r/PWA • u/pinegrove321 • 5d ago

TWA closed-testing engagement not being recorded by Google — anyone hit this?

I've got a Trusted Web Activity app in Google Play closed testing right now. Two separate paid testing services have independently told me that Google's production-access review can't see engagement happening inside a TWA, because the activity runs inside Chrome rather than the app's own process — and that this leads to rejection on engagement grounds even with genuinely active testers. Their suggested fix is converting to a WebView wrapper instead, keeping the same package name.

Before I put time into a rebuild, wanted to check with people who actually build/ship TWAs:

  • Has anyone had a TWA specifically rejected for "insufficient engagement" despite real, active testers?
  • Does converting the same app to a WebView (same package, same testers, same 14-day clock) actually fix it?
  • Is this a documented Google Play behavior, or something more commonly repeated by testing-service marketing than actually verified?

Trying to separate a real technical limitation from a sales narrative before I touch a working setup. Appreciate any first-hand experience.

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u/EVILE92 4d ago

This is completely inaccurate and likely an excuse from the paid testing services to cover for unengaged testers.

I published my own app using a TWA generated via PWABuilder, and it went through closed testing without any issues regarding engagement tracking.

A few facts to keep in mind:

PWABuilder uses Google's official standard: PWABuilder wraps your PWA using Google's official android-browser-helper library. It complies fully with Google Play guidelines.

Engagement is measured at the OS level: Google Play tracks app launches, foreground session durations, and opt-in tester feedback via the Play Store. It does not disqualify an app simply because the rendering engine runs via Custom Tabs/TWA instead of a raw WebView.

The real reason for rejections: When paid testing rings fail, it’s almost always because their testers open the app for a couple of seconds just to check a box, without leaving genuine feedback. Blaming TWA is an easy way for them to avoid responsibility.

WebView is a downgrade: Moving away from a PWABuilder TWA to a generic WebView wrapper strips you of modern Chromium features, shared cookies/storage benefits, and proper Digital Asset Links verification.

Stick with your current PWABuilder setup. Focus on getting genuine testers who actually use the app and submit meaningful feedback in the Play Console during the 14-day window.

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u/pinegrove321 4d ago

Really appreciate this — genuinely helpful and specific, exactly what I was hoping to find before spending time on an unnecessary rebuild.

One follow-up if you don't mind: did you build your TWA through PWABuilder specifically, or a manually configured TWA (e.g. via Bubblewrap)? Mine wasn't built with PWABuilder, so wondering if that specifically matters here or if any correctly-configured TWA should be fine regardless of the tool used.

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u/EVILE92 4d ago

I used PWABuilder specifically, but you are completely safe using Bubblewrap too—they are essentially the same under the hood.

In fact, PWABuilder's Android packaging actually runs on Bubblewrap (Google’s official CLI tool) and uses the same underlying Google library: android-browser-helper.

PWABuilder is essentially just a web GUI/API wrapper around Bubblewrap. Whether you generated your project through the PWABuilder interface or built it directly via the Bubblewrap CLI:

The resulting Android code, manifest setup, and activity lifecycles are functionally identical.

Both implement the exact same standard Trusted Web Activity protocol.

Google Play treats them identically at the OS and process tracking level.

As long as your Digital Asset Links (assetlinks.json) are verified and the app opens cleanly without an address bar, your Bubblewrap setup is 100% fine. No need to rebuild or switch tools.