Building and submitting an Android app to the Google Play Store can be a rewarding but complex process. To ensure a smooth experience and avoid potential pitfalls, it's crucial to follow a step-by-step guide. In this article, we'll walk you through the entire process, from setting up your app builder to submitting your app for review. By carefully following each step outlined in this guide, you'll be better equipped to navigate the intricacies of building and submitting, reducing the likelihood of encountering issues along the way. Let's get started!
1. Open your app builder on the Android area. You will be able to see the steps necessary for building the app.
2. The first step is to configure the API key for Google Maps. Click on the shortcut highlighted below to create your Key. This shortcut will redirect you to Google Cloud Platform, where the API for Maps will be enabled and create a key using your bundle package name and SHA-1.
3. Make sure that you are on the correct account, and select your project.
4. Proceed to click on the button that will appear on the 3 steps. 
5. Copy the generated key and paste it into your app Builder.
6. Next step is creating a Firebase project for your Android app. Go to https://firebase.google.com/ and click on 'Go to console' in the up-right corner and create your project.
After creating your project, create an Android project as shown in the image below.
6.1. Complete the package name and SHA-1 key fields with the information from your app builder.
6.2. Click on 'Register app' and then on the X button to exit this page
7. On the console home page, click on 'Authentication' and then 'Get started'.
7.1. Click on 'Sign-in Method'. Enable the options below.
8. Go back to your project Home Screen, and click on the Android project.
9. Download the google-service.json file that will be available.
10. Upload the file from the last step into your App Builder.
11. Now it's time to set up your Facebook login. If you don't have a Facebook Developer Account, please follow our guide on how to set it up. How to configure login with Facebook. Go to your Facebook developer app. On the Basic Settings, scroll down to the bottom of the page. You should be able to click on the 'Add Platform button.
11.1. Select Google Play as the Android Store.
11.2. Insert the Key hash and the package name that is on your app Builder. Then click 'Save Changes'.
12. Now your app is ready to be built. Click on 'Start Build' on your app builder.
13. Download the .aab file generated on the App Builder. This file will be uploaded to Google Play Store later.
14. Now go to your Play Store Developer account. Create a new app if you don't already have one.
Note: If your Play Console developer account is set up as "Individual", enabling production mode will require testing with 20 users for 14 days. Therefore, we strongly recommend creating the account as "Organization".
15. Complete the App Details form with the information for the app.
16. Agree to all the Declarations that Google requires. And then Click on Create App.
17. Go to your app console dashboard, you will be able to see a list with all the requirements and missing steps to complete the app information.
17.1. For the Privacy policy, insert the URL to the privacy policy from your website. Then click 'Save' and go back to your dashboard.
17.2. For the App access, select the first option. Then click 'Save' and go back to your dashboard.
17.3. For the Ads, select the second option. Then click 'Save' and go back to your dashboard.
17.4. For the Content ratings, start a questionnaire.
17.4.1. On the first page, insert your email address and select 'All Other Apps Types'. Then click next to proceed
17.4.2. On the second page, select 'No' for all the options. Then click 'Save' and then 'Next'.
17.4.3. On the last page click on 'Submit' and then go back to your dashboard.
17.5. For Target Audience and Content we recommend selecting '16-17' and '18 and over' to avoid some problems with Google.
17.5.1. On the Store Presence page, select 'No' if your app does not appeal to children. Then click 'Next'.
17.5.2. Click 'Save' and go back to your dashboard.
17.6. For the News Apps, select No if your app is not focused on News. Then click 'Save' and go back to your dashboard.
17.7. For the Covid-19 contact tracing and status apps, select the last option. Then click 'Save' and go back to your dashboard.
17.8. On the Data safety page, download the data_safety_export.csv file attached to this article. After importing this file, all the information for the following pages will be completed automatically, so you can proceed by just clicking on 'Next' until the last page.
18. Now the App Content is done, we just need to configure some Store Presence settings. Click on the second to last item on the dashboard list, you will be redirected to the Store Settings.
Chose your app category and complete the fields with your email and website. Then click on save.
19. For the last item on the list, you'll be redirected to the Main store Listing page. Chose your app Name, short description, and Full description. On this page, you'll have to upload your app's icon, a feature Graphic image, and some screenshots for your app. All these items can be changed later without the need to build another app.
You can take some screenshots for the app using Google's Internal testing feature.
20. With all the necessary items completed, you can upload your app. On the left menu, click on 'Production'.
21. Click on the third tab, to select the countries you want your app to be available.
22. On the first tab, click on 'create a new release'.
123.23. Upload the .aab file that was downloaded on step 13 and change the release name if you want. This release name won't be shown anywhere for the user. Click 'Save', then 'Review release', and as the last button, on 'Start Rollout to production.
Now your app will be reviewed by Google's team and it should be available to download in a couple of days.