How to switch app developers without losing your app

You can switch app developers without losing your app, your reviews or your users, as long as your business controls five things before the handover: the Apple and Google developer accounts, the app signing keys, the source code and its copyright, the domain and hosting, and every third party login. If any of those sit in your old agency's name, move them first, using the stores' own transfer process, then brief the new team.

Why switching app developers goes wrong

Switching goes wrong when the old agency owns something the app cannot run without. The code is rarely the problem. The problem is usually an account, a key or a password that was set up in the agency's name years ago because it was quicker at the time.

That is fixable, but only while the old agency is still cooperative. The best time to sort ownership is before you give notice, not after the relationship has soured.

The checklist below works in that order: confirm what you own, move what you do not, then hand over.

Who should own the Apple and Google developer accounts?

Your business should own both developer accounts, in its own legal name, with the agency added as a user. On the App Store, the organisation named on the account is shown as the seller of your app, and Apple's enrolment rules say the person enrolling must have legal authority to bind the organisation to agreements.

Both stores now check who you are. Apple requires a DUNS number, the nine digit business identifier issued by Dun and Bradstreet, plus a working website on a domain your organisation owns. Google says on its account requirements page that you cannot create an organisation developer account without a DUNS number, and that identity details must be verified before you can publish.

Google is going further this year. Under Android developer verification , apps on certified Android devices are tied to verified developers, with protections starting on 30 September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand and expanding globally in 2027. Whoever is the verified developer behind your app matters more than it used to.

To check where you stand, look at the seller name under your app's listing on the App Store and the developer name on Google Play. If either shows your agency's name, your app lives in their account and needs transferring.

How do you transfer an app on the App Store?

Apple moves an app between accounts with its own app transfer process : the Account Holder on the agency's account starts the transfer, and the Account Holder on your account accepts it. The app keeps its reviews and ratings, and existing users keep receiving updates, so customers notice nothing.

Apple's transfer criteria set some conditions worth knowing in advance:

• Both accounts must have accepted the latest paid and free agreements, and neither can be in a pending or changing state.
• The app must have at least one version already released on the App Store.
• The app cannot be waiting for review, in review, or pending release when the transfer starts, so time it between updates.
• In app purchase product IDs cannot clash with any already on your account.
• Apple Arcade apps cannot be transferred at all.

Some things need preparing beforehand. Apple says TestFlight testing should be turned off, apps with auto renewing subscriptions need an app specific shared secret, and data like App Analytics stays with the old account. Push notification certificates and Apple Pay merchant IDs need recreating on your side. Ask the old agency to export anything they will lose access to before they press the button.

How do you transfer an app on Google Play?

Google Play transfers an app when the old account submits a request, your account approves it, and Google's support team reviews it, which Google says takes up to two business days. According to Google's transfer guide , the app's users, download statistics, ratings and reviews all move with it.

Before you start, both accounts must be registered and active. If you are setting up a new account to receive the app, Google charges a one off registration fee of 25 US dollars. Google also asks for the registration transaction ID of both accounts, which is in the original receipt email with the subject "developer registration fee".

A few things stay behind and need redoing:

• Earnings and bulk export reports, so download them first.
• Test groups, which you recreate and testers may need to rejoin.
• Links to Firebase, Google Analytics, Google Cloud projects and ad networks such as AdMob, which must be relinked to your account by hand.

If your app sells in app products and your account uses a different default currency, Google unpublishes the app after transfer until you check the prices and republish. Plan for that rather than discovering it on a Monday morning.

What are app signing keys and why do they matter?

App signing keys are the digital signatures that prove an update genuinely comes from the app's owner, and without the right key you cannot ship an update to the existing app. Losing one can mean publishing a brand new listing and starting again with zero reviews.

On Android, most apps use Play App Signing , where Google holds the app signing key and the developer holds a separate upload key. Google says that if you lose the upload key "you are not locked out of your app" and can request a reset. Google is just as clear that an app signing key you manage yourself "cannot be reset" if lost.

So ask the old agency one direct question: is the Android app enrolled in Play App Signing? If it is, you are protected. If it is not, get the key file and its passwords handed over securely before anything else. On iOS, signing certificates are tied to the Apple account, so once the app is transferred your new developer can issue fresh ones.

Do you own your app's source code?

You only own your app's source code if your contract says so in writing. Under UK copyright law, the person who creates a work is its first owner, and the rule that hands ownership to an employer only applies to employees . An agency or freelancer keeps the copyright unless there is a written assignment.

Read your contract for a clause assigning intellectual property to you, ideally on payment. If there is none, ask for a short signed assignment as part of the exit. Then get the code itself: ideally a repository such as GitHub moved into an organisation your business owns, with full history, not a zip file sent at the last minute.

The other logins that keep an app running

Most apps depend on a handful of services beyond the stores, and each one is a login someone controls. Make a list and confirm the owner of each:

• Domain name. Registered to your business, with the registrar login in your name. Apple ties organisation enrolment to a domain you own, so this one matters twice.
• Hosting and servers. AWS, Google Cloud, Vercel, Supabase or similar, billed to your card under your account.
• Database and backups. Who can access the live data, and where the backups are stored.
• Email and notifications. Services that send password resets, receipts and push messages.
• Payments. Stripe or similar must always be in your name, because that is where your money lands.
• Analytics and crash reporting. Firebase, Google Analytics and the like.

For each one, add yourself as owner, then add the new agency as a user and remove the old one once the handover is complete. Change shared passwords at the end.

A sensible order for the handover

A clean switch usually takes a few weeks, most of it waiting on accounts and approvals. A workable order:

1. Get your own Apple and Google developer accounts set up and verified, including your DUNS number, before telling the old agency anything is changing.
2. Agree the exit in writing: the code, the IP assignment, the keys and a date.
3. Transfer the apps on both stores, between releases.
4. Move the repository, hosting, domain and third party services.
5. Have the new team ship a small update to prove everything works end to end.

That last step matters. Until a new build has gone through review and reached real phones, you have not proven the handover worked.

If you are weighing up a change of developer, our mobile app development work includes taking over existing apps, and we have taken our own apps, Spello and Jude, through both stores. Book a free 15 minute call and we will tell you honestly what a switch would involve.

Frequently asked questions

Will my app go offline while it is being transferred?

Usually not. Apple says the app can stay available for download during and after the transfer, and users keep receiving updates. On Google Play the app normally stays live too, unless it sells in app products and the receiving account uses a different currency, in which case it is unpublished until you republish it.

Can my old developer refuse to hand over my app?

Both stores require the current account holder to start the transfer, so you need their cooperation. Your contract is your leverage, especially any clause on intellectual property and handover. If the agreement is unclear, take legal advice before giving notice rather than after.

What happens to my users' data when I switch developers?

The users and their data stay with the app, because they live in your database and hosting, not with the agency. The risk is access: if the database sits in the agency's cloud account, it has to be moved or the ownership changed. Treat that move carefully and check your privacy policy still describes who processes the data.

How much does it cost to switch app developers?

The store side is cheap. Apple's developer programme is 99 US dollars a year, charged in local currency, and Google charges a one off 25 US dollar registration fee. The real cost is the new team's time to understand the existing code, which depends heavily on how well it was built and documented.