If your app asks users to sign in, Google's reviewers have to sign in too. Google says that if your app requires user authentication, you must provide valid, working login credentials in Play Console so reviewers can test your app's features fully. Login details that do not work are an easy mistake to make, and an easy one to fix. The rule is in Google's testing requirements.

Why it matters

Google says review is not a troubleshooting step. Submitting an app that cannot be fully tested, expecting reviewers to work it out, can lead to rejections, review delays and longer appeals. A reviewer who cannot get past the login screen cannot see anything else.

Set up a reviewer account

These steps are our advice, based on the common ways a login blocks a review.

1. Create a dedicated test account. Never use a personal account or a real customer's account.
2. Put useful data in it. A reviewer should see the main features working, not an empty screen. Add a few items, and anything a feature needs to show.
3. Remove extra steps. If your login needs a code sent by SMS or email, or two-step verification, a reviewer cannot get past it. Make the test account sign in with a plain password, or give a way around the extra step.
4. Test it yourself. Sign in from a different phone, with no saved session, using exactly the details you will give.
5. Keep it alive. Do not delete or change the account while the review may be running. If the password expires, extend it.

Where to enter the details

You enter these details in Play Console, usually in the section about how reviewers can access your app. Menu names change, so look for the part of your app's content declarations that asks how to access the app. Write the username and password clearly, and add short notes for any special step.

Tell your testers too

Your closed-test testers need to sign in as well. Put the test login in your message to testers, or create one account per tester if your app limits one session per account.

If you use ClosedTest

Our setup form has a field for test login details. Use a dedicated test account there. Never send us your Play Console password, because we only need your opt-in link.

Check it before you apply

Add this line to your production access checklist: "A stranger can sign in with the details I wrote, on a new phone, in under a minute."

ClosedTest is an independent service and is not affiliated with Google.