Going public, screen by screen

Have these ready

Apple asks for all of these before you can submit:

• Screenshots of your app on an iPhone, and on an iPad if your app runs on iPad
• A description of your app, and up to 100 characters of search keywords
• A support web page where people can contact you, and the web address of your privacy policy
• If your app needs a login: a demo account that works, for Apple's reviewer
• Your contact name, phone number and email, for Apple's reviewer only

Open your app's version page

Open App Store Connect, press Apps and choose your app. On the left, under iOS App, press the version marked Prepare for Submission, such as 1.0. Most of what follows is on this page.

Add your screenshots

Under Previews and Screenshots, Apple shows the display sizes it needs. Drag your screenshots onto each size it asks for.

• Apple asks for the largest iPhone size it lists, and uses those for smaller iPhones
• If your app runs on iPad, Apple asks for iPad screenshots too
• Up to 10 screenshots per size. Apple expects them to show your app in use
• Apple's screenshot sizes lists the exact pixel sizes

Fill in the text boxes

On the same page:

• Promotional Text: optional, up to 170 characters, and you can change it at any time without a review
• Description: what your app does, up to 4,000 characters
• Keywords: words people might search for, separated by commas, up to 100 characters in total
• Support URL: required, the web page where people can get help
• Marketing URL: optional
• Copyright: who owns the app, usually the year and your name or company, such as 2026 Your Company

Choose the build Push200 sent

Scroll to Build and press Add Build, or the +. Choose the build with the version number Push200 showed you. If it isn't there yet, Apple is still processing it. That usually takes a few minutes after Apple's email.

• Apple may ask whether your app uses encryption. Apple's page on encryption explains each answer, including what counts as standard encryption

Fill in App Information

On the left, under General, press App Information:

• Name and Subtitle: up to 30 characters each. The name is what shows under your icon in the store
• Category: the store section your app appears in, plus an optional second one
• Content Rights: whether your app shows content owned by someone else
• Age Rating: press Set Up Age Ratings or Edit, and answer Apple's questions about what your app contains. Apple works out the rating from your answers

Fill in App Privacy

On the left, press App Privacy. This becomes the privacy section of your App Store page.

• Privacy Policy URL: the web address of your privacy policy. Apple requires one for every app
• Press Get Started. Apple asks whether you, or services inside your app, collect data. Services inside your app can include sign-in, analytics, ads, crash reports and payments, such as Firebase
• For each kind of data you tick, Apple asks what it's used for, whether it's linked to the person, and whether it's used for tracking
• The makers of each service usually publish what their service collects, which helps you answer
• Press Publish when you're done. Apple's App Privacy page explains each question

Set the price and countries

On the left, press Pricing and Availability. Choose a price, or Free, and the countries and regions where your app appears. Paid apps need Apple's Paid Apps agreement signed, under Business.

Tell Apple's reviewer what they need

Back on the version page, scroll to App Review Information:

• Sign-in required: if your app needs a login, tick it and type a demo username and password that work. A reviewer who can't sign in usually sends the app back
• Contact Information: your name, phone number and email. Only Apple sees these
• Notes: anything a reviewer can't find by themselves, such as a feature that needs a code, a place or a device

Choose when it goes live

Under App Store Version Release, choose how your app goes live once Apple approves it: by yourself with a button, automatically straight away, or automatically on a date you pick.

Submit it for review

At the top right, press Add for Review. Apple shows a summary. Press Submit to App Review. Your app's status changes to Waiting for Review, then In Review. Apple says most apps are reviewed within a day or two, and emails you the result.

If Apple sends it back

Apple's message is in App Store Connect under App Review, and it names the rule from Apple's App Review Guidelines. You can reply there. If something in the app needs changing, change your code, press Build in Push200, choose the new build on the version page, and submit again.

Check your account type first

Google requires new personal accounts to run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days in a row before going public. Organisation (business) accounts don't have this rule, and need a D-U-N-S number when you sign up. Read Google's rules for personal accounts, and see the testing steps below.

Have these ready

Google asks for all of these before your app can go public:

• An app icon: 512 by 512 pixels, PNG
• A feature graphic: 1024 by 500 pixels, shown at the top of your store page
• At least 2 phone screenshots, plus tablet screenshots if your app supports tablets
• A short description of up to 80 characters, and a full description of up to 4,000
• The web address of your privacy policy, and a contact email
• If your app needs a login: a test account that works, for Google's reviewer

Open your app's setup tasks

Open Play Console and choose your app. On the Dashboard, Google lists the tasks it needs under Set up your app. Each one opens a short form. Press Save on each, and it gets a tick.

Privacy policy and app access

In the tasks about your app's content:

• Privacy policy: paste the web address of your privacy policy
• App access: say whether everything in your app works without a login. If it doesn't, add instructions and a test login that works for Google's reviewer

Ads, content rating and target audience

Three more short forms:

• Ads: say whether your app shows ads, including ads from services inside your app
• Content rating: press Start questionnaire, enter your email, choose your app's category, and answer the questions about what your app contains. Your ratings for each country come from your answers
• Target audience and content: choose the age groups your app is for. If you include children, Google's Families rules apply too

Data safety

This becomes the data safety section of your store page.

• Google asks whether your app collects or shares any of the kinds of data it lists, including data collected by services inside your app, such as Firebase, analytics or ads
• For each kind you tick, it asks what it's used for, and whether it's optional or required
• It also asks whether data is encrypted while it travels, and how people can ask for their data to be deleted
• The makers of each service usually publish what their service collects. Google's help page for this form explains each question

The other declarations

Google only shows the ones that apply to your app. They can include:

• News apps, Government apps, Financial features and Health: questions about these kinds of apps
• Account deletion: if people can create an account in your app, Google asks for a web page where they can ask for their account to be deleted
• Permissions: if your app uses sensitive permissions, such as location in the background or text messages, Google asks why

Your store listing

On the left, under Grow users, press Store presence, then Main store listing:

• App name: up to 30 characters
• Short description and Full description
• Graphics: your icon, feature graphic and screenshots
• Under Store settings: your app's category, tags, contact email and website

Testing, and the 12-tester rule

Under Test and release, then Testing, Google has three kinds of test:

• Internal testing: up to 100 people you invite. Push200 sends builds here unless you chose another track in your app's Advanced settings
• Closed testing: people you invite by email list or Google Group. This is the test Google's 12-tester rule asks for
• Open testing: anyone can join from your store page

If you have a new personal account

To meet Google's rule before going public:

• Open Closed testing, create a track or use the one Google made, and add your testers' emails
• Create a release on that track and add the build Push200 uploaded, from Add from library
• Send the opt-in link to your testers. Each one opens it, joins, and installs your app from Google Play
• Google counts testers who stay opted in. After 14 days in a row with at least 12, the Dashboard offers Apply for production, with a few questions about your test

Send a release to production

Under Test and release, press Production:

• Under Countries / regions, choose where your app is available
• Press Create new release, then Add from library, and choose the build Push200 uploaded, the same one you tested
• Write release notes, the words people see under What's new, then press Next and Save
• Go to Publishing overview and press Send changes for review

Google's review

Google says reviews can take up to 7 days, and sometimes longer for new apps. You get an email when it's done. If Google rejects it, the email and the Inbox in Play Console say which policy and what to change. Change your app or the form, press Build in Push200 if the app itself changed, and send it again.