Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
I’m writing an Android app for private distribution within a company. I know that I need to sign my app in release mode if I want to publish it to Google Play. However, this app will only be distributed in-house (we’ll put it on a web server and put a link on a portal site).
Do I still need to get my .apk file signed in release mode or can I use the debug keystore? Are there any downsides to posting a debug-signed Android app?
The debug keystore is generated with a one-year lifetime, measured from the time the keystore is created. Hence, one year after you generate the debug keystore, the debug keystore will be invalid, and you can no longer use it to sign apps. That, in turn, means that you can no longer update your app.
The requirements for a production keystore for the Play Store are reasonable things to do even for private distribution, such as having a significantly longer lifetime.
Also, on a related note, please back up your keystores.