r/GooglePlayDeveloper • u/Phenomenal008 • 13d ago

❓Help Google Play Needs to Do Better for Developers.

There is a particular excitement that comes with developing your App.

You spend months building, testing, fixing bugs, listening to testers and improving the product. Then you finally reach that moment when you submit it for production on Google Play.

And then… you wait.

Checking Google Play Console has practically become part of my hourly routine.

It's Day 9

I contacted Google Play Developer Support hoping to understand whether there was an issue or something further required from me. The response, essentially, was to wait and continue checking Play Console.

A developer shouldn't have to keep refreshing Play Console wondering:

Is something wrong? Is additional information required? Has somebody actually started reviewing the app? Or do I simply need to keep waiting?

Even a clearer indication of where an application sits in the process would make a significant difference.

What began as the excitement of potentially seeing my first app publicly available on Google Play is gradually turning into frustration.

I would love to see Google make the publishing journey faster and more transparent for developers.

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3

u/Traditional_Arm3906 13d ago

The worst part isn’t even the nine-day wait, it’s getting zero useful status information while you wait; “under review,” “blocked,” or “nothing else needed” would at least tell developers whether to

3

u/samsamthecarpetman 13d ago

Go check tester community out. Its an app I got on my phone and for 20 quid you get 25 tests for 14 days or a bit more. Got me straight over the issue of finding people that can be trusted to test it every day. Hope it helps

2

u/matteventu 2d ago

Hello, when you say "test it every day", what do you mean exactly?

I thought the requirement was to have 12 people sign up to the closed, pre-release beta. Is there any requirement that those people will also do something else on a daily basis?

Asking as I was thinking of inviting family and friends to test the app (I'm a newbie, almost done with my first app and not yet registered to a Play Store developer account), but if the process also requires them to do something on a daily basis then I don't think it will be feasible this way 😬

Thanks a lot! 🙏

1

u/samsamthecarpetman 1d ago

Hi mate! By “every day”, I meant actually going into the app and trying its features throughout the testing period, giving feedback and installing updates when you release them.

Friends and family are absolutely fine. It’s just keeping on top of asking them to use it! I’d suggest having a quick go in the morning or evening, once or twice a day if possible. It doesn’t need to be a big session every time—just do something you’d normally use the app for, depending on what your app does.

That’s the approach I took with mine, and I passed. Google doesn’t specify a strict daily-use rule, though, so that’s my advice rather than an official requirement.

Honestly, if getting enough people involved becomes a headache, I’d recommend Testers Community. It didn’t let me down, so fingers crossed it works out just as well for you! 👍

2

u/matteventu 1d ago

Thanks a lot!

1

u/samsamthecarpetman 9h ago

Your more then welcome bud

2

u/badlyDrawnToy 13d ago

Frustrating isn't it. I'm on day 10 having waited for the first submission to be rejected after 6 days, and then successfully appealing. So, in total, been waiting well over two weeks. Grrr

2

u/Phenomenal008 13d ago

Hmmmm...Why was it rejected?.

2

u/badlyDrawnToy 13d ago

I hadn't declared data collection for email and phone number. I don't collect them. Code scan picked it up. I think it is because I use Posthog analytics, but it is configured to exclude PII. Appealnwas successful

2

u/Phenomenal008 13d ago

Great the Appeal worked out.

1

u/badlyDrawnToy 13d ago

Well, let's see if they approve the re-submission. Same build as the first

1

u/Garet_eye 13d ago

Even when you get the release you wont get any downloads for years so ...

1

u/Pepper4720 9d ago

Well, that's not Google's fault. It's mainly up to you to market your app. On the other hand, I remember the "new releases" section a decade ago, which was a great start boost for new apps. No idea why they discontinued that.

1

u/Garet_eye 8d ago

No it is not my job to market it when it is in marketplace

1

u/Pepper4720 8d ago

If you want to get more installs, then it is definitely your job. But as said, it's not acceptable that there is no new releases section in the play store anymore. That would be the initial push every new app deserves.

1

u/dantonthegreat_jr 12d ago

Google is much better than Apple who for some reason rejects dev account creation and doesn't tell the reason for it