Google Play Store Experience

It’s been a few weeks, and I am still trying to get the Xema app added to the Google Play store. It has been a long and interesting experience and I did not expect it to take this long.

Google Play Store Requirements

The Google Play Store has several requirements that need to be satisfied before an app can be published by an individual developer. Here is summary of what I had to do so far:

1.      Setup Google Play Developer Account

2.      App Signing

3.      App Play Store Presence Readiness

4.      App testing

Setting up Google Play Developer Account

To publish an Android app as an individual developer, Google requires you to set up a developer account, along with a $25 one-time registration fee. The following link provides more detailed steps on setting up a developer account.

App Signing

Publishing an app to Google Play requires your app to be digitally signed. Google requires your app to be signed two times. The entire app signing process looks something like the image below:

Image Source: android developer

Upload key – As a first step, Google requires a developer to sign their app using an upload key to ensure only an authorized person (one that has access to the upload key) can upload the app. Signing the app using an app key adds a layer of security and prevents a malicious app to be uploaded even if your Google Play account gets compromised. The detailed steps to generate an upload key and signing your app using it can be found here.

Signing key – This second signing step using a separate signing key, is needed to allow Google to securely distribute your app to various Android devices. While a developer can generate and use their own signing key, Google also offers to generate and securely store the signing key on the developer’s behalf. This is recommended for all new apps and has the advantage that if the upload key gets lost or compromised, a developer can reset that key and continue to upload new versions of the app. This won’t be possible if the developer chooses to use their own signing key.