How does my app get into the App Store and Google Play?

Q&A • Publishing

How does my app get into the App Store and Google Play?

Publishing has four stages: the developer account, the signed build, the store assets and the review. Each stage has fixed requirements, and rejections almost always come from missing assets, not from code.

Short answer

  1. You open a developer account: Apple is billed yearly, Google once at signup.
  2. The platform generates the signed build each store requires.
  3. You upload the assets: icon, screenshots, description, a public privacy policy.
  4. You submit for review: Apple usually responds in under 48 hours.
  5. On Google Play, a new personal account must first pass closed testing with 12 testers enrolled for 14 continuous days; an organisation account is exempt.

What you need before starting

  • The company verified with Apple and Google (legal name, address, matching contact details).
  • A privacy policy published at a link that opens without logging in.
  • A working test account for the review team, with real data in it.
  • For Google Play, if you publish from a personal account created after 13 November 2023: 12 real testers enrolled in closed testing for 14 continuous days before you can request production access. An organisation account has no such requirement — which is why it is worth opening one on the company from the start.

The most common rejection reasons

  • The test account does not work or was not provided at all.
  • The app has accounts but offers no in-app account deletion (an Apple requirement).
  • The data safety declaration does not match what the app does (a Google requirement).
  • The screenshots show something other than the real app.

What happens after approval

  1. The app becomes visible in the stores within a few hours of approval.
  2. Each new version goes through review again, usually faster.
  3. Content changes, as opposed to functionality changes, reach users without a new review.

How 4myapp helps

4myapp generates the signed builds for both stores from the same project and prepares the required assets: icons in every size, screenshots from your real app, the privacy policy and the account-deletion page, filled in with your company's details.

See also