TestTrack: 12 Testers 14 Days

Need 12 testers for 14 days? TestTrack is a free closed testing community where Android developers test each other's apps every day, until everyone's closed test is done.

If you have a new personal developer account, Google Play asks for a closed test with at least 12 testers, opted in for 14 days in a row, before you can publish to production. (It used to be 20 testers.) Finding twelve people is hard. Keeping them opening your app on day nine is harder. TestTrack works because everyone in it is in the same position as you: they need testers too.

HOW A CREW WORKS

A crew is 15 developers, each bringing one app that is in closed testing. While the crew fills, members install each other's apps from Play. If your app needs a login, you can share test sign-in details with the crew. If an app won't install for others, two reports send it back to its owner to fix before anyone's 14 days begin, so nobody wastes a fortnight on a broken test.

When all 15 seats are taken, the crew starts at midnight in your own time zone. From then on, each day you open the other 14 apps. Open all takes you through them one by one, with a small timer floating on screen and the sign-in details ready to copy. A visit counts after about ten seconds in the app, so the whole round takes a few minutes. If you still have apps left in the evening, TestTrack reminds you.

Miss a day and you get a warning. Miss two days in a row and your app leaves the crew. Open every app all 14 days and your tix come back in full. A crew has 15 seats for a rule that asks for 12, so your closed test still counts if a couple of people drop out along the way.

WHY YOUR TESTERS STAY

• Everyone in a crew depends on everyone else, so they keep opening your app for the same reason you keep opening theirs.
• Visits are proven by Android's own usage records, not by a button anyone can tap or a screenshot anyone can fake.
• Members shows who opened your app each day, so you always know where your 14 days stand.
• Record keeps every finished run, so you have the history when you apply for production access.

REAL FEEDBACK, NOT JUST INSTALLS

Daily opens satisfy the 12 testers requirement. They don't tell you whether your app is any good. In the Circle you can ask other developers to use your app properly and write to you about it: what worked, what confused them, what broke. It is beta testing from people who build apps themselves, and who know the difference between a bug and a preference.

Each piece of feedback comes with a screenshot from inside your app, so you can see it was really used. You approve it, or raise a dispute that other members settle. You can also test other people's apps and write feedback for them, which is how you earn tix.

FREE, WITH NOTHING TO BUY

Seats in a crew and feedback requests cost tix, TestTrack's own credit. New accounts start with tix, and you earn more by giving feedback. There are no paid plans, no in-app purchases and no ads, and nobody can pay their way past doing the testing. TestTrack is open source, so you can read exactly how it works.

Ranks shows the community's most active testers. Every app you open and every piece of feedback that is accepted counts.

WHO IT'S FOR

Indie developers, students and small teams publishing their first app on a new personal account, whether it is built with Kotlin, Java, Flutter or React Native. If you need testers for your app, or just want honest feedback before launch, TestTrack is built for you.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Usage access lets TestTrack measure how long you spent in each app you test. It checks only those apps.
• Screenshots go to your own Google Drive, not to our servers. Check a screenshot for personal details before you send it.
• You can browse open crews, the Circle and Ranks without an account. Joining needs a Google sign-in.

TestTrack is an independent app and is not affiliated with Google. Finishing a closed test helps you meet the requirement, but Google Play decides production access.