Pikeworks

Help test an app before it's out

Google won't put an Android app on the Play Store until twelve people have tested it for a fortnight. If you fancy giving one a go early, this is how.

Step 1: Join the tester group first

Google Play blocks every link below until your Google account is in the tester group. Open the group with the same Google account you use on your Android phone's Play Store and tap "Join group". Google can take a few hours to catch up after you join, so if a link in Step 2 says the app isn't available, give it a few hours and try again.

Step 2: Pick an app to test

• 
  Pagebench

  PDF tools that stay on your phone. It costs £1.99 in the shop, but it's free for testers: three taps, here.

• 
  Book Vault

  A log of the books you read, with friends if you like.

• 
  Fillo

  Cheap petrol and diesel near you.

• 
  Beer Vault

  A log of the beers you've tried.

• 
  Plant Vault

  A garden journal for your phone.

• 
  Compute Capitalist

  An idle game. Start at a soldering bench in a garage and build from there.

• 
  Bounce Billionaire

  A bouncing ball game about cracking bank vaults.

• 
  Undergloam

  A metroidvania for phones. It costs £4.99 in the shop, but it's free for testers: three taps, here.

• 
  Clementine

  Split bills with friends.

• 
  Fish Vault

  A log of every fish you catch.

• 
  Vinyl Vault

  A record collection you flip through.

• 
  Nuggie Vault

  A log of every chicken nugget you rate.

• 
  Meme Skies

  A one tap flyer with a crew of brainrot memes.

• 
  Travel Vault

  Your travel map, flight log and fog of war.

• 
  Lantern Lake

  A cozy fishing game for phones.

What you'd be doing

1. Open the link on your Android phone, signed in to the account you joined the group with. It has to be that one.
2. Tap "Become a tester", then install the app from Google Play (Pagebench and Undergloam from their free install link, below).
3. Have a proper go on it, and leave it installed for two weeks. That last part is what Google checks.
4. Tell me anything confusing, broken or annoying.

Pagebench and Undergloam are free for testers

They cost money in the shop, but not while you're testing them. It takes two links instead of one:

Each has its own page with the three taps in order: Pagebench, Undergloam. Join the group, become a tester (the part Google counts), then install it from the free link, not the shop. The free link can take a few hours to start working after you join the group.

If Google Play asks you to pay, give it a few hours and try the free link again, or email me.

There's nothing to sign up to beyond the Google account you already have. You can leave a test whenever you like, from the same link. An iPhone can't take part, because this is a Google Play test.