The vocabulary of shipping an app

A .p8 file is the private key half of an Apple API credential. It downloads exactly once, cannot be recovered, and is useless without its Key ID.

An AAB is the publishing format Google Play requires for new apps. What Play does with it, why APKs are no longer accepted, and what you give up.

App Review is Apple's human team that checks every iOS submission. Not the same as the user star ratings also called app reviews.

The App Review Board is Apple's appeal route for a rejection you believe applied a guideline incorrectly. When to use it, and what it will not fix.

App Store Connect is Apple's console for app records, metadata, builds, TestFlight and submissions. What it holds, and what lives on developer.apple.com instead.

An App Store Connect API key is three things: an Issuer ID, a Key ID and a .p8 private key. What each one is, where to find it, and which role to give it.

An App Store version is the record in App Store Connect that holds your description, screenshots and What's New, and the build you attach to it.

Beta App Review is the review a build passes before external TestFlight testers can install it. What it checks, what it skips, and why passing it proves little.

A build is one uploaded binary. Many builds can belong to one version. Why the two numbers are separate, and which one Apple rejects.

New personal Play developer accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in continuously for 14 days before applying for production access.

The Data safety form declares what your Android app collects and shares. Where it lives, what it asks, and why SDK behaviour is your declaration to make.

An expedited review request asks Apple to prioritise your submission. What qualifies, how to ask, and why you should spend them carefully.

Export compliance is Apple's encryption declaration on every build. What counts as exempt, and how to answer it once in Info.plist instead of every upload.

An .ipa is the packaged, signed iOS app you upload to App Store Connect. What is inside it, and why an .ipa that installs locally can still be rejected.

Metadata Rejected means App Review objected to something outside your binary. Fix the text or answer the question, reply, and the same build goes back in.

Phased release drips an approved iOS update out over 7 days. What the percentages are, who is actually included, and how to pause it.

Google Play Console is the web console for Android releases: tracks, store listings, Data safety, app signing and policy status. A map of where things are.

The Google Play Android Developer API uploads bundles, moves tracks and updates listings without the console. How it is wired up, and what it cannot do.

A Play edit is a short-lived transaction for changes to an app. Everything is staged against it, nothing is live until commit, and it can expire mid pipeline.

A Play service account is a Google Cloud identity with a JSON key, granted permissions inside Play Console. Both halves are required, and one is easy to miss.

The privacy nutrition label is the App Privacy section on your product page. What you declare, why SDKs count, and how it differs from a privacy manifest.

A purpose string is the sentence iOS shows when your app asks for a permission. Missing one crashes the app; a vague one gets you rejected.

Resolution Center is the message thread in App Store Connect where App Review sends rejections and you reply. What to send, and what it cannot do.

A staged rollout releases an Android update to a percentage of users. How to halt one, why you cannot go backwards, and what halting does not undo.

Google Play requires new apps and updates to target a recent Android API level. The 31 August 2026 deadline is API 36, with an extension route to 1 November 2026.

TestFlight is Apple's beta distribution service. Internal versus external testers, the 90 day build expiry, and which route needs Beta App Review.

A track is a release channel in Google Play. What internal, closed, open and production each do, and how version codes constrain moving between them.

Transporter is Apple's tool for uploading an .ipa or .pkg to App Store Connect, as a Mac app and as the iTMSTransporter command line tool.