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Daniel Nguyen
Daniel Nguyen
@daniel_nguyenx
Spent the last few days on this new Upgrade Window. It looks busy but in my experience, it converts very well!
✨ I was able to get @chat_vault published to MS Store in 2 weeks.
It's actually not that bad. It's the best option to distribute apps on Windows IMO.
The reviewers asked me to fix the submission a few times, but all were reasonable.
Some of my notes:
- The registration fee is $19 one-timefor individual account, $99 for company account.
This is a lot cheaper than other options: Azure Trusted Signing ($120/yr, no guarantee of account approval), Extended Validation Certificate ($300+/yr, no guarantee of bypassing SmartScreen)
- You can reserve your app names even before your account is verified.
- New app entry: choose "MSIX" instead of "MSI or EXE". MSIX = MS hosts & code signs for you. EXE/MSI = you do it yourself.
- Make sure to have a Privacy Policy page.
- Make sure to answer the Age ratings correctly. For a chat app, User Content Sharing must be checked.
- Avoid using other app names in keyword section. "AI chat backup" is OK. "ChatGPT backup" is not.
- For Tauri/Electron app, the app may require the runFullTrust capability. You will need to declare why you need it. Just say you're using Tauri/Electron and you don't do anything other than your app's primary functionality.
- Pricing. If you don't use their In-App Purchase system, set it to free ($0).
In "Product declarations", you will need to check "This product allows users to make purchases, but does not use the Microsoft Store commerce system."
You don't have to pay 15% commission when using an external payment system.
- Make sure the MSIX package you generate using the right product identity (name/publisher/display name)
Note that the Publisher is in this format:
CN=<your-unique-id>
The Publisher Display Name is your friendly company/account name.
Good luck ✌️
