Vincent Bellet

Google Play is making it irrational for indie developers to build for Android. I learned that the hard way today while recording a video showing developers how to publish their apps. If you created a personal Play Console account after November 13, 2023, every new app needs a closed test with 12 testers for 14 consecutive days before you can even apply for production access. Every. New. App. The alternative is a legitimate organization account, which requires business verification and a D-U-N-S number. The absurd part? Because I already run a business and have a D-U-N-S number, it was easier for me to convert my account into an organization than follow Google’s personal developer process. That isn’t quality control. It’s gatekeeping through bureaucracy. This hurts the exact developers Google should be encouraging: indie builders trying to ship quickly, validate ideas, and close the feedback loop. Most developers won’t spend two weeks recruiting 12 people for every experiment. They’ll launch on iOS first or abandon the Android version entirely. Someone in our Discord joked that Apple is now the developer-friendly platform. Honestly, based on my experience, they have a point. If my screenshots and metadata are ready, I can prepare and submit an iOS app in under an hour. Apple still reviews it, of course, but it doesn’t make me recruit a testing group before every new application. Google may be reducing spam. It’s also giving legitimate developers a reason to deprioritize the Play Store. That means Android users miss out on some great apps. Anyway, the good news is that I now officially have an organization Google Play account. And my step-by-step Android publishing video is still coming. After today, I’m even more convinced that it needs to exist.