I have been testing my app using internal testing on google play but wanted to move it into closed testing so I can get more information and have a better sense of how to manage the app when in production, test in-app updates (doesn't seem to be working with internal testing), and I want more control over updates as I seem to have to wait an long time (really unknown time) for the update to come through (see this post).
I can't use uninstall/re-install as there is data on the app which users need. Is this required when moving?
I read this post about the difference between internal testing and closed testing, which was helpful but did not know the impact on an end user when moving from internal testing to closed testing.
The documentation states:
If a user opts to your app's internal test, they're no longer eligible to receive the open or closed test. To regain access to the open or closed test, the user must opt-out of the internal test and back into the open or closed test.
If the end user opts-out of the internal testing, and has a Room/SQLite database, does the app stay on the phone and get updated through closed testing, or is the app removed and all the data lost?
