We assumed a finished app could just go up. It cannot. The store asks eleven questions before it will take the file.
What Google asked
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| How is personal data handled | Needs a public web address — so the policy page came first |
| Does it contain ads | No |
| Does it require a login | No — a reviewer sees everything without an account |
| Who is it for | 18+ (not for children) |
| What data is collected | None. There is no server |
| Is it a government, finance or health app | No to all |
| Content rating questionnaire | No violence, sex or gambling → Everyone |
The privacy policy took longest. Even when an app collects nothing, "it collects nothing" has to exist as a document at a public address.
A policy is required even when nothing is collected.
Writing "none" in ten paragraphs took longer than expected
Uploaded without a browser
Store text, icon and ten screenshots by hand is half a day. Doing it by command took minutes instead.
The title changed
In the app it stays ShotFolder, but the store title carries what people actually search for. Nobody searches the product name they have never heard.
Still cannot launch
Filling everything in does not open the door. New developers must run a closed test with 12 people for 14 days before production unlocks.
Billing is not built yet either — published today, everything would be free. That is probably the next episode.