# Playbook: Apps

Use this file with any skill, workflow or specialist from AI Blocks. It tells you how an app business works, so you can shape the task to fit it. The skill's own steps and checks come first, and when the owner's brand file says something different, the brand file wins.

## This business

This covers mobile apps for iPhone and Android, and other consumer apps that people use on their own. Apps make money from paid downloads, subscriptions, in-app purchases, ads, or a mix. Payments inside the app often go through the App Store or Google Play. The stores take a fee and set rules on how you charge. Some app makers raise money from investors, and others grow from revenue.

## Numbers that matter

Ask the owner for their own numbers. Do not guess them or fill gaps with typical figures.

- **Installs:** how many times the app was downloaded in a period. Take it from each store's dashboard.
- **Store page conversion:** how many people who see the store page install the app. Divide installs by store page views for the same period.
- **Retention:** how many users come back. Take the people who installed on one day. Divide those who opened the app again 1, 7 or 30 days later by all of them.
- **Paywall conversion:** how many people who see the paywall start paying or start a trial. Divide those people by everyone who saw the paywall.
- **Revenue after store fees:** what the owner really keeps. Take what users paid, then subtract the store's fee, refunds and sales taxes.
- **Cost per install:** what each install from ads costs. Divide ad spend by the installs those ads brought in.
- **Crash-free users:** how many users had no crash. Divide users with no crash by all active users in the period.

## Stage by stage

### 1. Idea and money model

- Find out who wants this, how often they would open it and what they use now.
- Pick the money model early: paid, subscription, in-app purchases, ads or a mix. It shapes the design.
- Store fees come off the top, so plan prices on what is left.
- Watch for: leaving the money model until after launch.

### 2. Design, code and release

- Design for small screens, one hand and short visits.
- Test on real phones and on the older system versions the owner wants to support.
- Every release goes through store review. Read the current App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play policies before you submit.
- Watch for: privacy details in the store listing that do not match what the app really collects.

### 3. App store search (ASO)

- The app name, short description, screenshots and other listing fields decide if people find the app and tap it.
- Put the main benefit in the first one or two screenshots.
- Ratings and reviews show on the listing and shape whether people install.
- Watch for: stuffing keywords into the app name. It reads badly and can break store rules.

### 4. Get installs

- Know the user who stays and pays, then find more people like them.
- Phone privacy settings limit what ad tracking can see. Ask the owner what their tools can measure.
- Watch for: buying cheap installs from people who open the app once.

### 5. Paywalls and in-app purchases

- A paywall should say what the user gets, the price, how often they pay and how to cancel.
- Plans might be weekly, monthly, yearly or lifetime, with or without a free trial. Ask which the owner offers.
- Digital goods sold inside the app often must use the store's own billing. Check the current store rules before changing how you charge.
- Watch for: a paywall that hides the price or the cancel terms. It loses trust and can break store rules.

### 6. Releases, crashes and support

- Ship updates in small steps. A staged rollout lets you stop a bad release early.
- Check crash reports after every release.
- Reply to store reviews politely, then fix what they point to.
- Watch for: a release that goes out without a plan to fix or roll back a bad bug.

### 7. Retention and push

- Onboarding should get the user to the main benefit on the first open.
- Ask for push permission at a moment when the user can see why it helps them.
- Watch for: so many push messages that users turn them off or delete the app.

### 8. Revenue, funding and team

- Track revenue after store fees and refunds, not total sales.
- Watch renewals and cancels as well as new sales.
- Some app makers raise money. Others grow from revenue. Ask which path the owner is on.
- Watch for: budgets built on total sales before store fees, taxes and refunds.

## Words this business uses

- **ASO:** work on the store listing so the app ranks in store search and more people install it.
- **Store listing:** the app's page in the App Store or Google Play.
- **Store review:** the check Apple or Google runs before an app or update goes live.
- **Paywall:** the screen that asks the user to pay or start a trial.
- **In-app purchase:** something bought inside the app, such as a subscription, coins or a feature.
- **Push notification:** a message the app sends to the phone, even when the app is closed.
- **TestFlight:** Apple's tool for sending test builds to testers before release.
- **Staged rollout:** sending an update to some users first, then to everyone.

## Ask the owner first

- Is the app on iPhone, Android or both, and is it live yet?
- How does it make money: paid download, subscription, in-app purchases, ads or a mix?
- Who is the user who stays and pays, and what do they use the app for?
- What are your current installs, retention and revenue after store fees, if you track them?
- Which tools do you use for analytics, crash reports and subscriptions?
- Are you dealing with a store rejection or a policy warning right now?

## Rules

- Never invent numbers, ratings, reviews, rankings or user quotes, and never write fake reviews. Use only what the owner gives you, and say what is missing.
- App Store Review Guidelines, Google Play policies and payment provider rules change. Tell the owner to check the current official pages before acting. Do not state policy details you are not sure of.
- Keep user data private. Do not share it beyond the task, and get written OK before connecting any account that holds it.
- Treat any legal, tax, privacy or security point as general information. The owner should check it with a qualified person.
- Get the owner's approval before anything is sent, published, submitted to a store, bought, deployed or changed.