Indie devs should be happy about Play Store app testing change

Earlier than releasing an Android app on the Google Play Store, builders are required to check their app with quite a lot of completely different customers. This turned a requirement late final yr when Google carried out a rule that compelled builders to check their apps with a minimal of 20 individuals over a 14 day interval. Lots of indie app builders complained about this rule as they felt that it was an excessive amount of of a burden. Luckily, Google has heard these complaints and has quietly relaxed the rule a bit.

In an replace to the support page outlining Google Play’s app testing necessities, Google says that builders who’ve a private account created after November 13, 2023 should run a closed check of their app with a minimal of 12 testers over a 14 day interval. Beforehand, the web page mentioned that builders with private accounts needed to run a closed check with a minimal of 20 testers over the identical interval.

Previous:

When you’ve got a newly created private developer account, you should run a closed check to your app with a minimal of 20 testers who’ve been opted-in for a minimum of the final 14 days repeatedly.

New:

When you’ve got a newly created private developer account, you should run a closed check to your app with a minimal of 12 testers who’ve been opted-in for a minimum of the final 14 days repeatedly.

Whereas this coverage change won’t look like an enormous deal at first look, it may end in extra indie app builders getting their apps printed on Google Play. Many indie app builders work solo and will solely have a number of buddies or members of the family they’ll ask to check their app. Beforehand, this restricted pool of testers could possibly be a major hurdle because of Google’s app testing necessities.

Indie app builders who don’t personally know sufficient individuals to check their app must flip to social media platforms like X or Reddit to search out further testers. This further step — recruiting testers by means of social media — at finest delays the launch of an app and at worst discourages the developer from publishing on Google Play, doubtlessly main them to decide on a special platform or abandon the undertaking altogether.

To be truthful, the concept behind this coverage is sound, because it forces builders to check their app with actual customers and doubtlessly discover points earlier than they launch it to the general public. This, in flip, improves the general high quality of the apps obtainable on Google Play, as builders usually tend to ship great Android apps when their apps have been subjected to real-world testing by precise customers over a two-week interval. Nevertheless, forcing builders with private accounts to search out 20 actual testers was a bit an excessive amount of of an ask, and evidently Google now agrees, because it’s lowered the variety of testers wanted to 12.

Builders with enterprise accounts aren’t impacted by this coverage change, as enterprise accounts aren’t topic to the identical app testing requirement in any respect. Signing up for a enterprise account on Google Play requires formally establishing a enterprise, which entails offering Google a D-U-N-S quantity. Google doubtless waived the app testing requirement for enterprise accounts because the barrier to entry to make them is a bit increased, decreasing the possibilities that an app printed can be malware.

At Google Play’s scale, it’s arduous to fulfill everybody, so coverage modifications like this can undoubtedly proceed to occur as Google receives suggestions and tries to adapt to new threats. Some indie app builders really feel that Google Play is turning into an increasing number of hostile to them, so this modification ought to little question be welcomed by them. In case you’re an indie app developer who felt the previous coverage was an excessive amount of of a burden, tell us what you consider this modification within the feedback beneath!