Android apps, shipped and then actually measured
We publish our own apps and live with the consequences. That is a different discipline from building one and handing it over.
Most app projects are priced as if launch is the end. Launch is the point where you find out what you actually built.
Our own apps
What we run, not what we claim.
Zip VPN and Ludo Arena are ours. The numbers below are what they do, and the measurement behind them is the same work we would do on yours.
- players a day
30,000
players a day
ludo arena
- events a day
1.2M
events a day
our apps
- of users come back
20%
of users come back
zip vpn
What changes
What you can answer after launch.
Where a first session ends
The screen people close the app on, on the specific devices it happens on. It is rarely the screen anyone guesses.
Who comes back
And what those people did on day one that the people who left did not. That difference is the whole product roadmap.
What a crash actually costs
Not the crash rate. The number of users who never opened it again afterwards.
What is included
From a blank repository to a listing.
- Native Android in Kotlin, or a cross platform build where that genuinely suits the product better
- Play Console setup: listing, Data safety form, content rating, staged rollout
- Crash reporting and event measurement in the first release, not the third
- A privacy policy and account deletion route that satisfy Play policy rather than gesture at it
- Store assets: icon, feature graphic, screenshots that show the app doing something
- A release process written down, so a version can ship without us
The tools
Named once, for the person checking the work.
- Kotlin and Jetpack Compose
- Firebase: Analytics, Crashlytics, Remote Config
- Google Play Console, with staged rollouts
- BigQuery, where event volume justifies it
- GitHub Actions for builds
Questions people ask
The ones that actually arrive.
Do you build for iPhone as well?
Android is what we publish and maintain ourselves, so it is where our judgement is worth paying for. We will tell you plainly when a project needs an iOS team rather than take it and learn on your budget.
What does an app cost?
It depends on what it does, and anybody quoting before asking is quoting a template. The honest first step is a short conversation about the smallest version worth shipping, because that number is usually much lower than the one people brace for.
How long does Play review take?
Usually a few days for a first release, occasionally much longer. The delays that hurt are policy ones, and they are avoidable: Data safety, permissions and the privacy policy are where projects get stuck, so we deal with them early.
Can you take over an app somebody else built?
Often, and the first thing we do is read it and tell you honestly whether it is worth keeping. Sometimes the answer is no, and it is better to hear that before another year of patches.
Your turn
Bring one question you cannot currently answer.
30 minutes. We will tell you whether it is measurable, roughly what it would take, and whether we are the right people for it.