How do I publish my app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store?

Create the developer accounts

1. 1Register for a Google Play Console account. Google charges a one-time USD 25 registration fee and asks for identity verification.
2. 2Enrol in the Apple Developer Program, which costs USD 99 per year.
3. 3If the app belongs to your business, register both accounts as an organisation rather than as an individual, so the business owns the listing. Apple asks organisations for a D-U-N-S number.
4. 4Make sure the accounts are in your name or your company's, not your developer's.

Prepare the store listing

• App name, short and full description, and category.
• App icon and screenshots in the sizes each store asks for.
• A privacy policy hosted on a public web page, describing what data the app collects and why.
• Answers to each store's data safety or privacy questions and content rating questionnaire.
• Support contact details and, if the app needs a login, a demo account for the reviewers.

Upload, test and submit

1. 1Build a signed release version of the app. On Android this is usually an app bundle uploaded to Play Console; on iOS the build is uploaded to App Store Connect.
2. 2Test with real users first through Play Console testing tracks and Apple's TestFlight. Google may require newer personal accounts to run a closed test before releasing to everyone; check its current rules.
3. 3Fill in pricing, countries and release details.
4. 4Submit for review and respond promptly to any questions from the reviewers.

Common reasons for rejection

• Crashes, broken links or features that do not work during review.
• A missing or vague privacy policy, or data use that does not match what you declared.
• No demo login for an app that requires sign-in.
• Apps that are mostly a wrapped website with little app-specific value, which Apple in particular may reject.
• Digital goods sold inside the app without using the store's in-app purchase system where the rules require it.