Closed testing on Google Play
12 testers for 14 days, without begging on Reddit
TestBuddy puts you in a wave of 16 Android developers. You test the 15 other apps a few minutes a day, they test yours, and a small SDK measures the real use you will report to Google.
The rule
What Google asks, in Google's words
Every personal developer account created since November 2023 passes this gate before it can publish to production.
Developers with personal accounts created after November 13, 2023, must run a closed test for their app with a minimum of 12 testers who have been opted in continuously for at least 14 days.
Play Console Help, app testing requirements for new personal developer accounts
When you then apply for production access, the form asks, in short:
- How did you recruit your testers, and how easy was it?
- How engaged were they during the test?
- What feedback did you receive, and what did you change because of it?
Twelve friends who install and forget cannot answer that. Twelve developers who open your app every day for two weeks can.
How it works
A wave of 16, 14 days, about 30 minutes a day
Everyone in a wave is both a developer and a tester. Nobody is paid to install; everyone is paid in testers.
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Join the next wave
Sign in with Google, paste your closed test's opt-in link and add TestBuddy's tester group to your test in Play Console. The wave starts once 16 developers are in: you get 15 testers, and each of them gets you.
16 developers per wave, 15 testers for each app -
Add the SDK, one line
A Kotlin library with one dependency and no AndroidX. It links the install from the Play referrer, counts the time your app spends in the foreground, and shows nothing to anyone.
// Application.onCreate TestBuddy.init(this, "pk_...") -
Test the 15 other apps, every day for 14 days
Your queue lists them. Open each one and use it for 2 minutes; the ring closes one notch per app. The day ends at 06:00 the next morning in your time zone.
15 x 2 min about 30 minutes a day, a bit more if you dig in -
Watch the counter, then apply
Your Play track shows day 9 of 14 with 12+ testers, like Google will count it. On day 14 you apply for production access with your own numbers and your testers' feedback.
Day 14 the production access report is ready
Why it holds
Three rules that keep the testers real
Tester exchanges fail when nobody checks. TestBuddy checks, and pays.
- Use is measured, not declared
- 2 min
- A day counts for an app once the SDK has seen it in the foreground for 2 minutes, on a phone linked to a tester. Installs, screenshots and promises count for nothing.
- Reciprocity is enforced
- 1 day
- Miss one day of your queue and your own recruiting pauses until you complete the next one. Your current testers keep testing; you stop gaining new ones.
- Testers are paid for their work
- 14 credits
- Each validated tester day earns one credit. A tester place for your app costs 14, reserved up front and held until day 14. Your first wave is lent to you; your own tester days repay it.
If a tester drops, their reserved credits come back to you and a replacement is recruited. You hold 15 places against a rule of 12.
Pricing
Free to pass the test. You pay in testing time.
You get a wave with real testers, their written feedback and engagement measured by the SDK. No card, nothing to buy: your testing pays for your testers.
Free
0 EURno card needed
Everything you need to reach 12 testers for 14 days.
- A seat in the next wave
- 15 testers for your app
- The daily queue and the 14-day Play counter
- Written feedback from your testers, at day 3 and day 10
- Engagement report measured by the SDK
Your time
30 mina day, for 14 days
What the free plan costs you, and what makes your testers real.
- 15 apps to open, 2 minutes each, every day
- Your 15 testers put in the same time for your app
- A missed day pauses your own recruiting, nothing else
FAQ
Before you join
The questions developers ask before putting their app in a wave.
Is this allowed by Google?
Your testers are real Android developers who opt in to your closed test, install your app from Google Play and use it every day. That is what a closed test is for. There are no bots, no fake installs, and no exchange of reviews or ratings.
TestBuddy is an independent service. It is not affiliated with Google and does not claim Google's endorsement; Google decides on your production access, with the numbers you give it.
Do I need to integrate an SDK?
Yes. Without it nobody can tell real use from a tap on Install. It is a small Kotlin library: one dependency (the Play Install Referrer client), no AndroidX, minSdk 24, one line in Application.onCreate. It has no user interface and you can remove it before your production release.
What if a tester drops?
Their place ends, the credits reserved for it come back to you, and a replacement is recruited from the developers searching. You hold 15 places against a rule of 12, so one or two drops do not touch your Play counter.
A tester whose phone cannot run your app reports it, without blame, and gets another app to test; you get another tester.
What does it cost me in time?
About 30 minutes a day for 14 days: 15 apps, 2 minutes each, plus whatever real poking around you feel like. The day closes at 06:00 the next morning in your time zone.
Miss a day and your recruiting pauses until you complete the next one. Miss three days on the same app and that place is given to another tester.
I have an organization account. Do I need this?
Probably not. Google states the 12 testers for 14 days rule for personal developer accounts created after 13 November 2023. An organization account can still join a wave for real testers and written feedback before a launch.
What data do you collect?
From you: the name and email of your Google account, your app's package name and closed test link. From testers' phones, through the SDK: the link code, the time your app spends in the foreground and the objectives you choose to record, tied to the tester's TestBuddy account.
Nothing about your real users. On a phone that is not linked to a tester, the SDK sends one ping with your app key and package name, so your dashboard knows the build carries it, and nothing else.
Next wave
Sixteen seats. Fifteen testers for your app. Fourteen days.
Join with your Google account, add your closed test, and the wave starts once the seats are filled.