u/BlueCerulean0

It's been a week and a half and I'm still stuck at 200 installs, 40 daily active users and 17 min average engagement time.

I don't know what I can do to make it right! If any devs went through the same thing please help me out. Any feedback at all would be really helpful!

The app is an epub reader with 80k public domain books to download, and it can import local files. Built in book engagement tracking, organizing into folders/custom shelves, fully customisable text style, tts, and literary metadata on books.

Link to my app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cc.openleaf.app

Hey everyone,

I recently got my first app, an e-reader called OpenLeaf, approved and released on the Play Store, so I wanted to share what worked for me during the 14-day closed test.

1. Aim way above the minimum

Even though the requirement is 12 testers now, I aimed much higher and ended up with around 100 through Reddit test-for-test exchanges.

That sounds excessive, but retention is the real problem. According to my Play Console stats, only about 1 in 4 testers actually opened the app daily, and that number is probably generous since some were friends and family.

Most people will install, open it once, then disappear. I also noticed a big drop around day 4 or 5.

What matters is active users, not installs. I kept checking the Play Console app and made sure I stayed above 16 active users.

Also, Play Console data is delayed by about a week, so use Firebase Analytics if you want current numbers.

2. Keep shipping updates

Don’t just wait out the 14 days.

I kept pushing updates the whole time and reached version code 8 before applying for production. These weren’t just small fixes either, they were actual features.

I started closed testing before the app was fully finished, which gave me time to keep improving it and gave testers a reason to keep opening it.

3. Be honest in the production form

Once the 14 days were up, I applied for production and was completely honest about how I got testers, mostly through Reddit test-for-test groups.

I submitted the form, went to sleep, and woke up approved in less than 24 hours.

That was surprising since I’d read plenty of stories about reviews taking days or getting rejected for no reason.

That was my experience getting my first app approved. Aim higher than the minimum, keep shipping updates, and track active users, not just installs.

And to anyone whose app in the screenshots I’m currently testing, yes, I’m still keeping it installed until you get approved. Good luck to everyone still in the 14-day queue.

Here is a link to my app on the playstore if you're interested: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cc.openleaf.app

Hello I'm an English literature student who got tired of hunting PDFs for class, so I built my own app for downloading and reading public domain books.

Feel free to use it if you're in the same situation as me or just wanna catch up on some classics.

Playstore listing: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cc.openleaf.app