C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has lowered the quantity of people that have to check an Android app earlier than it may be launched on the Play Retailer.
- Now, a minimal of 12 folks have to check an Android app for 14 days earlier than it may be launched.
- This requirement nonetheless solely applies to builders who need to launch apps utilizing a private account created after November 13, 2023.
Earlier than releasing an Android app on the Google Play Retailer, builders are required to check their app with quite a few completely different customers. This grew to become a requirement late final 12 months when Google carried out a rule that pressured builders to check their apps with a minimal of 20 folks over a 14 day interval. Plenty of indie app builders complained about this rule as they felt that it was an excessive amount of of a burden. Thankfully, Google has heard these complaints and has quietly relaxed the rule a bit.
In an replace to the help web page outlining Google Play’s app testing necessities, Google says that builders who’ve a private account created after November 13, 2023 should run a closed take a look at of their app with a minimal of 12 testers over a 14 day interval. Beforehand, the web page mentioned that builders with private accounts needed to run a closed take a look at with a minimal of 20 testers over the identical interval.
Previous:
In case you have a newly created private developer account, you could run a closed take a look at in your app with a minimal of 20 testers who’ve been opted-in for not less than the final 14 days constantly.
New:
In case you have a newly created private developer account, you could run a closed take a look at in your app with a minimal of 12 testers who’ve been opted-in for not less than the final 14 days constantly.
Whereas this coverage change may not seem to be an enormous deal at first look, it may end in extra indie app builders getting their apps revealed on Google Play. Many indie app builders work solo and should solely have a couple of associates or relations they’ll ask to check their app. Beforehand, this restricted pool of testers could possibly be a big hurdle as a consequence of Google’s app testing necessities.
Indie app builders who don’t personally know sufficient folks to check their app must flip to social media platforms like X or Reddit to seek out extra testers. This additional step — recruiting testers by way of social media — at finest delays the launch of an app and at worst discourages the developer from publishing on Google Play, doubtlessly main them to decide on a unique platform or abandon the undertaking altogether.
Alex Walker-Todd / Android Authority
To be honest, the concept behind this coverage is sound, because it forces builders to check their app with actual customers and doubtlessly discover points earlier than they launch it to the general public. This, in flip, improves the general high quality of the apps obtainable on Google Play, as builders usually tend to ship nice Android apps when their apps have been subjected to real-world testing by precise customers over a two-week interval. Nevertheless, forcing builders with private accounts to seek out 20 actual testers was a bit an excessive amount of of an ask, and it appears that evidently Google now agrees, because it’s lowered the variety of testers wanted to 12.
Builders with enterprise accounts aren’t impacted by this coverage change, as enterprise accounts aren’t topic to the identical app testing requirement in any respect. Signing up for a enterprise account on Google Play requires formally establishing a enterprise, which includes offering Google a D-U-N-S quantity. Google probably waived the app testing requirement for enterprise accounts because the barrier to entry to make them is a bit larger, lowering the probabilities that an app revealed will likely be malware.
At Google Play’s scale, it’s laborious to fulfill everybody, so coverage adjustments like it will undoubtedly proceed to occur as Google receives suggestions and tries to adapt to new threats. Some indie app builders really feel that Google Play is turning into increasingly hostile to them, so this modification ought to little question be welcomed by them. If you happen to’re an indie app developer who felt the previous coverage was an excessive amount of of a burden, tell us what you consider this modification within the feedback under!
