App Store and Google Play: a first-launch checklist

The code is rarely what delays a first app launch. It's the accounts, the paperwork and the review queues. Line these up while the app is still being built and launch day stays on schedule.

This checklist is what we run for every app we publish, including our own SyncPill, which ships on both stores in four languages.

1. Open the developer accounts early

Apple

Publishing on the App Store requires the Apple Developer Program, which costs 99 USD per membership year (or the local-currency equivalent). Nonprofits, accredited schools and government entities can apply for a fee waiver.

Decide early whether to enroll as an individual or as an organization. Both cost the same, but an organization membership shows your company name on the store instead of your personal name, and it requires a legal entity. Switching later is a hassle, so pick the one you'll want in a year.

Google Play

A Google Play developer account has a one-time registration fee of 25 USD. As with Apple, you choose between a personal and an organization account, and the choice changes your launch timeline (see the next step).

• Developer accounts opened in the name the public should see
• Two-factor authentication turned on, with a shared recovery method your team controls
• Bank and tax details entered if you'll charge for the app or sell in-app purchases

2. Plan for Google's 14-day testing rule

This one surprises almost every first-time founder. If your Google Play account is a personal account created after November 13, 2023, you can't publish straight to the public. You first have to run a closed test with at least 12 testers who stay opted in for 14 days in a row.

After the 14 days, you apply for production access by answering questions about your test, your app and its readiness. Google says it usually reviews the application within seven days, though it can take longer. If you didn't have enough testers, or they didn't really use the app, you may be asked to keep testing.

• Recruit more than 12 testers. If someone drops out, the count can fall below the minimum.
• Ask testers to actually use the app during the 14 days, not just install it
• Budget about three weeks from the start of the closed test to public launch

3. Prepare the store listings

Both stores want roughly the same material, and it takes longer to produce than people expect. Start it while the app is still in development.

• App name and a short subtitle that says what it does
• A description written for people, with the words they'd search for
• Screenshots for each required device size, showing the app doing its main job
• App icon in the sizes each store requires
• A support URL and a contact email that someone reads
• Translations of all of the above for every language you'll offer

4. Write down what data you collect

Both stores ask you to declare what personal data the app collects, why, and whether it's shared. Apple shows it as the app's privacy details on its store page; Google calls it the Data safety section. Both also require a privacy policy at a public URL.

• A list of every type of data the app or its third-party tools collect
• A privacy policy page on your website, linked from the app and the listings
• Answers that match what the app really does. A mismatch is a common reason for rejection.

5. Get through review the first time

Every submission is reviewed by the store. Most rejections are avoidable:

• If the app needs an account, give reviewers a working test login in the review notes
• Remove placeholder text, test screens and broken links
• Make sure every feature described in the listing actually works
• Answer the age-rating questionnaire honestly
• Test on real phones, not only simulators, including an older model

6. Launch week

• Release to a small share of users first if the store offers staged rollout
• Watch crash reports daily for the first week
• Link the store listings from your website, and your website from the listings
• Ask your first happy users for ratings; the first reviews shape everyone else's first impression

A realistic timeline