Google Play pre-registration: launch with installs on day one.
A new app's first week decides a lot about its ranking. Pre-registration lets you collect users before launch and have the app installed on many of their phones the day it goes live.
The first 1,000 installs are the hardest. Pre-registration lets you collect some of them before the app exists in production.
How it works
- Users tap Pre-register on your store listing.
- On launch day they get a push notification, and eligible devices install the app automatically.
- Each country's 90-day window starts when pre-registration opens there.
- You can run pre-registration for up to two apps at a time.
Auto-install conditions
| Condition | Detail |
|---|---|
| Device | Android M or later with Play Store 19.2 or later |
| App up to 200MB | Installs over Wi-Fi or mobile data |
| App 200MB to 2GB | Installs over Wi-Fi only |
| App over 2GB | Not auto-installed |
| Accounts | Not for under-13 or managed enterprise accounts |
Size matters again: in markets like India, keeping the app under 200MB means more users get it on mobile data. See app size and conversion.
Rewards
You can create one pre-registration reward for the lifetime of the campaign: a dedicated one-time product, set up before the campaign starts, which can't be edited or deleted afterwards. Your app must deliver it and tell the user; failing to deliver rewards can lead to suspension.
A launch plan
- Build the listing first. Pre-registration traffic converts on the same listing; make it strong. See the audit checklist.
- Open pre-registration where your audience is, 4 to 8 weeks before launch, inside the 90-day limit.
- Send people to it from your website, newsletter and communities.
- Use a custom store listing for pre-registration if you want a different message for that audience.
- Launch on a day you can support, with crash-free builds; a wave of auto-installs on a buggy build becomes a wave of bad reviews.
Measure it
Play Console reports pre-registered users and conversions: pre-registered users who installed within 14 days of the app becoming available to them. That conversion rate tells you how much of your list was real.
Questions people ask
How long can Google Play pre-registration last?
Up to 90 days per country, starting when pre-registration first opens there. After that you need to launch to production.
Does pre-registration install the app automatically?
On eligible devices, yes: Android M or later with Play Store 19.2 or later, apps up to 200MB on any connection and up to 2GB on Wi-Fi.
Can I give a reward for pre-registering?
Yes, one pre-registration reward per campaign lifetime, set up as a dedicated one-time product before the campaign starts.
Want this mapped onto your product?
See how our ASO work runs, or send your store link and a founder will reply personally.
