How to Launch an App on the App Store and Play Store

How do you publish an app on the App Store and Play Store?

You open a developer account with each store, prepare the listing and privacy answers, test the build with real people, submit it for review and then release it. The accounts come first because they take the longest, and you should own them. Our mobile app development service covers all of these steps, and this post is the checklist we work from.

All fees and rules below were checked on the official pages in November 2026. Stores change them, so confirm the figure on the linked page before you pay.

Which developer accounts do you need, and who should own them?

You need an Apple Developer Program membership for iPhone apps and a Google Play Console account for Android. Both should be registered in your business's name, not your agency's or a freelancer's. If the accounts are in someone else's name, you cannot move the app or control updates. In our projects, the accounts are in the client's name from day one and we work inside them as collaborators.

	Apple Developer Program	Google Play Console
Fee	99 USD per membership year (may vary by region)	25 USD one-time registration fee
Account types	Individual or organisation	Personal or organisation
Organisation needs	A legal entity, a D-U-N-S number and a working public website	Identity verification; ID and card in the legal name may be requested
Official page	Apple enrolment	Google Play Console help

For Apple, an organisation must be a legal entity, and Apple does not accept trade names or branches. It also requires a D-U-N-S number, a nine-digit number from Dun & Bradstreet, which can take time to get, so start early. For Google, the page says you must be at least 18 and finish identity verification (both pages checked November 2026).

What does Google require from new personal accounts?

Google's testing requirements say that personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 continuous days before applying for production access. Google says it usually reviews the application in seven days or less (checked November 2026). This can add about three weeks to a first launch, so plan for it. That article is written for personal accounts, so check Google's current rules for the account type you choose.

What do you need ready for the store listing?

Prepare the listing before the build is finished, because the review team looks at both. A short checklist:

• App name, short description and full description in plain language
• An icon and screenshots for the device sizes each store asks for
• A privacy policy on a public web page
• Support email and website
• Age rating and content questionnaire answers
• Test login details if the app has an account

Apple's App Review Guidelines require final versions with all metadata and working URLs, and they say placeholder text and empty websites should be removed before submission (section 2.1). Check each store's help pages for the current screenshot sizes, because we have not listed them here.

What privacy information do the stores ask for?

Both stores want a privacy policy link and honest answers about the data you collect. Apple's guidelines (section 5.1.1) say every app must link its privacy policy in App Store Connect and inside the app. The policy must explain what data is collected, how and why, and how a user can ask for deletion. If the app lets people create an account, Apple also requires a way to delete the account inside the app.

Google asks for the same through the Data safety form. Its Data safety help page says all developers with a published app must complete it and give a privacy policy link, even when the app collects no data. It also says you are responsible for accurate and complete declarations, and that Google may act if the app behaves differently from what you declared. Our tip: list every SDK your app includes, such as analytics and crash reporting. Those collect data too.

How do you test before you submit?

Use the stores' own testing tracks, so testers install the app the same way customers will.

• Apple, TestFlight. TestFlight allows up to 100 internal testers and up to 10,000 external testers, and a build can be tested for up to 90 days. If you invite external testers, the first build may need a review from Apple.
• Google, testing tracks. Internal and closed tests let you share the build with chosen people before production. For a new personal account, the closed test is also the production-access requirement described above.

Ask testers to try a fresh install, a slow connection, an interrupted payment, a denied permission and an old phone. Most bugs we find before launch come from these.

How does the review process work, and what gets apps rejected?

Both stores review each release. We cannot promise a date, because review times and decisions are theirs. What we can do is avoid the common causes of rejection. From Apple's guidelines (checked November 2026):

• Incomplete builds. Apps that crash or show obvious technical problems are rejected (2.1).
• No demo login. If your app needs a login, give the reviewer a working demo account and keep your back end switched on (2.1).
• Missing or weak privacy policy (5.1.1).
• A website in an app wrapper. Apple says an app should go beyond a repackaged website (4.2), and apps that are mainly marketing material or a collection of links may be refused.
• No account deletion when accounts can be created (5.1.1).

If you are rejected, read the note, fix the exact point and resubmit. If you disagree, reply politely with evidence. For iPhone-specific work, see our iOS app development page.

How should you release the app?

Release on a schedule you control, then widen it. Google's staged rollout sends an update to a percentage of users, which you raise by hand, and you can halt it if something goes wrong. Google says staged rollouts apply to app updates, not to first-time publishing. Apple's phased release releases an update gradually over seven days to users with automatic updates, and you can pause it for up to 30 days in total. Anyone can still download the update manually from the App Store.

Watch crash reports and reviews in the first week. Plan your first update before you launch, because a first release almost always needs a quick fix.

What is the full launch checklist?

Stage	Task	Done
Accounts	Apple and Google accounts registered in your business name	[ ]
Accounts	D-U-N-S number requested if you enrol as an organisation	[ ]
Accounts	Google closed test started if you have a new personal account	[ ]
Listing	Name, descriptions, icon and screenshots final	[ ]
Listing	Privacy policy live on a public page and linked in the app	[ ]
Privacy	Apple privacy answers and Google Data safety form completed	[ ]
Privacy	Account deletion works inside the app, if accounts exist	[ ]
Testing	TestFlight and Google test track used by real people	[ ]
Review	Demo login and notes for the reviewer added	[ ]
Release	Rollout plan set and crash reporting switched on	[ ]
After	Support email monitored and first update planned	[ ]

If your app needs a web page for the privacy policy, support or marketing, our web development team builds those too. If you are still deciding whether to build, read what it costs to build a mobile app.

Talk to us

Planning a launch? We can walk you through the accounts and the checklist before a line of code is written.

Choose a time on our calendar, or reach us on WhatsApp or at hello@astrafolio.com. Replies come within 12 hours from Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 21:00 IST.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get an app approved?

Nobody can promise a date, because each store sets its own review times. Build in extra days for a first submission, and more if you are also waiting on a D-U-N-S number or Google's testing requirement.

Can I publish under my agency's developer account?

You can, but we advise against it. The app would belong to the agency's account, and moving it later is harder. Keep both accounts in your own business's name and add the agency as a team member.

Do I need a separate app for iPhone and Android?

Not always. Cross-platform tools such as React Native and Flutter let one codebase produce both apps. You still submit twice, once to each store, and each has its own listing and review. Our post on React Native vs Flutter compares the two.

Is a privacy policy mandatory for every app?

Both stores ask for one. Apple requires a link in App Store Connect and inside the app, and Google requires a link for the Data safety form even when no data is collected. Write it to match what the app really does.

What work continues once the app is live?

You watch crash reports, answer reviews and ship fixes. Plan updates through the same review process, using staged or phased release so a bug does not reach everyone at once.