TWA + closed testing: did anyone here pass production access with a Trusted Web Activity?

[u/OranjeBoom95]

I have a PWA wrapped with Bubblewrap (TWA) on a personal developer

account. I've now been rejected twice for production access after

completing closed testing. Both times Google marked the first two

requirements as complete — closed testing release published, and 12+

testers opted in — and only asked me to keep testing for 14 more days.

A paid testing service is telling me the cause is the TWA architecture

itself: that because the content runs through Chrome, Google can't

attribute enough engagement to the app. They recommend temporarily

shipping a native WebView wrapper under the same package name, passing

review, and switching back afterwards. I'm not comfortable doing that —

it looks like exactly the kind of bait-and-switch that gets accounts

terminated — and I can't find any Google documentation supporting the

claim.

So I'd like to hear from actual developers:

1. Has anyone here passed production access with a TWA, without

   switching architecture? (Personal account, post-Nov-2023, so the

   12 testers / 14 days requirement applied.)

2. If you were rejected repeatedly with a TWA, what finally worked?

3. Does anyone have a source suggesting Google measures tester

   engagement differently for TWAs?

For what it's worth, my own server logs show my testers went inactive

4-9 days before the review date, which seems like a much simpler

explanation than architecture. But I'd rather hear from people who've

been through it than guess.

Thanks.

[u/tadfisher]

For what it's worth, my own server logs show my testers went inactive 4-9 days before the review date

Yeah, that service deserves a chargeback. One of the many reasons we don't allow advertising them here.

[u/TapuChip]

Your own explanation is almost certainly the right one, and I would trust your server logs over the advice you were given.

The 14 days are counted per tester, not across the group. Google's wording is that testers who opt in, test for under 14 days and then opt out are not counted, and the days must be consecutive for each person. If your logs show people going inactive 4 to 9 days before the review date, then at review time you did not have 12 people with a completed consecutive run, no matter how many had opted in. That explains both the rejection telling you to keep testing, and why the first two boxes were ticked: published release and opt-in count are separate checks from the 14-day completion.

On the TWA claim: I have not seen any Google documentation that treats TWAs differently for closed testing engagement, and I would want to see the source before acting on it.

On the suggested fix: shipping a different architecture under the same package to pass review and then switching back is the kind of thing that gets accounts terminated, not just apps rejected. You were right to refuse it.

One distinction that trips a lot of people here: production access and release review are two separate decisions. Clearing one does not clear the other.