Phase 12 Preauthorization Release Readiness — 2026-07-19

Status: PREAUTHORIZED ENGINEERING ONLY — FORMAL PHASE 12 REMAINS BLOCKED
Programme timezone: Asia/Tokyo
Stable source audited: 25c445f4e33073d1f174b0a30ea5ca50d838859e
Governing Phase 11 issue: #112

Purpose

Define the exact work that may continue toward Android production release without misrepresenting synthetic readiness as completion of the real Zambia pilot.

This document does not authorize:

  • real participant recruitment or processing;
  • unrestricted signup or invitations;
  • public production traffic;
  • Play production rollout;
  • signed production release distribution;
  • real verification claims based only on synthetic data;
  • real-money activation;
  • closure of Phase 11 or Issue #112.

The authoritative phase order remains:

Phase 11 real controlled pilot
→ 11C–11H PRIMARY-PILOT evidence
→ 11I evidence-led corrections
→ 11J STOP / REPEAT / NARROW / PROCEED
→ global release gates
→ formal Phase 12 authorization
→ Android production release

Formal Phase 12 entry gate

Formal Phase 12 remains blocked until all of the following are true:

  1. the authorized real controlled Zambia pilot has actually run;
  2. required 11C–11H PRIMARY-PILOT evidence is recorded;
  3. legitimate evidence-led corrections are promoted and revalidated;
  4. 11J records an evidence-backed PROCEED decision;
  5. qualified Zambia legal/privacy/consumer approval and applicable DPC evidence exist;
  6. the global release gates in MASTER_BUILD_PLAN.md are satisfied.

Synthetic/system results may demonstrate implementation readiness, but cannot satisfy those entry conditions.

Current repository release audit

Release concern Current evidence Status before formal release
Android application ID com.kudzimusar.direkt Ready baseline
Android target API targetSdk = 36 Meets the announced Google Play requirement taking effect 2026-08-31 for new apps/updates; re-check again at release time
Android compile API compileSdk = 36 Ready baseline
Release version versionCode = 8, versionName = "0.8.0-phase8" Stale; must be deliberately advanced under release versioning before signed distribution
Release build type Exists, with release lint enabled Partial
Release minification isMinifyEnabled = false Explicit release decision still required; not changed merely to chase a checklist
Production signing No repository signing configuration or key material Correct fail-closed state before authorization; protected upload-key process still required
Android CI Debug unit/lint/APK/test-APK gate exists Strong development gate, but not sufficient for AAB release readiness
Release AAB gate No permanent non-publishing AAB readiness workflow at audit start Gap to close with protected preauthorization engineering
Play App Signing Planned in docs/android/PLAY_STORE_RELEASE.md External Play Console action still pending
Play testing tracks Internal/closed/staged model documented Real Play track configuration/evidence pending
Store listing Requirements documented Final listing/screenshots/content rating/support/privacy artifacts pending
Data safety declaration Requirement documented Final declaration must match the actual SDK/data flow at release time
Production backend Managed Cloud Run remains protected staging; no public production authorization Blocked until formal release gates
Real Firebase participant auth Implementation exists; real configuration/canary externally gated Blocked until Phase 11 entry approval
Monitoring Phase 10 protected monitoring/recovery evidence exists; Sentry real-participant use remains disabled Production monitoring/alert ownership must be re-confirmed for release
Support/verification staffing Bounded pilot ownership defined Real operating capacity must be evidenced by the pilot before production
Device/accessibility matrix Automated/synthetic checks and planned matrix exist Real Zambia device/network evidence remains mandatory in 11G

Current Google Play policy checkpoint

At this 2026-07-19 checkpoint:

  • Google Play states that from 2026-08-31, new apps and app updates for standard Android mobile apps must target Android 16 / API level 36 or higher.
  • DIREKT already declares targetSdk = 36, so no target-SDK migration is currently required for that announced deadline.
  • Google Play requires accurate Data safety declarations for published apps and requires developers to account for data collected or shared by app code and included SDKs.
  • The planned release process uses Android App Bundles and Play App Signing; the protected upload key must remain outside the public repository.

Official references must be re-checked at every closed-test and production release checkpoint because Play policy changes over time.

Engineering explicitly authorized before formal Phase 12

The following work may continue now because it does not create a production launch or substitute for primary evidence:

  1. build an unsigned, non-publishable release AAB in CI to prove the release variant compiles;
  2. run release lint and package/target identity assertions;
  3. generate a SHA-256 checksum for the readiness artifact;
  4. ensure no signing keys, service-account files, production credentials or real participant configuration enter the repository or artifact;
  5. retain the artifact only as short-lived CI evidence and label it clearly as PREAUTHORIZATION / NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION;
  6. keep production upload, Play Console publishing and production backend traffic absent from the workflow;
  7. prepare release/store/data-safety checklists from actual code, while leaving legal/participant-dependent fields unresolved rather than inventing answers;
  8. continue protected synthetic/staging regression work against the canonical Android → API → backend → database → operations architecture.

Release-readiness workflow contract

The preauthorization workflow must:

  • run without production signing secrets;
  • fail if signing key files or obvious signing configuration are introduced into the public Android project prematurely;
  • execute release lint and bundleRelease;
  • confirm the AAB exists;
  • record commit SHA and artifact SHA-256;
  • upload only the clearly labelled non-publishable readiness artifact;
  • perform no Play upload, Firebase production distribution, public deployment or traffic change;
  • never set PILOT_ENTRY_APPROVED=true or production release latches.

This gate proves buildability only. It does not prove Play approval, installability from Play, device compatibility, legal compliance, production operations or product-market validation.

Work that must remain blocked

Do not perform any of the following under the preauthorization label:

  • create or distribute a production-signed AAB to the public;
  • configure unrestricted Play production access;
  • enable production Firebase invitations/OTP before the real-pilot entry gates;
  • make Cloud Run publicly callable merely to prepare Phase 12;
  • enable Sentry with real participant data without the approved privacy boundary;
  • enable real payments;
  • manufacture DPC/legal references, participant metrics, device observations or willingness-to-pay evidence;
  • change trust semantics or release scope merely to make a release checklist appear complete.

Remaining path to formal Phase 12

External/real-evidence blockers

  • DPC controller-registration evidence;
  • applicable overseas storage/transfer authorization;
  • qualified Zambia legal/privacy/consumer review;
  • approved final real-participant notice/consent version;
  • real Firebase and private-storage/auth/deletion/withdrawal canaries;
  • 11C provider onboarding/evidence/comprehension evidence;
  • 11D discovery/location/trust-comprehension evidence;
  • 11E enquiry/contact/review/complaint evidence;
  • 11F real operations/capacity evidence;
  • 11G Zambia device/connectivity/recovery evidence;
  • 11H willingness-to-pay and unit-economics evidence;
  • 11J PROCEED decision.

Release gates to close after evidence supports proceed

  • deliberate release version code/name;
  • protected upload key and Play App Signing setup;
  • signed reproducible AAB and signature/hash evidence;
  • Play internal then closed testing evidence;
  • final store listing, privacy policy, terms/support route, content rating and Data safety declarations;
  • production backend and operations readiness;
  • operational support and verification staffing;
  • production monitoring/alerts and incident ownership;
  • staged rollout/rollback/stop criteria;
  • final current-Play-policy check;
  • release tag and notes.

Decision

Proceed with Phase 12 preauthorization release-readiness engineering only while Phase 11 remains the formally active programme phase.

Do not rename this work as Phase 12 completion or production release. Formal Phase 12 begins only after the real pilot, 11J PROCEED decision and global release gates authorize it.