Play Store Release

Release checklist — complete before every submission

1. Version management

// build.gradle.kts — increment both on every release
android {
    defaultConfig {
        versionCode = 12           // integer, must increment every upload
        versionName = "2.4.0"     // human-readable, semantic versioning
    }
}

// ✅ Automate versionCode in CI using build number
val versionCode = System.getenv("BUILD_NUMBER")?.toIntOrNull() ?: 1

2. Release build — required configuration

buildTypes {
    release {
        isMinifyEnabled = true           // required — reduces APK size
        isShrinkResources = true         // required — removes unused resources
        isDebuggable = false             // never ship debuggable release
        proguardFiles(
            getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
            "proguard-rules.pro"
        )
    }
}

3. Build release AAB (not APK)

# Play Store requires AAB since Aug 2021
./gradlew bundleProdRelease

# Output: app/build/outputs/bundle/prodRelease/app-prod-release.aab

4. Target API level — must meet Play Store requirements

// Play Store requires targetSdk within 1 year of latest Android release
// As of 2025: minimum targetSdk = 34, recommended = 35
defaultConfig {
    minSdk = 24
    targetSdk = 35    // must be current — Google enforces this
    compileSdk = 35
}

5. Data Safety form — required since 2022

Required declarations in Play Console → App content → Data safety:
  - What data your app collects (name, email, device ID, etc.)
  - Whether data is encrypted in transit
  - Whether users can request deletion
  - Whether data is shared with third parties
  
Failure to complete = app rejected

6. Content rating — required for all apps

Play Console → App content → Content ratings
  - Complete the IARC questionnaire
  - Rating applies globally (ESRB, PEGI, etc.)
  - Get rating BEFORE submitting for review

7. Store listing requirements

App icon:       512×512 PNG, max 1MB, no alpha
Feature graphic: 1024×500 PNG/JPG, required for featured placement
Screenshots:    2-8 per form factor (phone, tablet)
                Phone: 1080×1920 or 1920×1080 minimum
                Tablet: 1920×1200 or 2560×1600 minimum
Short description: max 80 characters
Full description:  max 4000 characters

8. Release tracks — use the right one

Internal testing  → up to 100 testers, instant publish
Closed testing    → specific tester groups, review required
Open testing      → anyone can join, review required  
Production        → full rollout, review required (3-7 days first time)

✅ Strategy:
  1. Internal testing → get team feedback
  2. Closed alpha → beta testers
  3. Staged production rollout → 10% → 50% → 100%

9. App signing — use Play App Signing

Play Console → Setup → App integrity → Play App Signing
  - Google manages your release key
  - You upload with upload key (upload key compromise is recoverable)
  - Enables AAB optimization
  
✅ Enroll in Play App Signing BEFORE first release
❌ Managing your own release key = unrecoverable if lost

10. ProGuard mapping — upload for crash reports

// Upload mapping file so Crashlytics shows real stack traces
buildTypes {
    release {
        // mapping.txt generated at build/outputs/mapping/release/mapping.txt
        // Upload to Play Console → Android vitals → Deobfuscation files
        // Or configure Crashlytics auto-upload:
    }
}

// build.gradle.kts
plugins { id("com.google.firebase.crashlytics") }
firebaseCrashlytics {
    mappingFileUploadEnabled = true  // auto-uploads on release build
}

Pre-launch checklist

• isDebuggable = false in release build type
• isMinifyEnabled = true and isShrinkResources = true
• targetSdk = 35 (current requirement)
• versionCode incremented from last upload
• No test code or mock data in release build
• API keys point to production endpoints (not dev/staging)
• All permissions declared in manifest and justified in Data Safety
• Proguard rules preserve DTO classes for serialization
• All 3rd party SDK privacy policies added to Data Safety
• App tested on physical device with release build (adb install)
• Crash monitoring enabled (Firebase Crashlytics or similar)
• Analytics enabled for production

Common Mistakes

❌ Uploading APK instead of AAB — rejected since 2021 ❌ isDebuggable = true in release — security violation, rejected by Play ❌ Forgetting to increment versionCode — rejected, same version already uploaded ❌ targetSdk too old — Play Store rejection after grace period ❌ No mapping file upload — crash reports show obfuscated stack traces ❌ Incomplete Data Safety form — app removed from store