GBTC - Let GoodBarber take care of publishing your app for you

"GoodBarber Takes Care" (GBTC) is a premium service related to the publication process of your native app.
You can use the service either for the Android publication process, for the iOS publication process, or for both publication processes.

GBTC is a credit-based service. Credits can be used indistinctly for the Android publication process or the iOS publication process.  

When activating or renewing the service, you purchase a bundle of 5 publication credits for $50/ 50€. 

After purchasing GBTC, the team takes care of the following for you:
- compilation of your native app for iOS and/or Android. 
- generation of the Android ad hoc version.
- first publication and updates of your app using your App Store Connect and/or Google Play developer account*. 
- upon request, update of the iOS certificates.
- upon request, update of the iOS and/or Android app in the stores.
- for internal distribution, delivery of the production binary file (.apk or .ipa file). 
- upon request, management of the store rejections

Note: An exception is made in the case of a first publication of an iOS app. 
In this specific case, the service includes an in-depth review of the app content, a verification of the developer account's compliance with Apple's Guidelines, and, of course, the publication of the app by our team after that. 
This premium service is referred to as the iOS Review Process (see our pricing page  to know what fee applies to your project).
After the payment of the service, a bundle of 5 publication credits will be added to your project. 

*Your own developer account is mandatory to publish an app, whether you do it Solo or use GBTC:
- Google Play for the Android publication process ($25 / 25€ - one-time fee) 
- Apple Developer account for the iOS publication process on Apple's App Store ($99 / 99€ yearly) 
- Apple Developer Enterprise account for the iOS In House distribution process ($299 / 299€ yearly)

In the Publish menu, under iOS app > Publish or Android app > Publish , you get the option to submit the app yourself (Solo) or to let GoodBarber do it.
Pick the "GoodBarber do it" option and move forward. 

- For Android : 
1. Indicate whether your app will be published for the first time, or if it's an update. 
2. Move forward until a form is displayed.  
3. Fill the form, and send it. 
4. If you don't have any credits yet, you will be required to purchase the offer to get a 5 credits bundle. 
5. Once the payment is validated, or if you already have credits in this project, a compilation request will be sent to the GBTC team in the form of a support ticket . 
Follow this support ticket until the team confirms that the compilation is in progress.
6. Test the ad hoc version for Android (optional).
7. To request the publication of the app to Google Play, come back to the Android app > Publish menu and validate.
8. A publication request will be sent to the GBTC team in the form of a new support ticket . 
Follow this support ticket until the team confirms that the app has been sent to Google Play.

- For iOS: 
1. Select the option to let GoodBarber review your app. 
2. Indicate whether your app will be published for the first time, or if it's an update. 
3. Fill the form and validate it.
4. If the iOS app is being published in the store for the first time, you will go through the Review Process. 
5. If the app is an update, the team will verify that the Apple Developer Account is compliant with Apple's guidelines before moving the process forward.
A verification ticket will be generated in the support and the team will get in touch with you shortly.
Once the developer account has proven compliant with Apple's guidelines, a publication request will be sent to the GBTC team in the form of a support ticket . 
Follow this support ticket until the team confirms that the app has been sent to App Store Connect.

In order for the GBTC team to give the right information to the stores while publishing your app, you should provide these information upfront in the dedicated form. Both forms are slightly different and contain specific information depending if it is for the publication in Google Play or App Store Connect.
In any case, you should read the information form carefully and fill it accurately. 

1. Developer Account information: 

The Developer Account information is for GoodBarber to know in which developer account your app will be published. 
After validating the form, you will also be asked to invite the GBTC team's profile in the developer account  so the team will be able to access your developer account while using GoodBarber's own credentials. 

- For iOS, provide the Developer ID: this is the Apple Developer account owner's email address (later on, in the support ticket, we will also ask you the Team name and Team ID, which you can find in the Membership menu of team in your Apple Developer Account). 

- For Android, you will be asked to provide the Google Play's account owner's email and the Developer Name.
You can find it in the Play Console > Account Detail menu. 

2. App Information 

- The App Name is the name your users will see when downloading the app from App Store Connect or Google Play.
The team will copy and paste it as it is, so make sure there is no typo.
Note that sometimes, the name you chose for your app is already in use for another app in the store, and, therefore, is unavailable. In this case, the GBTC team will contact you in the dedicated support ticket and work with you to find an alternative, so you can use a name that is still available in the store. 

- The App Description must be about your app and explain what features your users will find in your app and how to use them to make the most of what the app has to offer.
The description shouldn't be about your business, persona, company, without any description of the app itself. 
The content of the description should be suitable for all audiences, like all the other app metadata you will provide. 

- The Category and Content rating should reflect the current content of the app, including content brought to your app from external sources. 

- The Copyright should typically refer to the person or entity who owns the intellectual property of the app, usually with the year of creation of the app. 

- If your app uses specific Permissions, make sure you have customized the permission popups  and explain in the form why certain features are essential to your app.
For example, if the app uses background location for the use of geofences, or requires to log in to access some content, you should explain how this is used in the app and what added value it has for the end user, so the GBTC team can let the stores' review team know upfront when submitting your app.
If the app requires authentication, we also recommend to create a demo user account with access to all sections of the app. If you didn't create a demo user account, our team will create one for you and provide the information to the stores' review teams. 

3. Contact information, privacy policy, data use 

- Contact information:
Depending on the form you are filling (iOS or Android), you may be required to provide a phone number (always include the country calling code), an email address your users will be able to use to contact you in case of need, a support URL for the same purpose. 
The support URL must be a valid URL (you should be able to open it in any browser) redirecting to a contact form in your website, or to your social media profile where your users can contact you. 

- Privacy policy: 
The Privacy Policy URL must be a valid URL (you should be able to open it in any browser) displaying the privacy policy of your app. It should be customized to match the current content and permissions used in your app. 

- Data Use:
Both Apple and Google require that the usage made of the user's data to declare what use is made of the user's data. The GBTC team will fill this questionnaire for you based on the content of your app, by following these online helps for App Store Connect  and for Google Play . Do not hesitate to let the GBTC team know upfront in the support ticket if other uses are made of users' data, that may not be listed by default. 

The stores will inform you directly when the app is published, if they have questions or if the app gets rejected.
The stores' review teams will contact the developer account owner's email address.

If the app gets rejected, which happens when the stores need additional information, GoodBarber's team will help you find the answers in order to get your app published.
Contact our support team  and provide the following elements in the support ticket:

- Credits don't have an expiration date. The credits will remain associated to a GoodBarber project for as long as the project hasn't been permanently deleted, even if the project is deactivated. 
- Credits must be purchased for each GoodBarber project (1 credits bundle = 1 app project).
- Credits are not transferrable from one project to another. 
- Resellers must purchase the GBTC service individually for each project of their agency. As any paid option, it can only be purchased by the agency's owner. The service will be billed as an individual option subscribed for that specific project. Note: The same goes with the iOS Review Process. 
- A publication credit is charged after every successful publication of an app version in one of the stores.
- In case of an internal distribution, a publication credit is charged for every new version of the binary delivered to the customer.