M6: release signing, privacy policy and Play release checklist
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# Google Play release checklist
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Work top to bottom. Items marked **[code]** are already handled in this repository; the
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rest are things you must do in the Play Console or with your own accounts.
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## 1. Identity and signing
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- [x] **Application id** chosen: `de.softwareapp_hb.filemanager`
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(`applicationId` in `app/build.gradle.kts`). It can **never be changed after the first
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release**, so treat it as locked. `namespace` and the Kotlin package of the same name
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are aligned with it; debug builds append `.debug`.
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- [x] **[code] Upload keystore generated** — `filemanager-upload.jks` in the project root
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(git-ignored, `alias upload`, 4096-bit RSA, 10 000 days, `CN=Hadrian Burkhardt,
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L=Potsdam, C=DE`). Certificate SHA-256 fingerprint, to confirm the right key is
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registered when Play App Signing is enabled:
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`49:A9:FC:13:F5:13:24:48:AE:74:5A:AE:7E:05:D9:2F:67:55:1F:EE:71:A5:64:A1:10:13:57:4D:0E:AA:0E:4E`
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- [x] **[code] `keystore.properties` written** (git-ignored, mode `600`). The Gradle build
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picks it up automatically and signs release builds; without it the release APK stays
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unsigned.
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- [ ] **Store the keystore and its password in a password manager and back it up.** Losing
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the upload key means you cannot ship updates.
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- [ ] Enable **Play App Signing** in the Play Console with the first upload. Google then
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holds the app signing key and this one only signs uploads:
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```bash
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keytool -exportcert -alias upload -keystore filemanager-upload.jks -rfc > upload_cert.pem
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```
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## 2. Versioning
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- [x] `versionName` **[code]** — `1.0.0` in `app/build.gradle.kts`.
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- [x] `versionCode` **[code]** — `1`. Play orders uploads by it, so every later upload must
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be higher.
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## 3. Build the release artefacts
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```bash
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./gradlew :app:bundleRelease # -> app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab
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./gradlew :app:assembleRelease # -> APK, for local checks
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./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest # JVM unit tests
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./gradlew :app:lintDebug # Android Lint
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```
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- [x] **[code] verified 2026-10-14.** `bundleRelease` and `assembleRelease` both succeed
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with R8 minification and resource shrinking on.
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- `app-release.aab` is **4 682 814 bytes**
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(`sha256 9014627a8596397623404cb9d986af5019c5e33cf331c5d363427c140f121788`).
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- `app-release.apk` is **2 081 955 bytes**, signed by the upload key above.
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- Both report `versionCode=1 versionName=1.0.0 targetSdk=36` and exactly the
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permission set in step 4 — **no `INTERNET`**, so "nothing leaves the device" holds
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in the shipped artefact and not just in the source manifest.
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- [ ] Upload the **`.aab`** (not the APK) to the Play Console.
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⚠️ **Expect a native-debug-symbols warning and ignore it.** Play finds
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`base/lib/<abi>/libandroidx.graphics.path.so`, which arrives transitively through
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`androidx.compose.ui:ui-graphics` → `androidx.graphics:graphics-path`. It is a
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recommendation, not an error: it does not block upload, review or rollout. This
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project has **no** `ndk`/`externalNativeBuild`/`jniLibs` configuration and no native
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sources of its own.
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- [ ] Keep `app/build/outputs/mapping/release/mapping.txt` for every release so Play can
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de-obfuscate crash reports.
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## 4. Sensitive permissions — the Permissions Declaration Form
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This is the step that can block a file manager, and the one to get right.
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- [ ] In the Play Console open **App content → Sensitive app permissions** (older UI:
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*Permissions Declaration Form*) and declare **All files access**
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(`MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`).
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- [ ] Select the **file manager** use case. Google's policy — *Use of All files access
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(MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) permission* — names file managers explicitly:
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*"intended and permitted use includes file managers, backup and restore apps,
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anti-virus apps, and document management apps."*
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- [ ] Make sure the **store description states the core purpose** (browsing, organising and
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managing files on the device). The policy requires the core functionality to be
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"prominently documented and promoted in the app's description" — the listing copy in
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`docs/STORE_LISTING.md` (M10) is written to satisfy that.
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- [ ] **Do not** add `QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES`, `REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES` or `INTERNET` without
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declaring them. The app currently requests none of them.
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- [ ] Provide the **privacy policy URL** ([PRIVACY.md](../PRIVACY.md) — it must be a public
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URL, not a file in the repo).
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- [ ] Keep the permission set honest: declaring a permission the app does not use is itself
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a policy violation.
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**Verify the shipped permission set** after every release build:
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```bash
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$ANDROID_HOME/build-tools/36.0.0/aapt2 dump permissions \
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app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk
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```
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Expected, and nothing else:
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```
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MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
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READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (maxSdkVersion=32)
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READ_MEDIA_IMAGES
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READ_MEDIA_VIDEO
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READ_MEDIA_AUDIO
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READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED
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WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (maxSdkVersion=29)
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FOREGROUND_SERVICE
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FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC
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POST_NOTIFICATIONS
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<applicationId>.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION (added by AndroidX)
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```
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## 5. Data safety, content rating, audience
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- [ ] **Data safety** form: the app collects **nothing** and shares **nothing**. Answer "No"
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to collection, "No" to sharing, and state that data is not transmitted off the device.
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- [ ] Confirm the answers match [PRIVACY.md](../PRIVACY.md).
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- [ ] Content rating questionnaire: utility, no user-generated content, no ads.
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- [ ] Target audience: not directed at children.
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## 6. Store listing
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Full copy and the generated graphics land in **M10** (`docs/STORE_LISTING.md`). Console
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fields needed: app name, short description, full description, app icon 512×512, feature
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graphic 1024×500, and at least 4 phone screenshots (Play asks for 4+ per large-screen form
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factor too).
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## 7. Release tracks and pricing
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- [ ] Create the app, complete *App content*, then roll out
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**internal → closed → production**, checking the pre-launch report on the way.
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- [ ] ⚠️ **Set the price before the first upload** (M9). Once an app has been offered for
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free it can never be made paid, and this app is a **one-time paid** app: no ads, no
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subscription, no in-app purchases — and therefore no Billing code and no
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`com.android.vending.BILLING` permission in the APK. The price lives on the listing,
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not in the build.
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