Publish and distribute
Publish and distribute
The four ways to get your app into other people's hands, and which one fits where you are.
"Publish" means different things depending on who you are handing the app to. There are four levels, and most apps should walk up them in order.
| Level | What it is | Needs | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Preview link | Opens in Expo Go | Nothing | Showing work in progress |
| 2. Android build | A real installable app | Nothing from a store | Testers, a small user base, a client |
| 3. Google Play | Listed on the store | A Google Play developer account | The general public on Android |
| 4. App Store | Listed on Apple's store | An Apple Developer account | The general public on iPhone |
Where Mistflow is today
- Levels 1 and 2 work end to end. Preview and share an Android build without touching a store
- Level 3 requires you to take the build to Google yourself. Mistflow produces the app; submission is your account and your listing
- Level 4 is not available yet. iPhone previews work. Signed iPhone builds and App Store submission are not finished
Do not buy an Apple Developer membership for Mistflow yet
Wait until iPhone release builds show as available in your dashboard. If you already have an account, previews work today. Details.
Shipping changes after people have it
Once someone has your app installed, updates reach them differently depending on what changed. Interface and logic changes can reach installed apps without a reinstall; changes that touch what the app is made of require a new build. See Shipping updates.
Before you hand it to anyone
- Sign out and walk the full first-run path, sign-up through to the first useful screen
- Look at every list screen with an empty account
- Use the app with airplane mode on
- Refuse each permission prompt once and keep going
- Sign in as a second person and confirm you cannot see the first one's data
More in Preview and testing.