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Asked to test an app? How to join a closed test on Android

Updated 2026-11-14 · Checked against Google's official help pages

Before you start

• You need an Android phone or tablet and a Google account. Google's help page says testers need a Google Account or a Google Workspace account.
• Check which Google account your Play Store is using. Joining the group, becoming a tester and installing all go most smoothly with that same account.
• The developer will see your email address. If they invited you by email, they already have it. With a Google Group, the developer (the group owner) can see members' email addresses. If you'd rather keep your main address private, you can join with a separate Google account; just switch your Play Store to that account too.

Steps

1. Join the Google GroupOpen the group link from the developer and tap "Join group". If you were invited by email address instead, skip this step.
2. Become a testerOpen the test link (the opt-in page) and tap "Become a tester". This is the step that actually puts you in the test; joining the group alone doesn't.
3. Install the appUse the Play Store link on the same page to install it, just like any other app.
4. Keep it for 14 daysPlease don't uninstall the app or leave the test for 14 days. The developer can't apply to publish until at least 12 testers have stayed in for 14 days straight.
5. Use it a little, and say what you thinkYou don't need to use it every day, but opening it a few times and trying different features helps a lot. Send comments to the contact the developer gave you, or through the Play Store.

Button labels can differ slightly depending on your device and Play Store version.

Sending feedback

If the developer gave you an email address, form or chat, use that; it reaches them most reliably. To use the Play Store instead, tap your profile icon, go to "Manage apps & devices", open the Beta list, pick the app, and under "Private feedback to developer" tap "Write feedback". You need to give a star rating and write a comment. Only the developer sees it; it doesn't become a public review.

Google's Play Store help also notes that test versions may share some usage and device data with the developer.

"Testers cannot leave public reviews on Google Play for test versions."

— Play Console Help: Set up an open, closed, or internal test

If something goes wrong

"Item not found" or the app page won't open

• Make sure you've done both steps: joining the group and tapping "Become a tester". Missing either one hides the app.
• Very often the Play Store is signed in to a different account. Switch accounts from the profile icon in the Play Store, then open the link again.
• If the developer just published the test, the link can take several hours to start working. Wait a bit and try again.
• Still stuck? Tell the developer which account you used. They can check whether that account is on the test.

I joined with the wrong account

Let the developer know so they can add the right one. Your 14 days start from the day you join with the correct account.

I was in this app's internal test before

People who opted in to an app's internal test aren't eligible for its closed test. Tell the developer you're in the internal test.

If you only have an iPhone

This is an Android app, so it can't be installed on an iPhone. Even if the opt-in page opens on your iPhone, you won't be able to use the app, so it won't really help the developer.

What helps most is forwarding this page to a friend or family member who has an Android phone.

Related guides

• How to get 16 testers for a closed testFor developers: the asking side
• The 12 testers, 14 days rule: what Google's help saysWhy the 14 days matter

Developers can turn these steps into a single page with their own links using the tester page tool.