Do I need a company to publish or can I use a personal account?

You can publish as an individual on both stores and many indies do. An organization account requires a D-U-N-S Number registered to the legal entity, which Apple confirms is available free of charge, plus organization documents and a verified public phone number on Google Play. Choose the entity that will be the legal seller long term, because the public developer name, address and bundle identifier are very hard to change later.

Can I keep my home address private if I publish in the EU?

No, if you are assessed as a trader under the EU Digital Services Act. When you distribute on the App Store in the EU, Apple asks you to declare trader or non-trader status and, for traders, displays your address or P.O. Box, phone number and email on the App Store product page in the EU. An organization shows its D-U-N-S-associated address. If you need privacy, consider a business address or P.O. Box that you can receive mail at and verify.

What if I created my Google Play personal account after 13 November 2023 and need to launch quickly?

You cannot go straight to production. You must run a closed test with at least 12 testers continuously opted in for at least 14 days, then apply for production access from the Play Console Dashboard and wait for that grant before a production release becomes available. Plan at least three weeks for testing plus review, and do not promise a launch date until this gate is cleared.

Do I need an accountant or lawyer before I start?

Not for the technical submission itself, but you should get advice before you declare EU trader status and before you choose personal versus organization type, because that declaration and the public contact it publishes have legal and tax consequences. If you are uncertain whether you qualify as an EU-law trader, obtain jurisdiction-specific legal advice before answering in App Store Connect.

I already created the App Store Connect record with the wrong bundle ID — can I fix it?

Bundle identifiers are effectively permanent once the store record is created. You cannot rename a bundle ID on an existing record. You need to create a new app record with the correct identifier, recreate App Privacy, ratings and signing for it, and abandon the old record. Verify the identifier against your signed archive before you create the record.

Ship your first app to the App Store and Google Play

Your finished app is live and searchable in both stores, both paid developer accounts are verified including EU trader disclosure where required, privacy and content declarations are filed from a tested inventory, a closed test and review have been passed, and the first release and any staged update can be monitored, paused or halted.

Fby Finito HQEchipa Finito

Created 3 weeks agoUpdated 2 weeks ago

Free preview: 4 of 22 steps

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Who it's for

First-time publishers with a build-ready iOS and Android app, including React Native or Expo developers and solo founders who have never completed Apple and Google verification, privacy disclosures or review

About this playbook

This guide takes you from a working build to a live listing in App Store Connect and Google Play Console without guessing at the gates that block first-time publishers. You will open and verify both developer accounts, lock permanent identifiers and signing, clear EU trader verification, build a single data inventory to complete Apple App Privacy with PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy and Google Play Data safety correctly, publish a working privacy policy and account-deletion path, complete age and content ratings, rehearse on TestFlight and Play Console test tracks, pass Google Play closed testing and production access where it applies, submit with reviewer access, and answer a rejection without resubmitting blindly. It does not cover app store optimization, screenshots and copywriting, or the implementation of in-app purchase and subscription billing logic, which are handled by companion playbooks.

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6 phases · 22 steps

Only a sample is open: 4 of 22 steps can be read in full. The rest unlock when you buy.

Phase 1: Enroll and verify your Apple and Google developer accounts
4 steps
Phase 2: Lock permanent identifiers and create the store app records
3 steps
Phase 3: Clear EU trader and privacy compliance gates
6 steps
Phase 4: Rehearse on test tracks and prepare the review package
4 steps
Phase 5: Submit for review and answer the decision
3 steps
Phase 6: Release the approved app and control the rollout
2 steps

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Details

Estimated duration14 hours 25 min

Steps22

Estimated budget124 USD to 150 USD first year — 99 USD Apple Developer Program annual

What you need first

A installable release build for iOS and Android with its finalized app name and icon, access to the legal entity or individual who will own the stores, a D-U-N-S Number if enrolling as an organization, a verified email and phone for public developer contact, and admin access to the backend and SDK list to inventory data collection