Test and publish a new branded Android app for public distribution

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated February 12, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Test and publish a new branded Android app for public distribution

    This guide outlines the essential steps ServiceNow customers need to follow to test, set up, approve, customize, publish, and maintain a new branded Android app for public distribution using Mobile Publishing.

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    Testing the App

    • After a successful build, access the Request details page via Mobile Branding to download the Android AAB testing file.
    • Upload the AAB to Google Play’s internal testing track to verify the app’s name, icon, splash screen, branding, theming, and login instance.
    • Confirm that the End User License Agreement (EULA) and privacy policy links are correctly listed in the app’s Settings under Legal.

    Setting Up the App

    • Optionally configure push notifications by adding the Google Firebase Cloud Messaging HTTPv1 OAuth token to your app’s push application record.
    • Test push notifications using the provided out-of-the-box tools.
    • Configure deep linking by deploying an assetlinks.json file on each instance to enable app link functionality.

    Approving or Rejecting the App

    • Review the app to ensure it meets your branding and configuration requirements.
    • If changes are needed, reject the app and use the Duplicate option to create a new request with existing details.
    • Approve the app to proceed with publishing.

    Customizing App Workflows

    Use Mobile App Builder to tailor your app’s workflows and user experience to your organization’s needs before publishing.

    Publishing and Distribution

    • Deploy the finalized AAB file to Google Play Console for public release; follow Google’s documentation and ServiceNow guidance for listing metadata and publishing requirements.
    • Alternatively, publish via enterprise mobility management (EMM) providers such as BlackBerry Portal or Microsoft Intune, using their respective procedures.

    Maintaining the App

    Keep your app updated at least annually or before updating your ServiceNow family version to ensure continued functionality of push notifications and access to the latest mobile features.

    Learn the next steps to test and publish a new branded Android app for public distribution after you request it in Mobile Publishing.

    1. Test the app

    After the build successfully completes and your app is ready for testing:
    1. Navigate to the Request details page by selecting All > Mobile Branding > Manage Mobile Publishing Apps > Your recent app requests.
    2. Select the card for your mobile app build request. The Request details page appears.

    3. Select the Android testing file link and the AAB file is downloaded to your local system for testing:

      Mobile Publishing UI showing the download link

    4. Upload the AAB file directly to Google Play so you can use the Google Play internal testing tool.

      See Google documentation for information about internal testing on Google Play.

    5. Check the following items on your app:
      • App has the correct name, icon, splash screen, branding, and theming. For more information, see Create a theme with Theme Builder.
      • App uses the default instance you specified for login if you selected the instance pre-fill option when you requested the branded app.
      • EULA and privacy policy listed in the mobile app Settings tab under Legal link to the policies you specified.

    2. Set up the app

    After testing completes successfully, you can set up your app for use. These configurations are optional.

    1. Set up push notifications by adding your Google Firebase Cloud Messaging HTTPv1 Oauth token to your app type's push application record.

      See KB1639289 for detailed instructions.

    2. (Optional) If you set up push notifications, test them using an out-of-the-box push notification.

      See KB0829093 for detailed instructions.

    3. Set up deep links for your app by configuring an assetlinks.json file on each instance.

      See KB1648690 for detailed instructions.

    3. Approve or reject the app

    Make sure the app meets your branding requirements:
    • Reject the app to edit the branding, app name, app type, or any third-party information. Use the Duplicate option to copy information over to a new app request after you have rejected the app.
    • Approve the build to move forward with publishing the app to your end users.

    4. Customize your app's workflows

    Use Mobile App Builder to customize your app. See Mobile App Builder for detailed information about how you can customize your branded app.

    5. Publish and distribute your app

    After you have tested your app, set it up, and customized its workflows, you are ready to publish your branded Android for public distribution. Deploy your AAB file to the Google Play console, or your enterprise mobility management (EMM) provider:
    Upload your app to the Google Play Console:
    To upload your public branded Android app to the Google Play Console, see Google documentation. Also see KB1710255 and KB1157062 for information about required actions to publish a public Android app on the Google Play Store and for ServiceNow® guidance on creating your Google Play console listing metadata.
    BlackBerry Portal:
    To publish your public branded Android app to the BlackBerry Portal if you are using BlackBerry mobile application management (MAM), see KB0813295
    Microsoft Intune:
    To sync your public branded Android app from Google to Microsoft Intune, see Microsoft documentation.

    6. Keep your app updated

    Update your app before you update your ServiceNow family version, or at least once per year to keep your push notifications working and to leverage the most up to date ServiceNow mobile features. For more information, see Tested devices and supported versions for ServiceNow mobile apps.