Managing Tester Inactivity and Campaign Health
Maintaining 20 active testers for 14 days is a delicate balancing act. Even with a well-designed campaign, some testers will inevitably become inactive due to personal reasons or hardware issues. Proactive management of your campaign health is essential.
Identifying Inactivity
The campaign dashboard provides real-time status for every tester joined to your app:
- Active: Tester has opened the app within the last 24 hours.
- Warning: Tester has not had a recorded session in 48 hours.
- Critical/Inactive: Tester has been inactive for 72+ hours.
The Remediation Protocol
When a tester reaches the 'Warning' state, follow these steps:
- The Nudge: Our system allows you to send one automated 'Nudge' every 24 hours. This sends a polite notification to the tester's email and platform notification center.
- Personal Communication: Use the platform's chat feature to ask if the tester is experiencing technical difficulties with the app. Often, they may have hit a bug that prevented them from opening it again.
- Slot Management: If a tester remains in a 'Critical' state for more than 72 hours and does not respond to a direct message, it is your responsibility to 'Release' them.
Releasing a Slot
Releasing a slot returns the Karma Points to your escrow and makes the position available for a new tester.
- Wait, will my 14-day clock reset?: Google's 14-day rule requires 20 active testers. If you drop to 19 for a few hours while finding a replacement, Google's system usually allows a small grace period. However, leaving your count at 19 for several days will almost certainly pause or reset the timer.
Best Practice: Over-Recruitment
The most successful developers on our platform recruit 25 testers for their 20-tester requirement.
- Zero Stress: If 2 or 3 people go on vacation or forget their phones, you still have 22 active testers, and your Google Play Console timer never stops.
- Statistical Safety: It provides a more robust set of engagement data for the final production review.
By actively monitoring your dashboard and following these management protocols, you can ensure that your 14-day testing period remains uninterrupted and compliant with Google's policies.