Google Play Console introduced new requirements for developers in the summer of 2023: if an account is registered later than November 13, 2023, the owner must pre-test the app before it is released.

Testing requirements

At least 20 people must participate in testing within two weeks. The condition is considered fully met when 20 people have created an account - the 14-day period starts counting from that moment. It should be noted that during this period testers are not allowed to delete the application, and it is also mandatory to regularly update the application when new versions are released.

How we met Google's requirements in the absence of twenty testers

The first step was to create a closed test. To do this, we went to the Google Play Console: "Testing" → "Closed Testing" → "Create a version and name the new version". The build then went to moderation.
After 4 days, the moderators confirmed our move to the second stage, which is to recruit testers and start testing.
When the closed test was approved, an activation mark appeared in the Google Play Console.
There are only three testers in our company. So the question arises: Where do we get 17 more people? The first thought was to ask our partners for help. The idea didn't have time to materialize because our manager found a cool Telegram chat with a community of developers ready for joint testing.
We considered all the risks and still decided to use a Telegram chat, which provides a list of testers' email addresses for collaboration.
To invite testers, we had to go to "closed testing", specify the number of testers, allow users from different countries to participate (many work remotely abroad), and add a list of email addresses.
Once all the changes were made and saved, the link to send to the testers was available.
The testers installed and opened the application several times, worked with the interface and observed the main condition - not to uninstall the application for two weeks. They did everything that was originally required. We tracked the number of participants using the "Control Panel" tab.

Note that you should be sure to take precautions: Google Play's new policy is pretty tough on violators of Developer Policies. The company will impose a lifetime ban on anyone who interacts with such accounts in any way.

We did it

Our company successfully passed all stages of testing - the application was published in Google Play. Such an experience clearly shows the importance of following all the steps of the testing process and using effective methods of finding testers, which directly affects the success of the product release.