1. Account deletion is mandatory — not optional
If your app has any form of authentication, Apple requires you to give users the ability to fully delete their account — directly inside the app.
Not buried in a support email, not a contact us form. A real, in-app delete button. Apple reviewers will test for this, and they will reject your app if it's missing. Build this feature before you even think about submitting.
App Store Review Guideline 5.1.1 — data privacy and deletion. Add this to your pre-submission checklist.
2. Sign in with Apple is non-negotiable
Offering Google login? Facebook? Any third-party auth? The moment you offer a social sign-in option, Apple requires you to also offer Sign in with Apple — at equal prominence. This isn't a suggestion, and there are zero exceptions. The good news: expo-apple-authentication makes it straightforward to implement. The bad news: if you discover this during review, you're going back to the drawing board right before launch.
Make Sign in with Apple a first-class button — same size, same visual weight as your other options.
3. Your app won't appear on the store for ~24 hours after approval
Apple says approved — you refresh the App Store every 10 minutes — nothing. Totally normal.
Your first submission can take up to 24 hours to propagate through Apple's CDN and become publicly searchable. On subsequent updates this gets faster, but that first time is agonizing. Step away, get some sleep, and trust the process. It will show up.
Don't announce your launch the moment you get the approval email. Wait until you can actually see it live.
4. Google requires 12 real testers for 14 consecutive days
Before Google will grant your app access to production on the Play Store, you need to run a closed testing track with at least 12 distinct testers — and they must be active for 14 continuous days.
This isn't 12 signups. These testers need to opt in, install the app, and stay on track. If you're an indie developer without a community or team behind you, this is a real wall.
Start building your testing group early — before you think you need it.
Post in Reddit communities (r/androidapps, r/beta), Discord servers, or Twitter/X early. You need warm bodies, not just email addresses.
5. Building is only 30% of the job
Publishing feels like the finish line. It is not. Once your app is live, you'll quickly realize that making something and getting people to actually find, download, and stick with it are completely separate skills. ASO (App Store Optimization), social content, community building, press outreach, retention — all of it comes after the code.
Most first apps don't fail because the code is bad. They fail because nobody knows they exist.
Start talking about what you're building before it's done. Your launch audience should exist before launch day.
None of this is meant to discourage you — it's meant to save you the panic and confusion I wish someone had saved me. Ship the app. Just go in with both eyes open.
Disclaimer: This article is based on Beto X's post - https://x.com/betomoedano/status/2039312323647603137. Follow him for more React Native or Expo tips.