Google Play Console Workflow

Data safety, content rating, and staged rollout - the Google Play Console checklist for Expo SDK 57 AABs uploaded via EAS Submit. Runtime permissions and manifest hygiene are covered in Permissions & Play Policy; this page is the store-operator view from first app creation through production rollout.

How to Use This Checklist

• Tier 1 - one-time app setup and Play App Signing.
• Tier 2 - policy forms that gate every track (internal included on first release).
• Tier 3 - store listing and creative assets per release.
• Tier 4 - upload, testing tracks, and production staged rollout.
• Re-run Tier 2 when adding SDKs that collect data, request dangerous permissions, or show ads.

Tier 1: App Setup (before first upload)

• Google Play Developer account active; one-time registration fee paid
• App created in Play Console with default language and app name
• android.package in app.config.ts matches Play app ID - cannot change after first publish
• Play App Signing enabled - Google holds app signing key; you upload with upload key
• Upload key registered with EAS - see Signing & Play App Signing
• Service account for EAS Submit with Release to testing tracks (minimum) or Release to production
• Service account JSON path in eas.json - not committed to git
• versionCode scheme documented - monotonic integer every upload
• Privacy policy URL on public HTTPS page
• Target API level meets Play requirements for SDK 57 / RN 0.86 builds (verify in EAS build logs)

// eas.json - submit to internal first
{
  "submit": {
    "production": {
      "android": {
        "serviceAccountKeyPath": "./secrets/play-service-account.json",
        "track": "internal"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tier 2: Policy & Compliance (gates all tracks)

Data safety form

• Data safety section opened in Play Console → Start
• Inventory all SDKs - analytics, crash, ads, auth, push, maps (grep package.json + app.config.ts plugins)
• For each data type collected:
  • Collected or shared answered honestly
  • Purpose matches actual use (analytics vs fraud prevention vs personalization)
  • Encrypted in transit - HTTPS for your API; SDK defaults documented
  • Users can request deletion - aligns with in-app account deletion if accounts exist
• Location - precise vs approximate matches expo-location usage
• Photos and videos - matches picker vs broad storage reads
• Device or other IDs - advertising ID, Firebase installation ID, etc.
• Data safety labels preview matches what users see on Play Store listing
• Cross-check with Compliance: ATT & Privacy Labels for iOS parity

Content rating

• Content rating questionnaire started (IARC)
• Violence, gambling, user-generated content, and location sharing answered accurately
• Received rating (Everyone, Teen, Mature, etc.) applied to release
• Re-run questionnaire when adding chat, WebView user content, or loot mechanics

Target audience & news apps

• Target audience and content - age groups selected; no appeal to children if not designed for them
• News apps declaration if applicable
• COVID-19 apps declaration if applicable (legacy form may still appear)
• Government apps declaration if applicable

Ads & declarations

• Contains ads toggle matches reality (AdMob, mediation SDKs)
• App access - credentials provided if login required for review (like iOS review notes)
• Ads ID - declare if using advertising ID; respect Privacy Sandbox / opt-out flows

Permissions alignment

• AndroidManifest.xml permissions (via prebuild) match Data safety - remove unused permissions with blockedPermissions
• Dangerous permissions have in-app rationale before system prompt
• See Permissions & Play Policy for photo picker and notification patterns

Tier 3: Store Listing (every release)

Main store listing

• App name ≤ 30 characters
• Short description ≤ 80 characters - primary value prop
• Full description ≤ 4000 characters - features match submitted build
• App icon 512×512 PNG
• Feature graphic 1024×500 JPG or PNG (required for featuring)
• Phone screenshots - min 2, max 8; 16:9 or 9:16; current UI
• 7-inch tablet and 10-inch tablet screenshots if supportsTablet or layout targets tablets
• Chromebook / Android XR assets if distributing to those form factors
• Video optional - YouTube URL
• Localized listings per country/language you support

Release notes

• Release notes per language - user-visible changes for this versionCode
• No keyword stuffing - Play may flag ASO abuse

Pricing & distribution

• Countries/regions selected
• Free or paid consistent with billing setup
• Managed Google Play / enterprise constraints if B2B

Tier 4: Upload, Tracks & Staged Rollout

Build upload

• eas build --profile production --platform android produces AAB
• android.versionCode incremented in app.config.ts
• eas submit --platform android --latest succeeds
• Play Console shows release Processing → Available to testers or In review

Testing track progression (recommended)

• Internal testing - up to 100 testers; minutes-to-hours processing
• Closed testing (alpha) - email lists, larger QA pool
• Open testing (beta) - public opt-in URL
• Sign-off checklist completed on each track before production
• See Internal Testing Tracks

Production release

• Promote tested AAB to Production (or submit track: "production" via EAS)
• Staged rollout enabled - start 5–10% for risky releases
• Rollout percentage owners documented (who can pause/halt)
• Monitor Android vitals - crash rate, ANR rate, startup time
• Increase rollout: 10% → 20% → 50% → 100% with go/no-go between steps
• Halt rollout procedure ready - see Phased Release & Rollback

## Staged rollout go/no-go (example)
| Gate | Threshold | Action |
|------|-----------|--------|
| Crash rate | < 1.1× baseline | Continue rollout |
| ANR rate | < 1.5× baseline | Pause at current % |
| 1-star spike | > 2× daily avg | Halt + triage |

Post-release

• Pre-launch report reviewed (Accessibility, security, SDK warnings)
• Policy status green - no outstanding violations
• Archive AAB mapping file if using R8 mapping for crash deobfuscation
• Tag git store/android/2.4.0-build240012

Dashboard Required Tasks (quick audit)

Open Play Console → Dashboard and clear every red item before expecting production visibility:

• Set up your app (initial wizard)
• Privacy policy
• App access (login credentials for reviewers)
• Ads declaration
• Content rating
• Target audience
• Data safety
• Store listing (at least default language)
• Select countries

FAQs

Related

• Store Operations Basics - dual-store release flow
• Permissions & Play Policy - runtime permissions cookbook
• Internal Testing Tracks - alpha/beta progression
• Signing & Play App Signing - upload key setup
• Compliance: ATT & Privacy Labels - cross-store privacy alignment
• Phased Release & Rollback - halt Play rollout
• EAS Submit - AAB upload automation

Stack versions: This page was written for React 19.2.3, React Native 0.86.0, and Expo SDK 57 (expo ~57.0.4).