Testing an app before launch: TestFlight and Google Play closed testing

Why test before launch at all

Your developer will have tested the app, but they know where every button is. Real testers do not, and that is the point. They use the app on their own phones, with their own habits, and find the confusing screens and the bugs that only show up outside the office.

On Android there is a second reason. For many new developer accounts, a closed test is not optional: Google will not let you publish to production until one has run. Plan for it in your launch date, not the week before.

TestFlight on iOS: internal and external testers

TestFlight is Apple's beta testing service. Testers install the TestFlight app, accept your invitation, and install your beta from there. Apple sets two kinds of tester, and the difference matters for a founder who wants friends or customers to try the app.

Internal testers are people on your App Store Connect team. External testers can be anyone with an email address or your public link, but the first build you share with them goes through Apple's review first. Later builds for the same version might not need a full review. You also need to fill in test information, such as a feedback email, before external testing can start.

Google Play testing tracks: internal, closed and open

Google Play has three testing tracks in Play Console, and you can use more than one. Testers need a Google Account or a Google Workspace account to join, and they join through an opt-in link you share with them. Testers in closed and open tests can send you private feedback through Google Play, but cannot leave public reviews on test versions.

The closed test rule for new personal developer accounts

If your Google Play developer account is a personal account created after November 13, 2023, you must run a closed test before you can publish to production. Google's requirement is at least 12 testers who have been opted in continuously for at least 14 days. Testers who join and leave before 14 days do not count, and if someone leaves and rejoins, their 14 days have to be consecutive.

Once the test has run, you apply for production access from the Dashboard in Play Console. The form asks about your closed test (how you recruited testers, what feedback you got and how you collected it), about the app and its audience, and how you decided it was ready. Google says the review usually takes seven days or less, and it can ask you to keep testing. These numbers come from Google's help page and can change, so check it before you plan your date. My post on why apps get rejected covers the rest of the store review side.

What to ask testers to check

"Have a look and tell me what you think" produces very little. Give testers a short list of tasks, and ask them to report anything that confused them, not only what broke.

• Sign up as a new user, log out, and log back in.
• Complete the main task the app exists for, such as a booking, an order or a payment in test mode.
• Reset a forgotten password and delete their account.
• Use the app on mobile data and on a weak connection, not only on office Wi-Fi.
• Allow and then refuse notifications, location or camera access, and see what the app does.
• Note any screen where they did not know what to do next.
• Send a screenshot with every bug, plus the phone model.

A pre-launch test checklist

Before you move a build from testing to production, I run through this list.

• Tested on at least one older Android phone and one older iPhone, not only new ones.
• No test data, placeholder text or debug menus left in the build.
• Push notifications, emails and SMS arrive, and point to the right screen.
• Payments tested end to end in the provider's test mode.
• A demo account with sample data ready for Apple and Google reviewers.
• Privacy policy online, and store privacy answers that match what the app does.
• Tester feedback reviewed, and every bug either fixed or consciously left for later.
• On Google Play, the closed test has met its requirement before you apply for production access.

How testing works in my packages

Every package includes testing on real devices and help publishing to both stores: Launch at $999, Growth at $1,699 and Scale at $2,500. I upload the builds to TestFlight and the Google Play testing tracks under your own developer accounts, and set up the test groups. Recruiting the testers is yours, because they should be your future users, not mine. If you have a new personal Google Play account, we plan the 14-day closed test into the launch from the start. If a build is rejected at review, I fix it and resubmit at no cost.