# App Store Readiness Checklist for iOS & Google Play > Free yes-or-no checklist before you submit to the App Store or Google Play: 20 checks from Apple’s and Google’s requirements, open items in priority order. Canonical: https://makeyourapp.live/tools/app-store-readiness-checklist Last updated: 2026-10-28 Answer each check yes or no. Required items are store requirements or documented rejection reasons; fix those first. This checks preparation, not approval: only Apple and Google decide review outcomes. ## Accounts and build ### Apple Developer Program membership Is your Apple Developer Program membership active, enrolled as the person or organization you want shown as the seller? (Required; App Store) If not: Enroll or renew before anything else. Choose individual or organization on purpose: it sets the seller name on your listing, and Apple lists what each type needs. - [Apple Developer Program enrollment](https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/) ### Google Play closed test finished If your Play Console account is a personal account created after 13 November 2023, has your app finished the closed test Google requires before production access? (Required; Google Play) If not: Start the closed test now. Google requires a minimum number of testers opted in for a continuous period; check the current numbers on its page and plan the full period before your launch date. - [App testing requirements for new personal developer accounts](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/14151465) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/google-play-closed-testing-12-testers-test-plan) ### Built with the required Xcode and SDK Is your upload built with the Xcode version and SDK that Apple currently requires for App Store Connect? (Required; App Store) If not: Check the current minimum on Apple’s upcoming requirements page and rebuild with it. App Store Connect only accepts uploads that meet it. - [Apple upcoming requirements](https://developer.apple.com/news/upcoming-requirements/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-submission-checklist) ### Targets the required Android API level Does your Android build target the API level Google Play currently requires for new apps and updates? (Required; Google Play) If not: Raise targetSdkVersion to the level on Google’s target API page, then retest: each level changes some platform behaviour. - [Target API level requirements for Google Play apps](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/11926878) ### Android App Bundle (.aab) Is your Android release built as an Android App Bundle (.aab)? (Required; Google Play) If not: New apps on Google Play must be published as App Bundles. Build an .aab rather than an APK for the Play upload. - [About Android App Bundles](https://developer.android.com/guide/app-bundle) ### Release build tested on a real device Have you tested the exact release build, installed from TestFlight or a Play testing track, on a real device with every main flow working and no crashes? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Install the release build, not a debug or simulator build, and walk through sign-up, the core feature and any purchase. Apple rejects binaries that crash or show obvious technical problems (guideline 2.1). - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-rejection-2-1-release-build-test-plan) ### Backend live during review Will your backend, APIs and third-party services stay live and unchanged while review is in progress? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Point the build at production services and hold backend changes until approval. Guideline 2.1 asks you to turn on your back-end service for review. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-rejection-2-1-release-build-test-plan) ### No placeholder content or broken links Is every screen, link and string final, with no placeholder text, test data or broken URLs? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Search the app for lorem ipsum, TODO and test data, and open every link in the app and the listing. Guideline 2.1 asks for placeholder content to be removed before submission. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-rejection-how-to-fix) ### More than a repackaged website If your app mainly shows a website, does it add features, content or interface that go beyond that website? (Required; App Store) If not: Guideline 4.2 asks apps to be more than a repackaged website. Decide what the app does that the site cannot, and build that before you submit. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/how-to-publish-lovable-app-to-app-store) ## Review access ### Working demo account for reviewers If your app needs a login, have you added a working demo account (or demo mode) to App Store Connect’s App Review Information and Play Console’s sign-in details? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Create credentials that stay valid through review, one per account type, and test them on the release build. Apple accepts a demonstration mode for apps with sensitive data. - [Provide information for a complete review](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-review/before-submitting-for-review/complete-review) - [Prepare your app for review (Play Console)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859455) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-review-demo-account-setup) ### Review notes written Have you written review notes that explain what the app does, its business model, where key features are and which devices you tested on? (Recommended; App Store) If not: Add these to App Review Information. Apple lists what the notes should cover for new apps and updates. - [Provide information for a complete review](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-review/before-submitting-for-review/complete-review) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-review-demo-account-setup) ## Privacy and data ### Privacy policy linked in the listing and the app Is your privacy policy published at a public URL, entered in the store listing and easy to find inside the app? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Publish the policy, add its URL in App Store Connect and Play Console, and link it from a settings or about screen. It should explain data retention and how people request deletion. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Google Play Data safety section](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10787469) ### Privacy answers include your SDKs Have you completed Apple’s App Privacy answers and Google Play’s Data safety form, including data collected by SDKs such as analytics, ads and crash reporting? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: List every SDK in the release build and what it collects, then answer for your code and those SDKs together. - [App privacy details on the App Store](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/app-privacy-details/) - [Google Play Data safety section](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10787469) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-privacy-labels-analytics-sdk-audit) ### Privacy manifests for app and SDKs Do your app and its third-party SDKs include the privacy manifests, approved API reasons and signatures that Apple requires? (Required; App Store) If not: Update listed SDKs to versions that ship a privacy manifest, and declare approved reasons for any listed APIs your own code calls. - [Third-party SDK requirements](https://developer.apple.com/support/third-party-SDK-requirements/) - [Apple upcoming requirements](https://developer.apple.com/news/upcoming-requirements/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-privacy-labels-analytics-sdk-audit) ### Account deletion in the app (and on the web for Play) If people can create an account, can they delete it from inside the app, and, for Google Play, also from a web page? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Add a delete-account option in settings that removes the account and its data. Google Play also needs a working web page for deletion requests, entered in the Data safety form. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Understanding Google Play’s app account deletion requirements](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13327111) ### Equivalent login option (guideline 4.8) If people sign in with a third-party or social login, do you also offer an equivalent login option that meets Apple’s guideline 4.8? (Required; App Store) If not: Offer a login that limits data to name and email, lets people keep their email private, and doesn’t collect interactions for advertising without consent. Sign in with Apple is one such option. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) ## Store listing ### In-app purchases ready for review If you sell digital features or content, are your in-app purchases complete, submitted with this version and working for the reviewer? (Required; App Store) If not: Submit the in-app purchases with the version and test them in the sandbox. For subscriptions, give the reviewer an account with an expired subscription. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Provide information for a complete review](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-review/before-submitting-for-review/complete-review) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/how-to-monetize-an-app) ### Required screenshots and graphics Do you have every screenshot and graphic each store requires, showing the app in use rather than a splash or login screen? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Capture real screens from the release build. Apple lists the required display sizes; Google Play also needs an app icon and a feature graphic. - [Screenshot specifications (App Store Connect)](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/app-information/screenshot-specifications/) - [Add preview assets to showcase your app (Play Console)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9866151) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-submission-checklist) ### Listing describes only what ships Do your app name, description and screenshots describe only what this build actually does? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Remove planned features, other apps’ names and anything a reviewer can’t find in the build. Guideline 2.3 asks metadata to reflect the app’s core experience. - [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) - [Our guide](https://makeyourapp.live/blog/app-store-rejection-how-to-fix) ### Age and content rating answered Have you answered the current age rating questions in App Store Connect and the content rating questionnaire in Play Console? (Required; App Store and Google Play) If not: Answer for the content and features in this build. Both stores set your rating from these answers, and Google warns that inaccurate answers may lead to removal. - [Apple upcoming requirements](https://developer.apple.com/news/upcoming-requirements/) - [Content ratings (Play Console)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9898843) Sources checked on 2026-10-28. Where a number changes often, such as a minimum SDK or API level, follow the source for the current value. ## Related - [App Store submission service](https://makeyourapp.live/services/app-store-submission) - [Book a call](https://cal.com/bobde-yagyesh/30min)