How to Publish Your Branded App to the Google Play Store

Learn to publish the Android version of your Kajabi Branded App to the Google Play Store.

Publishing an AAB file

After finishing the Branded App onboarding process and setting up your Google Play Console developer account, you’ll need to complete a few final steps to publish your app to the Google Play Store.

You’ll first download an AAB (Android App Bundle) file from your Kajabi account. This file contains the code for your Android app.

Next you’ll add the Kajabi team as a Google Play account admin, upload the AAB file to your Google Play Console, and publish the app to the Play Store. Once your app is published, your customers will be able to download it onto their mobile devices (note: they'll only need to download the app once to receive all future updates).

Step 1. Download your AAB file from Kajabi

When the Kajabi team finishes building your app, the app code will be packaged into an AAB (Android App Bundle) file which you can download from your settings.

To download your AAB file:

Log into your Kajabi account.
Click the Settings tab at the lower left of your dashboard.
Select Branded Mobile App Settings.
Navigate to the Android section and click Download AAB file.
Your AAB file will download to your computer locally:

Step 2. Add Kajabi as a Google Play account admin

Next, grant the Kajabi team admin access to your Google Play Console and enable email notifications so we can help ensure that your app submission goes as smoothly as possible.

Log into your Google Play Console and make sure you’re not clicked into a specific app.
Click on Users and permissions in the menu at the left of your screen.
Then, click the blue Invite new users button:

In the “Email address” field, input: Creative.Coder@oc-corpeng.com
Then select the Admin checkbox under “Account permissions”.
Click Invite User:

Step 3. Upload your AAB file to Google Play

After downloading your AAB file, upload it to your Google Play Console.

Production access error

Before proceeding with the steps below, please note that if you created a personal Google Developer account after 12/1/23, you’ll likely see an error message that “you don’t have access to production yet” if you try to publish your app into production without first releasing it for closed testing:

If you encounter this error, follow the steps to publish your app to the closed testing track next.

To upload your AAB file:

In your Google Play Console, select the app you want to publish:

Once you've loaded the specific app, navigate to the Release section in the left dashboard menu.
From the Release menu options, select Production.
At the top right corner of the page, select Create new release:

Navigate to the App bundles section.
Drag and drop your downloaded AAB file onto the box that says “Drop app bundles here to upload.”
Or, click Upload and select your AAB file:

It may take a few minutes for the AAB file to upload.

Once the AAB file uploads, scroll down to Release details and confirm that you see two new input fields, “Release name” and “Release notes”:

A Release name will populate automatically after the AAB file upload completes. You can update it if desired.
Add any Release notes you’d like to share with your app users. We recommend keeping your initial release notes simple, such as “Welcome to the app!” Don’t mention anything about users purchasing content in the Release notes section.

If you’d like to support multiple languages in your release notes, include the language reference codes for those languages. Here’s an example of using language reference codes for multiple languages:

After entering your Release notes, click Next at the lower right.

Advertising ID error

At this point in the app release process, you may encounter this error:

“Your app targets Android 13 (API 33) or above. You must declare the use of advertising ID in Play Console.”

To resolve an advertising ID error:

Click Complete declaration just below the error message:

On the next page, navigate to “Does your app use advertising ID?”
Select No:

Click Save at the lower right.
Press the back arrow at the top left to return to the prior page.
Click Next.

Debug Symbols warning

You may also see a warning that your App Bundle contains native code and it’s recommended that you upload debug symbols. It’s ok to simply ignore this warning:

Click Save.

You'll see a popup asking if you want to navigate to the "Publishing overview":

Click Go to overview.
(Note: if you accidentally click "Not now" or don't see the popup, you can easily get to the Publishing overview page on the left menu near the top.):

Step 4. Publish your app to Google Play

Now that you've created a production release, it's time to send it for app review.

To submit your app:

First, get to the Publishing overview page using one of the options described at the end of Step 3 above:

On the right side of the page, you’ll see a button with the text Send x changes for review.

Confirm that you don’t have any errors.
Click Send x changes for review. There may be multiple changes even if you’re doing your initial launch because Google reviews multiple things. For example, your privacy policy page, and verifying they can successfully log into the app:

When prompted, confirm your submission.

You’ve now completed the steps to send your app to the Google Play Store for review and publication.

You’ll receive an email notification when your app is approved, and it will be published to the general public shortly after. Please note that if you enable “Managed Publishing”, you’ll need to manually release the app once it’s approved.

What if the app isn't approved?

If you receive a rejection notice instead of an approval, don’t worry! We’re here to help. The expert team at Kajabi will determine what action is needed to correct the problem. Click here to submit our help request form and we’ll be in touch ASAP!

Troubleshooting

If you see a message about an advertising ID error, follow the steps above.

Invalid Data Safety Form

If you receive an email that indicates, “Data safety section in Google Play User Data policy: Invalid Data safety form”, it likely means that a step was missed during the intake process.

In this case, follow the steps outlined here to complete the data safety form. Make sure to get all the way to the end and press Save before moving on!

Version Code Has Already Been Used

While trying to upload your app, you may see this error: “Version code X has already been used. Try another version code.”

If you see this, there are 3 actions you can take to resolve it:

1) First, when you are creating a build in the Production tab:

Make sure to select “Add from library” and choose the highest build number as your option.

For example, in the image below, the highest build number is 38:

2) Make sure you only have 1 build listed! If you see more than 1 build, delete all but the highest number (i.e. the most recent) build:

3) If you don’t see any options in your library, you can also download the AAB file directly from the Branded App Settings page and upload it by selecting the “Upload” button.

Note:

If none of those actions work and you are still seeing the same issue, please reach out to Support and ask us to generate a new build for you so that the next app will have a higher version number.

No Countries Or Regions Have Been Selected

When going through the app release process, you may encounter this error:

“No countries or regions have been selected for this track. Add at least 1 country or region to roll out this release.”

To resolve a ‘no countries or regions’ error:

In the left menu, select the type of release you are setting up:

Production means your app is going to the Store for the entire world to see!

Open testing means your app is going to the Store for the entire world to see but it will have a “beta” label on it. This is used by companies that want to have an open beta.

Closed testing means that you invite specific people to test the app and you control who has access to it.

Internal testing means your app is still in the initial testing phase and only you (and/or select members of your team) are testing it to make sure it works properly.

After selecting your release type, you’ll see this window pop up:

Click Add countries / regions.
You’ll see a full list of countries in which the Play Store operates.
Select the country or countries where you want your app to be available.

Want to test your app first?

In order to test your app before submitting it for review to the Play Store, you’ll need to utilize the different testing tracks.

To upload your AAB file:

Log into the Play Console and select the app you want to work on:

Once you’ve loaded the specific app, navigate to the Release section in the left dashboard menu.
From the menu options under “Testing”, select Internal testing:

Select the Testers tab.
Add the name and email address of anyone who will test the app before it goes live (i.e. yourself, a member of your team, etc.):

Scroll down and click Copy link to copy the testing link and keep it handy:

At the top right corner of the page, select Create New Release.
Navigate to the App bundles section.

Option 1

If you’ve not yet received a build file and you’re testing your app for the first time:

Drag and drop your downloaded AAB file onto the box that says “Drop app bundles here to upload.”
Or, click Upload and select your AAB file:

It may take a few minutes for the AAB file to upload. Continue here.

Option 2

If you’ve already uploaded your AAB file previously and Kajabi has successfully sent your build to the Store:

Click the Add from library link:

Choose the newest build that was uploaded.
(Note: the newest build will have the highest version code.):

AAB file is added

Once you’ve completed either Option 1 or Option 2 and added your AAB file:

Scroll down to Release details and confirm that you see two new input fields, “Release name” and “Release notes”:

A Release name will populate automatically after the AAB file upload completes. You can update it if desired.
Add any Release notes you’d like to share with your app users. We recommend keeping your initial release notes simple, such as any new functionality or features being added or upcoming milestone updates for your products. Don’t mention anything about users purchasing content in the Release notes section.

After entering your Release notes, click Next at the lower right.
Click Save.

You can now access your internal testing site at the testing link you copied above.

Once you’ve finished testing your app, follow these steps to release it to a live audience on the Google Play Store.

To publish your app:

Log into your Google Play Console.
In the left dashboard menu, navigate to the Release section.
From the menu options under “Testing”, select Internal testing.
(Or, if you chose a different Testing option, select that option.)
At the middle of the page, click Promote Release.
Select Production:

You’ll be directed to a Production page with your app file already copied over:

Fill out your release notes in the “Release details” section like you did above.
Click Next at the lower right.
On the next page, confirm that there are no errors.
Click Save at the lower right.

And that’s how to publish your Branded App to the Google Play Store! Please vote below and let us know if you found this article helpful. We value your feedback. Thanks for being the best part of Kajabi!

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In this article:

Publishing an AAB file

Step 1. Download your AAB file from Kajabi

Step 2. Add Kajabi as a Google Play account admin