Google Play store presence runbook

This runbook records the exact local inputs and the observed Console gaps. It does not authorize saving fields in Play Console or publishing a release.

Observed Console state on 2026-08-13

App type is App.
App category was subsequently saved as Social.
Tags are not selected.
Store-listing contact email, phone, and website are empty.
The default English listing has no saved short description, full description, app icon, feature graphic, or phone screenshots.
The Dashboard initially showed 9 of 11 setup tasks complete. Category was saved afterward; public contact details and Store-listing completion still require a current Console recheck.
Closed testing was still locked pending those setup tasks and reported zero opted-in testers.
After this initial observation, the foreground-service declaration was saved with User-initiated location sharing and the unlisted demonstration URL https://youtube.com/shorts/UZh_QBdlbBc. Recheck the current Console state before any later release; this runbook does not treat a saved form as Google approval.

Read-only recheck on 2026-08-14

The Dashboard now reports 10 of 11 complete.
Set up your store listing is marked complete.
Select an app category and provide contact details is the only remaining setup task. The category remains Social, while public email, phone and website are still empty.
Closed testing remains locked and reports 0 testers currently opted-in.
The foreground-service form still contains User-initiated location sharing, the final unlisted video URL, and the saved-change confirmation.

This was a read-only observation. No Console value, track, release, production deployment, frozen test deployment, or public Git remote was changed.

Read-only recheck on 2026-08-20

The Dashboard still reports 10 of 11 complete.
Select an app category and provide contact details remains the only incomplete setup task. The category is Social. Public email, phone, and website remain empty in Store settings.
Closed testing remains locked until app setup is complete and still reports 0 testers currently opted-in.
The production-access section currently requires a published closed-testing release, at least 12 opted-in testers, and a closed test lasting at least 14 days.

This recheck was read-only. No Console field, release, track, deployment, frozen test environment, or public Git remote was changed.

These are direct observations from the authenticated Play Console session on that date. Recheck the Console before applying because its fields and policy requirements can change.

Prepared local inputs

English listing: android/play-store/store-listing-en-US.md
Ukrainian listing: android/play-store/store-listing-uk-UA.md
Russian listing: android/play-store/store-listing-ru-RU.md
Icon: android/store-assets/icon-512.png
Feature graphic: android/store-assets/feature-graphic-1024x500.png
Phone screenshots: android/store-assets/screenshots/phone/
Screenshot alt text: android/store-assets/README.md

Run ./scripts/android-store-assets-validate.sh immediately before upload. The validator checks image dimensions/formats and listing-length constraints; it does not prove Play policy approval or visual quality.

The validator passed again on 2026-08-10, and a fresh combined visual review confirmed that the approved icon, feature graphic, and four phone screenshots contain no visible email, private message, handover code, or real precise location.

Contact fields

Public support email candidate: contact@whoneedhelp.com
Website: https://whoneedhelp.com/
Public phone: leave empty unless the operator deliberately chooses a number that can be published and monitored.

Do not save the email merely because it is used as an outbound sender. First send a real inbound message to it, observe arrival in the monitored mailbox, and verify that replies are handled. Google recommends keeping the public app support address distinct from the developer-account sign-in address.

A repeated read-only public DNS check on 2026-08-13 returned no MX record for either whoneedhelp.com or contact.whoneedhelp.com. Production is configured to send through Brevo as contact@whoneedhelp.com, while internal support alerts route to the operator's monitored mailbox. These are outbound and internal-routing facts; neither proves inbound delivery to the public address. The address remains a candidate, not a verified support inbox. Before Console entry, either configure and test a monitored inbound mailbox/forwarder for that address or deliberately use a different already monitored public support address.

Category and child-safety gate

The prepared listing suggests Social, which accurately describes the community and participant features. Google Play's current Child Safety Standards policy applies to every app that declares itself as Social, including adult-only apps. Before saving that category or self-certifying:

Deploy and open the globally accessible /child-safety standards.
Verify the in-app and public report paths for child-safety content.
Select a monitored child-safety point of contact who can access the urgent restricted queue and act on reports.
Test inbound delivery to the selected contact.
Confirm the launch-jurisdiction escalation and authority-reporting process.
Record the evidence and only then complete Play's self-certification.

Do not choose a less accurate category merely to avoid a policy declaration. Do not claim cross-jurisdiction legal compliance from the presence of a page, queue, or automated test.

On 2026-08-10 a repeated public check observed HTTP 200 from https://whoneedhelp.com/child-safety on production revision dafcdb36. The frozen hackathon test was not changed and still returns 404. This clears the public-page deployment check only; it does not prove that the monitored child-safety contact or jurisdiction-specific escalation process is ready.

Suggested apply order after explicit permission

Recheck the current Console fields and policy warnings read-only.
Verify the production policy/support URLs and monitored email.
Host the verified foreground-location demonstration as an unlisted video, then complete and save the mandatory foreground-service declaration. Reopen App content and verify that the permission alert is cleared before changing Store Presence. Google documents that an unresolved permissions declaration for an active bundle can block publishing changes, including store-listing changes.
Save category, tags, contact email, and website.
Create the default English (United States) listing with prepared text, images, and alt text.
Add Ukrainian and Russian localizations from their prepared files.
Reopen the Dashboard and verify both setup tasks are marked complete.
Recheck App content; do not start Closed or Production rollout as part of store-presence setup.

Official references rechecked on 2026-08-10:

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