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Next steps for getting your PWA into the Google Play Store

You've successfully generated a Google Play Store app package for your PWA. 😎

Your next steps:

  1. Deploy assetlinks.json to your server to prove domain ownership.
  2. Test your app: open the .apk file on an Android device or Android emulator.
  3. Submit your app to Google Play: upload the .aab file to the Google Play Store.
  4. Update assetlinks.json for production: after Google Play signs your app, you'll need to update your asset links to remove the address bar from your app.

Each step is explained below.

1. Deploy assetlinks.json

Your zip file contains assetlinks.json. This is a digital asset links file that proves ownership of your PWA. Upload this file to your server at https://example.com/.well-known/assetlinks.json. (Replace example.com with your PWA's URL.)

💁‍♂️ Heads up:

Digital asset links are required for your PWA on Android. If you're seeing a browser address bar in your app on Android, or if your app is crashing on launch, it means your assetlinks.json file is missing, inaccessible, or incorrect. See our asset links helper to fix this.

2. Test your app on an Android device or Android emulator

Your zip file contains an .apk (Android Package) file, which can be loaded on your personal Android device or Android emulator.

To test your app, install open the .apk file on your Android device or emulator.

If you don't have a physical Android device, you can use an Android emulator such as the free Android Emulator included in Android Studio. Run the emulator and open the .apk file to install your app. You can also drag and drop the .apk file onto the Android emulator to install it.

3. Upload your app to the Google Play Store

Your zip file contains an .aab (Android App Bundle) file which can be submitted directly to the Play Store through the Google Play Console.

Once you submit your app, it will be reviewed. Once approved, your PWA will be available in the Google Play Store. 😎

4. Update your asset links file for production

💁🏽‍♀️ Heads up:

This step is required for running the production version of your app. If you skip this step, your app will crash or will a browser address bar will appear inside your app. See our asset links helper for more info.

Once you've uploaded your .aab file, Google Play re-signs your app. Because of this, you'll need to update your asset links file.

To update your asset links and remove the address bar from your app, login to the Google Play Console, select your app, then choose Setup -> App integrity, then copy your SHA-256 fingerprint:

Then, paste the fingerprint into your assetlinks.json file:

[
    {
        "relation": ...,
        "target": {
            "namespace": ...,
            "package_name": ...,
            "sha256_cert_fingerprints": [
                "...",
                "PASTE YOUR NEW SHA-256 FINGERPRINT HERE"
            ]
        }
    }
]

Once your updated assetlinks.json file is deployed to your server, the address bar will disappear from your app.

Save your signing key

Your zip file contains signing.keystore and signing-key-info.txt:

  • signing.keystore is the Android key store file containing the signing key.
  • signing-key-info.txt is a text file containing your signing key information, such as the key password, store password, and key alias.

Keep both of these files in a safe place. You'll need them to deploy future versions of your app. See Uploading a new version for more info.

Updating an existing app in the Play Store

Have an existing app in the Play Store and want to update it to a new version? No problem! See updating an existing app.

Note about Quality Criteria on Android

As of Chrome 86, PWAs downloaded from the Google Play Store will now crash if your app:

  • Does not have a valid TLS certificate
  • Does not link to your digital assetlinks file correctly

Because of this you should ensure that your PWA runs on an HTTPS domain and has your assetlinks file properly linked. For the assetlinks file, please refer to Step 4 above.

For more info about Chrome's quality criteria policy, check out this article from our friends over on the Chrome team.

Note about Apps for Children

Be aware that PWAs on Android cannot currently target children as their audience.

Google Play's Children And Families Policy blocks PWAs from targetting children because PWAs potentially have full access to the web.

If you're building an education app, for example, you'll need to specify Target Audience: Older Users when submitting your app to Google Play. Otherwise your app may not be approved, or may be removed from the Store.

Google is considering engineering and policy updates to permit PWAs for children in the future. Please see this thread for more details.

Need more help?

If the browser address bar is showing up in your app, see our asset links helper.

If you're otherwise stuck, we're here to help. You can open an issue and we'll help walk you through it.