Saying yes when a developer asks you to join their closed test takes ten seconds. This post is about the 14 days after that yes.
New personal developer accounts need at least 12 testers opted in to a closed test for 14 days in a row before they can apply for production. That means your yes is not a favor that ends when you install the app. It is a 14-day promise, and the developer's launch date depends on it. Here is what keeping that promise looks like.
Show up every day
The most important thing a tester does is boring: open the app every day. On PeerPlay that means about 30 seconds a day, launched from PeerPlay so the session is counted. Testers who go quiet are removed from the round, because a tester who never opens the app does not help the developer.
Pick a fixed time and stick to it, ideally not right before midnight. In one support case this month, a tester joined a campaign late in the evening, his first test was recorded after midnight, and he was counted from day 2. Nothing was lost, but a steady morning or early evening habit avoids that kind of surprise.
Keep the app installed until the end
Do not uninstall the app as soon as you feel done. If you leave the test early, the developer's opted-in count can drop below 12, and the days before the drop may stop counting toward the 14. PeerPlay's guidelines for paid testers ask them to keep the app installed until the developer gets production access, not just until their own day 14.
If you need storage, uninstall something else. And if you truly have to leave, tell the developer first. A short message gives them a day to find a replacement. A silent uninstall gives them nothing.
Test like a real user, on a real phone
Use your own physical Android phone. Emulators, virtual devices and bots are not allowed on PeerPlay, and they defeat the point of a closed test anyway. The developer needs to know how the app behaves on real hardware.
Use the app the way you would if you had downloaded it yourself. Go through onboarding, try the main feature, come back the next day and check that your data is still there. Try the edges now and then: no network, a rotated screen, a very long input. That is where the bugs live.
Give feedback a developer can act on
"It crashed" is a start. "It crashed when I tapped Save after rotating the phone" is a fix. Say what you did, what you expected and what happened instead.
Add context. A reader on Indie Hackers made a good point this week: a slow first screen on one old phone and a confusing flow on every phone look identical unless you write down the device, the Android version and the app build next to the note. It takes five seconds and saves the developer from fixing the wrong thing.
Be honest and kind at the same time. The developer is probably one person who has been staring at this app for months. Tell them what confused you and what you liked. Both are useful.
What the developer owes you back
Etiquette goes both ways. A good developer tells you how long the test runs in plain dates, answers your questions, ships fixes for what you report and tells you when the test is over. In a swap, they test your app with the same care you give theirs.
Ratings and reviews are not part of the deal unless you want to give them. A closed test is about using the app and reporting what you find. Keep your promise of 14 days, and expect the same respect back.
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