Publish your app to the App Store and Google Play

Publishing has a clear split. Vunda builds your app and uploads the binaries to your own App Store Connect and Google Play accounts, and you do the final submit for review inside those store accounts. We never submit on your behalf, because Apple and Google require the app owner to do it.

What you will need

• A paid Vunda plan. Building and previewing are free, but publishing is a paid plan.
• Your store accounts set up: an app record created in each store, and Vunda given access to both. You do not hand over any keys. See Set up your Apple Developer and Google Play accounts.
• Your store listings completed: screenshots, descriptions, a privacy policy, and the Play data-safety and content-rating details. These are required parts of a submission, so you cannot complete one without them. See Complete your store listings and Your privacy obligations.

The Publish page keeps the current task in the main area and the five-stage Release progress journey in its sidebar. It moves through the states below in order.

Step 1: subscribe to start

Open the Publish page in Vunda. If you are not on a paid plan yet, Vunda shows a Subscribe to publish button. That takes you to Shopify's hosted pricing page to pick a plan.

The subscribe and pricing screen is hosted by Shopify, not by Vunda, so its exact wording is owned by Shopify. The plan covers building and submitting your app. Once your subscription is active, Vunda can build.

Step 2: let Vunda finish your setup

Right after you subscribe, Vunda prepares your app's build behind the scenes. When your own setup tasks are finished, the page shows Vunda is preparing your build. This is normal and usually quick.

If anything is still needed from you, the Publish page makes that single task the main action. That is typically your app name (which you set in the App identity section - see Configure your app identity) and your App Store Connect app id (which you enter in the App identity section). If no current action is shown, setup is on us and no action is needed from you. Nothing publishes during this state; the Publish app button only appears once setup is complete.

Step 3: publish your app

When your subscription is active and setup is complete, the Publish page shows a Publish app button. Publishing is a manual step: nothing builds automatically, so your app is sent to the stores only when you click it. Vunda first asks you to confirm, because your app name, icon and splash background are baked into this build - set them before you publish (see Configure your app identity); changing them afterwards needs a new build.

Once you confirm, Vunda builds your iOS and Android binaries and uploads them to your store accounts. The build runs on Expo EAS, our build service, and the page updates as it goes: We are building your app shows each platform as it runs and uploads. A build takes a while, so you can leave the page and come back.

If the app build or store upload fails, the page does not hide it. It shows Your release needs attention with the available error detail and a button to try again. Contact support if the retry fails or you are not sure what to do next.

When the binaries are uploaded and ready for you to submit, the page reads Submit your app to the stores. That is your cue to move to your store accounts.

Step 4: submit your app in your store accounts

When your build is ready, Vunda shows an in-app guide titled Submit your app in your store accounts. It confirms we have uploaded your app to your App Store Connect and Google Play accounts, and walks you through the submit in each store.

This step happens inside App Store Connect and Google Play Console, not in Vunda, so the exact screens are owned by Apple and Google. Verify each step against their current guides (linked below) before you rely on it.

• iOS (App Store). Open App Store Connect and select your app. On the App Store tab, open (or create) the version you want to release and complete the required listing details (description, screenshots, privacy). In the Build section, add the build we uploaded - it appears once Apple finishes processing it, so if it is not listed yet, wait and check again. Then press "Add for Review" and submit the version to App Review. Apple reviews every submission against the App Store Review Guidelines before it can go live, so allow time for review and respond to anything they flag. (Sources: App Store Connect - submit an app, Apple App Store Review Guidelines.)
• Android (Google Play). Open Google Play Console and select your app. Under Testing > Internal testing you will find the release we uploaded, saved as a draft. Open the draft release, review it, and roll it out to internal testing. Then press "Promote release", choose "Production", and review and roll out the production release. If this is your first release, Google Play asks you to finish the app setup tasks (store listing, content rating, data safety) before it accepts a production rollout. (Source: Google Play - prepare and roll out a release.)

One extra Android gate applies to newer personal accounts: if your Google Play developer account is a personal account created after November 13, 2023, Google requires a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 continuous days before you can apply for production access. (Source: Google Play - app testing requirements for new personal developer accounts.)

Step 5: confirm back in Vunda

Vunda does not independently track store review status, so you record what you see for each store separately on the Publish page. These are merchant-reported updates, not Apple or Google verification.

1. After you submit in App Store Connect, press Record submitted for review on the iOS card. Do the same on the Google Play card when you submit there. Each card then shows its own review state.
2. Once a store actually shows as live in its console, press Record this store as live on that store's card.

If either store rejects the submission, use that store's Report review rejection control and include the reviewer feedback. Fix the issue, resubmit only that store, then record the resubmission when it has been sent for review.

After you publish

Your app is live on the App Store and Google Play under your own developer accounts. To ship changes later, publish a new version from the Publish page and repeat the submit-and-confirm steps. Each new version goes through store review again.