Publishing an app on the App Store and Google Play: checklist

1. Developer accounts

The Apple Developer Program is an annual subscription; Google Play Console is a one-time fee. If the app must be published under a company name, open an organization account — it requires company documents and verification, so start in parallel with development.

2. Privacy policy and data forms

Both stores require a privacy policy at a public URL. In the App Store’s “App Privacy” and Google Play’s “Data safety” forms you state exactly what data the app collects, and it must match the app’s real behavior — analytics and advertising SDKs included.

3. Account deletion

If the app has registration, users must be able to delete their account from within the app. Google Play also asks for a link to a web page where deletion can be requested without installing the app.

4. Sign in with Apple

If an iOS app offers sign-in through a third-party service such as Google or Telegram, Apple requires an equivalent privacy-focused sign-in option — in practice, Sign in with Apple. The reliable approach is verifying Apple’s identity token on your own backend.

5. Testing on Google Play

New personal Google Play accounts must run a closed test with a set number of testers for a set period before a public release. This stage can stretch the launch by several weeks — plan for it or use an organization account.

6. The store listing

• App name, short and full description — in Uzbek, Russian and English.
• Screenshots for each screen size — only from the current version.
• Category, age rating questionnaire, contact e-mail.
• A test account and notes for the reviewer if sign-in is required.

7. Automate releases

Manually bumping the build number, signing and uploading on every release leads to mistakes. We upload to both stores with one script: iOS through the App Store Connect API and Android through the Google Play Developer API.