4.3 KiB
4.3 KiB
Google Play release checklist
External account gate
- Google Play developer identity verification approved.
- Contact phone verification completed.
- Play Console enables Create app.
App identity and signing
- Create Android app
Who Need Helpwith packageorg.whoneedhelp.mobile. - Default language: English (United States).
- App: not a game; free; no ads.
- Accept Play App Signing.
- Record the upload-certificate SHA-1 and SHA-256 with the source-bound candidate.
- Record the distinct Play App Signing SHA-1 and SHA-256 after Play accepts the first internal release.
- Add the Play App Signing SHA-256 to production Google/Firebase Android configuration.
- Publish and verify
https://whoneedhelp.com/.well-known/assetlinks.jsonfor the Play certificate.
Build
- Build from the exact committed candidate with the validated Android
allow-list read from the production checkout’s single
.env. - Run
scripts/android-release-build.sh. - Verify source fingerprint, signing certificate, bundletool validation, lint, package name, version code/name, target SDK, and production origin.
- Install the release APK generated from the same source-bound build on the authorized physical phone and run the release smoke test.
- Save and publish the source-bound AAB currently uploaded to the internal testing draft. Do not mark this complete until Play Console shows one accepted artifact and the internal release is available to testers.
Store presence
- 512×512 Play icon prepared.
- 1024×500 24-bit PNG feature graphic prepared.
- Four current 1080×1920 physical-phone screenshots captured and reviewed.
- English, Ukrainian, and Russian listing copy prepared.
- Alt-text copy (≤140 characters) prepared in
store-assets/README.md. - Enter the prepared alt text when the assets are uploaded in Play Console.
- Choose category/tags in the current Console options.
App content
- Privacy policy URL.
- Ads declaration: no ads.
- Both App access accounts and both sides of the reviewer instructions tested from a clean Play-delivered install.
- Target audience/adult-only positioning confirmed.
- Content rating questionnaire completed truthfully.
- Data Safety worksheet reconciled with the final dependency report.
- Account deletion questions and external URL completed.
- Government/news/financial/health declarations answered from actual app behavior; do not describe the app as a medical service.
- Complete the mandatory Play Console foreground-service declaration for
the
locationservice used by the exact AAB. - Upload the unlisted demonstration video showing the user-triggered start, prominent disclosure, Android permission, persistent notification, minimized-app operation, and Stop action.
- Reconcile any target-SDK-37 persistent precise-location declaration shown
by Play Console with the exact artifact. The app uses a user-started
location foreground service and does not declare
ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION; do not answer that it requests the background-location runtime permission. - Use and verify the prepared declaration copy in
location-and-fgs-declaration.md.
Testing
- Internal track smoke test passed.
- Closed track created and opt-in link tested.
- At least 12 testers continuously opted in for 14 days.
- Tester feedback and fixes documented.
- Production-access questionnaire completed from actual evidence.
Publishing
- Managed publishing enabled if desired.
- Countries/regions and support contact reviewed.
- Production submission reviewed for accidental test URLs or credentials.
- Rollback and support/incident response are ready.
Official references:
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859152
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9866151
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859455
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10787469
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13327111
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/14151465