Publish to the App Store and Google Play From One Build

Why publishing has a reliable process

Every app that ships to both stores follows the same process, and knowing it in advance is the whole difference between a smooth launch and a stalled one. Builders enroll in both developer programs, clear the privacy and compliance fields, run Google's closed test, and submit both stores from one EAS pipeline. The same pattern shows up across every launch: the builders who prepare early publish smoothly, and the ones who leave the accounts and rules until finish-day get stuck. That gap between a prepared launch and a scrambled one is your reliability.

What you need to publish

Publishing to both stores needs a handful of things lined up. An enrolled Apple Developer account and a Google Play Console account are the foundation, and Apple's enrollment can take days to verify. You need your app metadata - name, subtitle, description, keywords - your screenshots at the right sizes, a working privacy policy URL, and completed privacy and data safety forms. For Google, you also need a passed 14-day closed test with 12 testers. Getting these lined up early is what keeps the paperwork from becoming the thing that blocks your launch.

• Accounts (enroll early) - Apple Developer Program and Google Play Console
• Metadata - app name, subtitle, description, and keyword field for each store
• Screenshots - the required sizes for each store, real screens of your app
• Privacy - App Privacy labels, Google's Data Safety form, a working policy URL
• Google closed test - 12 testers for 14 continuous days before production access

One build, both stores: the EAS pipeline

The defining advantage in publishing is that one Expo codebase ships to both stores. EAS Build produces both an iOS and an Android build from the same React Native project, and EAS Submit pushes each to the right store - no Mac and no separate projects. As the builder, confirm the build number increments, the correct signing credentials are attached, and the right build is selected in App Store Connect and Google Play Console before you submit. Build once, submit to both, and pair that with a real-device test - the two together are the full method.

Google's closed test: the step that surprises people

Google Play is a primary hurdle first-time builders miss: new personal developer accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 continuous days before they can apply for production access. Apple has no equivalent, so builders who only planned for Apple get blindsided. Line up your 12 testers early - the club itself works as your tester pool - and start the 14-day clock as soon as your build is ready so the test finishes when you are ready to launch, turning a two-week wall into a solved step.

Clear each store's rules

Lead your submission with each store's rules cleared, since Apple's reviewer and Google's checks will use the app precisely. For Apple, the app must be distinct enough to pass Guideline 4.3, crash-free on a real device, correct in its purchase flow, and complete in its privacy labels. For Google, the Data Safety form must be accurate and the closed test passed. Confirm each store's compliance fields are filled honestly, because a disclosed, complete submission clears review while a missing field bounces it back the moment the reviewer opens it.

Publish and keep 85% of revenue

Once the accounts, metadata, closed test, and rules are cleared, EAS submits your app to both stores and the review begins. Enroll in the Apple App Store Small Business Program and Google Play's equivalent before you launch, which most first-time builders qualify for, so you keep 85% of every dollar instead of 70%. The general rule holds: a prepared app publishes smoothly to both stores from one pipeline, as long as the accounts, rules, and closed test are all lined up before you hit submit.