Android application private publish on Google play

Question

We have an application that has to be tested for "Rating feature" i.e user will click a button and will be redirected to the application's play store page to rate the application.

Is it possible to publish an application on Play Store but keep it private or provide access to only a few people. It should remain invisible for rest. After testing we may remove the application and then upload again at a later time.

If its not possible how can we test the rating feature.

Answer 1

The Google Play Store now supports both alpha and beta testing.

Once you've created your app in the console, under the APK section, you can choose to upload alpha and beta versions that are not publicly available.

You control who can access the test versions using google+ communities - make these private so you control who can join them.

You have to publish your app to the store, before you can get the link to share with your testers for them to opt in to the testing program, but don't worry, provided you have no production apk uploaded, your app won't appear in the play store for users who aren't in the testing program.