Not hard to press submit, but five things must be right first. Here they are.
That's our view, not a store rule. Each of the five ties to Apple's or Google's own page, checked 22 October 2026.
Is it hard to publish an app on the App Store and Google Play?
No, not to press submit. Yes, it is easy to get wrong the first time, because five things have to be right before either store publishes your app. This is our reading, not a store rule. Each point below stands on a line from Apple or Google.
1. Accounts and verification. Each store needs a developer account. Google offers personal and organization accounts, with identity verification, and device verification for new personal accounts. Apple permits individual and organization enrolment. An individual's legal name is the seller. An organization needs a legal entity, the authority to bind it and normally a D-U-N-S number. Apple also requires two-factor authentication on your Apple Account. More in the accounts section (Apple, Become a member; Google, Get started with Play Console; checked 22 October 2026).
2. Privacy and data forms. Apple's App Privacy details are required to submit new apps and app updates, and they cover the code of any third party you add. Google's Data safety form is required for every published app, even one that collects no user data, and a privacy policy is needed to complete it. If people can create an account in your app, both stores want a way to delete it from inside the app, with some exceptions. More in the checklist (checked 22 October 2026).
3. A real build, not a website in a wrapper. Apple's guideline 4.2 asks for useful functionality beyond a repackaged website. Google lists limited utility and broken or crashing behaviour as violations. Google Play needs a signed bundle, and Apple needs you to select the build. A website address or a code export is not a store build. More in the AI-builder section (checked 22 October 2026).
4. Review, and what follows a rejection. On Apple, Add for Review only stages your submission, and Submit for Review sends it. Review and release are separate steps. Apple's review page gives typical review times, not a deadline. Google says some reviews take "up to seven days or longer in exceptional cases". A rejection names the issue, and you can fix it, reply or appeal. More in how long it takes and what happens if you are rejected (checked 22 October 2026).
5. Google's testing rule for new personal accounts. If your Google Play personal account was created after 13 November 2023, Google asks you to meet a testing rule before you can apply for production access. Meeting it lets you apply. It is not automatic approval. The whole rule is in Google Play's testing rule (Google, checked 22 October 2026).
None of the five is deep; the work is doing them in order, before you submit. That is our view. We can't promise how a review will go.
- Accounts
- Privacy forms
- A real build
- Submit and review
- Release
On Google Play, personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 add a testing rule before production access.
What accounts do I need, and whose name should they be in?
You need one developer account for each store you publish on, and the account should be in your name or your company's, not a freelancer's. Register it yourself, as the owner, so the app stays yours. That is our advice, not a store rule.
Google Play. Google offers personal and organization accounts. It verifies your identity, and it verifies a device for new personal accounts. Don't register as an organization just to avoid Google's testing rule. If you do have a company, register as one because it is the right owner, not for that reason. That part is our advice (Google, Get started with Play Console, checked 22 October 2026).
Apple App Store. Apple permits individual (sole proprietor) and organization enrolment. As an individual, your legal name appears as the seller. An organization needs a legal entity, authority to bind it and normally a D-U-N-S number. Two-factor authentication on your Apple Account is required (Apple, Become a member, checked 22 October 2026).
Do I have to pay? Both stores have an enrolment fee, and building and testing your app are separate from it. We give no amounts here because they change. Apple's and Google's own enrolment pages carry the current fee and the conditions, including the waiver conditions Apple lists. For a plain answer on cost, see What it costs to publish an app.
Sources: Apple, Become a member; Google, Get started with Play Console, checked 22 October 2026.
Can I publish an app I built with Lovable, Replit or another AI builder?
Maybe, if what your builder gives you is a real store build. A link to a website isn't one. Check what yours produces, then find your row.
| What you have | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A web app, for example from Lovable or Replit | It runs in a browser. A website address is not a store build, and Apple's 4.2 and Google's functionality policy both go after apps that are little more than a website in a wrapper. | It needs converting into a real app first. That is its own job: How do I turn an AI-built web app into a store app? |
| A mobile app project, for example from FlutterFlow or Expo | You still need the accounts, the privacy forms, a signed bundle for Google Play and a selected build for Apple. | Follow your builder's current documentation for the build and signing steps. We don't give builder-specific steps here, because they change. |
| Only a code export, for example on GitHub | An export is a copy of your code. It is not a store build. | Read Export your code for the export itself. |
The store's rules apply whichever builder you used. We can't tell you that any builder gets around them, and we don't think you should plan on it.
Sources: Apple, App Review Guidelines (4.2); Google Play Console Help, Functionality, Content and User Experience, checked 22 October 2026. Which routes suit which builder is our framing, not a store rule.
What do I need ready before I submit?
The same short list for both stores. Run it before you press anything. It is our list, built from Apple's and Google's own requirements, checked 22 October 2026.
Before you submit
Accounts
- Your developer account is in your own name or your company's, and verified (see the accounts section above).
- Two-factor authentication is on for your Apple Account.
Build
- Google Play: a signed bundle is ready, and you have chosen the package identifier. It is permanent.
- Apple: you have selected the build you want reviewed.
- The app opens and works, and it is more than a website in a wrapper (Apple 4.2; Google's functionality policy).
Listing
- Your listing matches what the app does (Apple 2.3, accurate metadata).
- Google Play: name, language, category, free or paid, contact details and declarations are filled in. Follow the console as it looks today.
Privacy
- Apple: the App Privacy details are answered, including third-party code such as analytics, ad networks and SDKs.
- Google: the Data safety form is complete, even if your app collects no data.
- A privacy policy sits at a publicly accessible URL. Apple lists it as required, and Google needs it to complete the Data safety form.
- If people can create an account in your app, there is a way to delete it from inside the app. Google also wants a web link, set in Play Console. Both have exceptions. Read Why apps get rejected for the rules and the exceptions. This is store policy, not legal advice.
Reviewer access
- If your app needs a sign-in, the reviewer can get in and test it (Apple 2.1, a complete and usable submission). For example, a test login they can use. That detail is our wording.
Google's testing rule
- If your Google Play personal account was created after 13 November 2023, line this up early. See Google Play's testing rule.
Submitting
- Apple: you know that Add for Review only stages it and Submit for Review sends it, and you have chosen your release option.
- Don't send the same submission again without a change.
For everything around the launch itself, such as the page, your first users and the support route, use the Launch List.
Sources: Apple, App Review Guidelines and App privacy details on the App Store; Google Play Console Help, Data safety and Create and set up your app, checked 22 October 2026. "Don't send the same submission again without a change" is our advice.
How do I publish an app on the Google Play Store?
Create the app record, finish the listing and declarations, complete Data safety, upload a signed bundle, meet the testing rule if it applies to you, then submit.
- Verify your account. Identity verification, and device verification for a new personal account.
- Create the app record. Choose its language, name, category and whether it is free or paid. Add your contact details and the declarations Google asks for.
- Complete the listing. Fill in the content and listing information.
- Fill in the Data safety form. Add your privacy policy. The form covers data handled through third-party libraries or SDKs, and every published app completes it, even one that collects no data.
- Prepare a signed bundle. The package identifier is permanent, so choose it with care.
- Check the testing rule. If your personal account was created after 13 November 2023, you need to meet Google's testing rule before you can apply for production access. Meeting it lets you apply. It is not automatic approval. See Google Play's testing rule.
- Submit. Google says that for certain developer accounts reviews can take "up to seven days or longer in exceptional cases". More on timing below.
Follow the console as it looks today. Menu labels change, so we don't copy them here.
Sources: Google Play Console Help, Create and set up your app, Data safety and Publish your app, checked 22 October 2026.
How do I publish an app to the Apple App Store?
Enrol, set up the app in App Store Connect with its metadata and App Privacy answers, select the build, then use Add for Review and Submit for Review.
- Enrol. As an individual or an organization, with two-factor authentication on your Apple Account.
- Prepare the required metadata. It has to be accurate: it should match what the app does.
- Answer the App Privacy details and add your privacy policy URL. Both are required. You can change your answers later without an app update.
- Select the build you want reviewed.
- Check your account role. You need an appropriate role to submit.
- Add for Review, then Submit for Review. Add for Review only stages the submission. Submit for Review sends it to App Review.
- Make sure the reviewer can get in. If your app needs a sign-in, give working access.
- Review, then release. They are separate steps. Set your availability and release options.
Sources: Apple, Submit an app, Overview of publishing your app on the App Store, App privacy details on the App Store and App Review Guidelines, checked 22 October 2026.
How long does it take to publish an app?
Nobody can promise a date, and review is only one step.
We give the stores' own words. Apple's App Review page gives typical review times, not an approval deadline (checked 22 October 2026). Google says that for certain developer accounts it takes more time to review apps, which "may result in review times of up to seven days or longer in exceptional cases". Its page doesn't say that new developers are the ones affected (checked 22 October 2026). We add no number of our own.
Review is not release. On Apple they are separate steps, each with its own options. A new Google Play personal account has one more step, which is a separate application for production access. That is covered in Google Play's testing rule.
The time that is in your hands is the preparation: the accounts, the forms and the build. That is our view.
Sources: Apple, App Review; Google Play Console Help, Publish your app, checked 22 October 2026.
Should I publish on Apple or Google first?
Start where your first users are. The store rules give no answer to which comes first, so that is our advice, not a rule. These are the places the two stores differ.
| Apple App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Individual (legal name as seller) or organization (legal entity, normally a D-U-N-S number). Two-factor authentication. | Personal or organization. Identity verification, and device verification for new personal accounts. |
| What you upload | A selected build. | A signed bundle. The package identifier is permanent. |
| Privacy forms | App Privacy details, and a privacy policy URL. | The Data safety form. A privacy policy is needed to complete it. |
| Testing rule | None in the rules we checked. | Personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 need to meet a testing rule before production access. See Google Play's testing rule. |
| Submitting | Add for Review stages it. Submit for Review sends it. | Submit once the listing, declarations and Data safety form are complete. |
| Review time | Typical review times published, no deadline. | "Up to seven days or longer in exceptional cases" for certain accounts. |
Every cell checked 22 October 2026. We have not ranked the stores, and we don't say one is easier or faster.
What happens if my app is rejected?
A rejection names the issue. On Apple, you can reply to App Review in App Store Connect with more detail, or appeal if you disagree with the outcome. Nobody can promise the result.
On Google Play, check Policy status in Play Console, fix the policy it cites, then resubmit. A rejected update there leaves the previous published version available (Apple and Google, checked 22 October 2026).
For the notice, the rule behind it and the fix, see Why apps get rejected.
Questions.
Is it hard to publish an app on the App Store?
Pressing submit is not hard. Getting it right the first time is, and that is our view, not a store rule. Five things must be right first: your accounts, the privacy forms, a real build, review, and, for new Google Play personal accounts, a testing rule. Each is covered in this guide. Rules checked 22 October 2026.
How long does it take to publish an app?
Nobody can promise a date. Apple's review page reports typical review times, not a deadline. Google says reviews for certain developer accounts can take "up to seven days or longer in exceptional cases". Review is not release either: on Apple, an approved app still has its own release options. Both checked 22 October 2026.
Do I need a privacy policy to publish an app?
Yes, on both stores. Google says a privacy policy is required to complete the Data safety form, which every published app fills in, even if it collects no user data. Apple's App Store Connect lists a publicly accessible privacy policy URL as required, alongside its App Privacy questions. Checked 22 October 2026.
Can I publish an app I built with an AI builder?
Maybe, if what your builder gives you is a real store build. A link to a website isn't one: Apple asks for useful functionality beyond a repackaged website, and Google Play needs a signed bundle. A web app has to be converted first, and the store's rules apply whichever builder you used. Checked 22 October 2026.
Does Google Play make me test my app before I publish?
If your personal account was created after 13 November 2023, yes. Google asks you to meet its testing rule before you can apply for production access. Meeting it lets you apply; it does not mean automatic approval. Our guide to Google Play's testing rule covers it in full. Checked 22 October 2026.
Is Add for Review the same as Submit for Review?
No. Add for Review only stages your submission in App Store Connect. Submit for Review is the step that sends it to App Review, and you need a suitable account role to do it. Review and public release are also separate, so check your release option too. Checked 22 October 2026.