Hi there. I'm zm soft, a developer who registered with Google Play in late 2023 and started releasing apps. I'm also planning to release an app made for developers — feel free to check it out.
Google's Policy Change
This happens partway through the release process, but since it's one of the biggest hurdles for many developers, I want to address it first. Due to this policy change, accounts registered as developers after November 13, 2023 are required to complete a closed test with at least 20 users before publishing an app. I decided to start developing in mid-December and tried submitting a simple app at the end of December — that's when I first learned about this policy change, and it was discouraging. Finding 20 testers is genuinely difficult for someone like me who doesn't have a large personal network.
How I Found Testers
In the end, my personal connections weren't enough, so I turned to online communities — not X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram, but these two platforms where I signed up fresh and connected with other developers to exchange testing:
Communication on both is primarily in English. I used PL Cording (a YouTube link — I joined through the video description) on Discord and r/AndroidCloseTesting on Reddit. In both, the general approach is one or both of the following:
- Post your own thread requesting testers
- Reach out directly to developers who are looking for testers
A word of caution on Reddit: new accounts tend to get banned more easily. Depending on how you get started, you may lose the ability to post. People who already use Reddit regularly may not run into this, but new users should be careful.
How to Register Testers
Since unpublished apps aren't visible to other users, you need to register testers in Play Console. There are two ways to do this, and I recommend Google Groups:
- Mailing list
- Google Groups
Registering via Mailing List
With a mailing list, you have to manually add each tester's email address yourself. The registration itself isn't complicated, but you need at least 20 testers — coordinating individually with other developers and entering each address quickly becomes a burden. The downside is that testers can't join on their own initiative.
Registering via Google Groups
Depending on your settings, testers can join the group themselves, meaning you can get testers registered without any individual back-and-forth.
To create a new group, use [+New conversation]. Under [Group Settings] → [General], set it so anyone can join.
Example Tester Recruitment Messages
Based on the above, here are real examples I used when recruiting testers through each method.
For a Mailing List
Hi, I want to release my first app. Please help me.
Check the link for details.
Google Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/example/viewform
For Google Groups
I'm creating an app for developers.
Please join the group and test it.
https://groups.google.com/g/zmsoftdevelop
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.andro.zm.tools.androidtesterspayforward
Tester Region Settings
When working with other developers, some testers may tell you they "can't access the app" even after being registered — or you might run into the same issue as a tester. This is almost always a region settings problem. Unless there's a specific reason not to, I recommend setting your app to all regions.
Paid Apps
I've covered how difficult the new closed testing requirement is, but it gets even harder for paid apps. The paid/free status can't be changed after publishing, and closed testing downloads also require purchase.
If you have a better approach, please share it in the comments.
Closing
Today I shared the challenges of closed testing and how I got through them. I'm working on releasing an app for developers to help reduce the burden on newer developers like me — please check it out when it launches.