review process take?
How long does it take after the application is reviewed for the application to go live?
Is it possible for me to upload apk, get it reviewed and wait before I publish it?
Android Makret:
It depends. For me it was almost immediate, but recently some people are reporting it takes some time (1-2 days)
Yes.
Amazon:
It's activated right away.
It depends. Might be two days, might be a week, maybe longer.
It's not exactly clear, but the review process apparently has a few different stages. There is an 'approved' and 'live' state, so it might take some time in between.
No.
The real question: why does it matter to you? If you submit an app, it should be in a ready to release state.
android
1 instant
2 yes, you upload it, then you have to publish it.
No clue on the Amazon one though, sorry
Now is free for 12 months
It took me an hour or so for the submission process

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