sharedinbox/before-playstore.md

Technical Audit for Play Store Readiness

Your generated .aab (App Bundle) is technically valid, but to be fully "Play Store ready," you should verify these four areas:

1. Target SDK Version

Google requires apps to target at least Android 14 (API level 34). Current status: PASS (Flutter defaults to 34+ in recent versions).

2. Versioning

• versionName: Currently 0.1.1. This is visible to users.
• versionCode: This must be a unique integer for every single upload to the Play Console.
  • If you need to re-upload the same version because of a fix, you must increment the code (e.g., from 1 to 2).
  • Set this in pubspec.yaml: version: 0.1.1+1 (the number after the + is the versionCode).

3. App Icon

Check your icons in android/app/src/main/res/mipmap-*.

• Status: Currently using default ic_launcher.png.
• Requirement: Replace these with your own branding before submission. Google may reject apps that use default placeholder logos for being "Low Quality."

4. Privacy & Data Safety (Crucial)

Google requires these before you can move to production:

• Privacy Policy: You must provide a public URL to a privacy policy.
• Data Safety Section: You must complete the questionnaire in the Play Console.
  • Since this is an Email app, you must declare that it handles "Personal Communications" and potentially "User IDs" or "Contact Info."

5. Helpful Commands

To inspect your bundle's manifest (to verify permissions or package name):

# requires bundletool
bundletool dump manifest --bundle build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

Next Step Recommendation: Complete the Privacy Policy and Data Safety questionnaire in the Play Console as they often take the longest to be approved.