Switching who builds your app is one of the riskiest moments in a product’s life. Do it wrong and you can lose your source code, your App Store or Google Play listing, your reviews, or even the app itself if a former developer holds the only login. Do it right and users never notice a thing.
Table of Contents
- Quick Answer
- Step 1: Get the Source Code Under Your Control First
- Step 2: Transfer the App Store and Google Play Listings
- Step 3: Hand Over Backend, Accounts, and Third-Party Services
- Tips / Common Mistakes
- App developer transfer FAQs
- Build It With GTStudios
This guide walks through exactly what to transfer, in what order, so your new developer can pick up where the old one left off — without downtime, lost ratings, or a rebuild from scratch.
Quick Answer
To move your app to a new developer without losing progress, transfer four things in order: the source code repository, the App Store Connect and/or Google Play Console app listing (using Apple’s and Google’s official in-house transfer tools, not a rebuild), any backend/API keys and admin accounts, and the app’s domain or web assets. Do this while the original developer still has access, and confirm each transfer with a test build before cutting ties.
Step 1: Get the Source Code Under Your Control First
Before anything else, make sure you — not the developer — own the code repository. If it’s on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, ask to be added as an owner/admin on the organization or repo, then either transfer ownership to an account you control or have the developer transfer the repo directly to your organization. GitHub, for example, has a built-in ‘Transfer ownership’ option under repository settings that preserves commit history, issues, and stars.
If the code lives only on the developer’s personal machine or account, insist on a full export before the relationship ends — including the complete git history, not just a zip of the current files. You want history intact so a new developer can see how features were built and roll back if needed.
Also collect: the build configuration (Xcode project settings, Android Gradle files), any CI/CD pipeline configs, environment variable files (kept private, shared securely), and documentation like a README or setup guide. A codebase with no setup instructions can cost a new developer days just to get running locally.
Step 2: Transfer the App Store and Google Play Listings
This is the step most people get wrong — they think a new developer just resubmits the app under a new account, which loses the app’s existing reviews, ratings, download history, and store URL. Instead, use each platform’s official transfer feature.
On iOS: in App Store Connect, the Account Holder goes to My Apps, selects the app, opens App Information, and clicks Transfer App. You’ll need the receiving Apple Developer Program account’s Team ID. The receiving developer gets a notification and must accept it within 60 days under Agreements, Tax, and Banking in their own App Store Connect account. Once accepted, the app stays live on the App Store the whole time — same URL, same reviews, no downtime.
On Android: transferring an individual app between Google Play developer accounts is handled through Google Play Developer Support rather than a self-serve button. Both accounts need to be active and verified, and you’ll need each account’s registration transaction ID. Google typically reviews and approves these requests within a couple of business days. Ratings, reviews, and the store listing carry over automatically, but some reports (like historical payout and earnings data) do not transfer, so export those first if you’ll need them.
If you’re instead handing over control of your whole developer account (rather than one app), both Apple and Google support adding the new developer as an admin/owner and then removing yourself, which is simpler than an app-by-app transfer but gives them access to everything tied to that account.
Step 3: Hand Over Backend, Accounts, and Third-Party Services
Most apps depend on services outside the app store: a backend hosting provider, a database, push notification services, analytics, crash reporting, payment processors, and any third-party APIs (maps, auth, AI, etc.). Make a list of every service the app calls and confirm who owns the account for each one.
Where possible, put these accounts under your own company’s ownership (not the departing developer’s personal login) and add the new developer as a team member with the access level they need. For services that can’t easily change owners, rotate API keys and passwords once the handoff is complete, so the old developer no longer has live credentials.
Don’t forget app-specific credentials that live outside any dashboard: push notification certificates/keys, code signing certificates, provisioning profiles, and keystore files for Android. If your Android app is enrolled in Play App Signing (the default for any app that uploads an Android App Bundle, which Google has required for new apps since August 2021), losing your local upload key isn’t fatal — the primary owner of the Play Console account (admin and editor roles don’t have access to this option) can open the App Integrity page in Play Console and submit an upload key reset request, then keep publishing updates under the same listing once Google approves it, usually within a couple of business days. That said, you should still archive the original keystore securely: apps that predate Play App Signing and never enrolled don’t have this self-service recovery option, and losing the actual app signing key itself — as opposed to just the upload key, which Google securely holds a copy of — is not recoverable.
Tips / Common Mistakes
Keep the old developer’s access active until the new developer has confirmed they can build and deploy the app successfully — don’t revoke access first and troubleshoot second.
Do a test build immediately after each transfer step. A repo that ‘transferred fine’ but won’t compile, or a Play Console transfer that’s missing the signing key, is much easier to fix while the original developer can still answer questions.
Put everything in writing, including exactly what’s being transferred and by when, especially if the relationship with the previous developer ended on bad terms.
Store your Android keystore, Apple certificates, and any master credentials somewhere your company controls (a password manager or secrets vault your business owns), not solely in an individual developer’s personal accounts.
If the app uses a custom domain for its website, marketing pages, or API, confirm you (not the developer) are listed as the registrant on the domain registrar account, and that DNS access isn’t locked to the old developer’s login.
Explore more: more app development guides.
App developer transfer FAQs
Will my app lose its reviews and ratings when I switch developers?
Not if you use the official App Store Connect or Google Play transfer process instead of resubmitting as a new app. Reviews, ratings, download history, and the store URL all stay intact through an official transfer.
What’s the single most important thing to secure before switching developers?
Your code repository and your signing credentials (Apple certificates and the Android upload keystore). Most Android apps enrolled in Play App Signing can recover from a lost upload key through Google’s reset process, but it’s still far simpler to hand over the original files than to go through recovery — and apps that never enrolled in Play App Signing don’t have that safety net.
How long does an app transfer take?
An App Store Connect transfer can complete once the receiving account accepts it, though the recipient has up to 60 days to do so. A Google Play app transfer through Developer Support typically takes a couple of business days for approval once both accounts are verified and the request is submitted.
Can I switch developers without the app going offline?
Yes. Official app store transfers are designed to happen without taking the app down. Backend and hosting migrations require more care — plan those during low-traffic periods and test thoroughly before pointing users at new infrastructure.
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Originally published at gtstu.com.
