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I'm developing an application that is still in beta version but I'm interested in uploading it to Google Play in order to test the market.

As I mentioned before the application has not been released yet, so I would like to know if it's possible to restrict the access so that only a restrict number of users will be able to download it?

Diogo Cardoso
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  • This would be a very nice thing to have...Apple provides such a facility for iOS and it's a life saver. Solutions offered below like "just upload it locally" are inadequate for a variety of reasons like sideloading limitations on some devices etc. Not to mention the super handy device compatibility & crash/error report stats that Play gives. – Nick May 02 '12 at 14:45
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    Not relevant to software development, really? I can't believe this is off-topic. – mahemoff Jun 05 '13 at 22:39

4 Answers4

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Starting on May '13 Google Play Developer Console lets you test your app with groups of users through alpha- and beta-testing and staged rollouts feature. You need to:

  1. Select an APK for your alpha or beta test.
  2. Select the group of users for each test.
  3. Publish your alpha- or beta-test APK.
  4. Ask your testers to opt in.

The alpha/beta testers must be part of either a Google group or a Google+ community. the app will only appear in Google Play for testers that opt-in and not to any other users. Another inconvenient is that it may take up to 24 hours after publishing for the test link to become active, but normally it will be less time

Here you can find more information about Beta-testing and staged rollouts

JuanMa Cuevas
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You can restrict access to your published applications in the Google Play developer console, but the restrictions you can use are restrictions like country, type of device (tablet, smartphone), screen size, Android version, etc. Limiting access to specific users or specific devices is however not possible.

You can always publish the apk file on a restriced access download location and then share it amongst your beta users. Another possibility would be to publish the application in the Google Play market and then check in your application whether an user is allowed to run it, but I think that would be more work for you.

Edit: This answer has become outdated since Google introduced beta testing through Google Play, see JuanMa Cuevas' answer.

Geert
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    Unfortunately if you do it outside the market you can't get crash reports or automatic updates which are very useful for testing! – Timmmm Oct 19 '12 at 18:08
  • This answer is out of date. Please check http://stackoverflow.com/a/16687371/313745 – JuanMa Cuevas May 22 '13 at 08:50
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The Play Store doesn't provide this facility.

You could change the namespace (for testing), and upload it using a different name. i.e. cloak it as a different branded app, and if it does well, upload the real one.

You could set up a web site with downloads, or use another app store.

You could use a third-party service to manage beta a release. e.g. https://www.zubhium.com/

Ollie C
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  • If you have paid app then add kill switch / beta expiry with Zubhium. I played with Zubhium and feels its does awesome job. Give a try worth exploring. – kodeshpa Apr 05 '12 at 04:49
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Why don't you just host the apk yourself and distribute the link to your selected testers.

Or you could use a private market such as http://www.push-link.com/ which seems free and apparently has the ability to push updates to your users

Julian Suarez
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