Skip to main content

Kin: Setting Up Your Kin App

Kin app

This article applies to the Kin app (now part of Reactiv). If your app was built with Reactiv, see the Reactiv support docs instead.

This guide covers what your brand provides and what the Kin team does to get your app from setup to the App Store and Google Play.

How publishing works​

Your Kin app is published under your brand's own Apple and Google developer accounts. You own the store listings, and the Kin team builds and submits releases on your behalf. To make that possible, you give the Kin team Admin access to your developer accounts. See Setting Up Your Apple and Google Developer Accounts.

Step 1: Activate your Kin account​

  1. The Kin team creates your brand account and admin logins.
  2. Each admin receives an email asking them to verify their address. Verify it, then sign in to the Kin dashboard.
  3. From the Kin dashboard, install the Kin Shopify app on your store. The app links shopper sessions in the mobile app to your Shopify customers, so keep it installed for as long as your app is live.

Step 2: Send your app details​

Send the Kin team:

  • App name: the name shown under the icon on the shopper's home screen.
  • App icon: a 1024 × 1024 px PNG or JPEG with no transparency. Android icons are generated from it.
  • Color palette: your Primary, Accent 1 and Accent 2 colors. See Branding, Colors & Fonts.
  • Preferred app identifiers: an iOS bundle ID and an Android package ID, usually in the form com.yourcompany.yourbrand.
  • Store listing content and screenshots. See the App Store Listing Checklist.

Already have an app?​

If you're replacing an existing app (for example, one built on another platform), send its current bundle ID / package ID and current version number. The Kin app is published as an update to your existing listing, so shoppers keep the same app and reviews. Otherwise a new listing is created and versions start at 1.0.

Step 3: Set up your developer accounts​

Register your Apple and Google Play developer accounts and invite the Kin team as Admin. Android apps also need a Firebase project for push notifications. Full steps are in Setting Up Your Apple and Google Developer Accounts.

Step 4: The Kin team builds your app​

Once access is in place, the Kin team:

  • Creates or verifies your app identifiers, including the identifiers for rich push notifications.
  • Creates or updates your App Store Connect and Google Play listings.
  • Sets up push notification keys.
  • Fills in the app privacy details and the Google Play data safety form.
  • Sends test builds through TestFlight (iOS) and Firebase App Tester (Android). See Testing Your App Before Launch.

Step 5: Review and launch​

When you're happy with the test builds, the Kin team submits the app for review.

  • iOS is submitted with manual release, so the app doesn't go live automatically when Apple approves it. You choose the launch moment.
  • Android can use Google Play's Managed Publishing, so an approved release waits until it's launched.
  • A first Google Play review usually takes 4–5 business days. Updates to existing apps are usually reviewed within a few hours.

Your Kin analytics start from your app's launch date.

Was this page helpful?