Publishing a Lovable app on the App Store and Google Play: the complete guide (and the pitfalls)

Yes, an app built with Lovable can be published on the App Store and Google Play, but not directly from Lovable. Lovable builds web apps, so you need to "wrap" your app in a mobile shell (with a tool like Capacitor), create your Apple and Google developer accounts, then pass review on both stores. The real challenge is not technical, it lies in Apple's rules: an app that looks like a plain website is often rejected.

Why isn't your Lovable app already on the stores?

A Lovable app is not on the App Store or Google Play because Lovable produces web apps, while the stores only accept native apps.

A web app opens in a browser (Safari, Chrome) at a web address, for example myapp.lovable.app. A native app is a file specific to iPhone or Android, signed with your developer accounts.

According to Lovable's publishing documentation, as of October 2026, publishing in Lovable always results in a web address, with no button to send your project to the App Store or Google Play.

What are the options for bringing a Lovable app to mobile?

There are three options for bringing a Lovable app to mobile: a PWA (outside the stores), a Capacitor native shell (on the stores, keeping Lovable) and a native rebuild (on the stores, without Lovable). For most professional Lovable apps, the Capacitor shell is the best trade-off.

Option 1: the PWA (installable web app)

A PWA (Progressive Web App) is a web app that users add to their phone's home screen from the browser, and that opens full screen.

• Pros: fast, almost free, no Apple or Google review.
• Cons: not on the stores, manual installation, limited access to the phone's features.

Option 2: the native shell with Capacitor

Capacitor is an open-source tool that places a web app inside a real iOS and Android app (Capacitor documentation). Your Lovable app becomes a file that can be installed from the stores, and can use the phone's features: notifications, camera, Face ID.

• Pros: you keep your Lovable app as it is, without rewriting everything. You keep editing it in Lovable.
• Cons: you need to add real mobile features to pass Apple guideline 4.2 (see below).

Option 3: rebuild the app natively (with React Native, for example)

Lovable serves as a working prototype, then a developer rebuilds the app with a mobile technology such as React Native (Lovable does not generate React Native projects).

• Pros: the smoothest mobile experience, suited to complex apps.
• Cons: longer, more expensive, and the mobile app can no longer be edited with Lovable.

How do you publish a Lovable app on the App Store and Google Play, step by step?

Publishing a Lovable app on the stores takes five steps: connect GitHub, create the developer accounts, prepare the mobile side with Capacitor, fill in the store listings, then submit the app.

1. Connect Lovable to GitHub

According to Lovable's GitHub documentation, connecting a GitHub account in the project settings creates a code repository, private by default, synced both ways with Lovable. This repository is the basis for the mobile version.

2. Create your developer accounts

• Apple Developer Program: according to Apple's enrollment page, USD 99 per year, with the price shown in local currency at enrollment. For a company, have your D-U-N-S number ready (a business identifier Apple requires).
• Google Play Console: according to Play Console Help, USD 25, paid once.

Watch out: according to Google Play's testing requirements, personal accounts created after November 13, 2023 must first have the app tested by at least 12 testers for 14 consecutive days before they can publish it. An account in your company's name lets you skip this step.

3. Prepare the mobile side

• Add Capacitor to the project and generate the iOS and Android versions.
• Create the app icon and the splash screen (the image shown while loading).
• Add at least one or two truly mobile features, such as notifications.
• Build and sign the app. For iOS, this requires a Mac with Xcode, or a cloud build service.

4. Fill in the store listings

For each store: name, description, screenshots, privacy policy and the questionnaire on collected data. Provide a demo account if the app requires sign-in.

5. Submit and wait for review

According to Apple's App Review page, at least 50% of submissions are reviewed in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours. But the final decision belongs to Apple and Google, and a rejection followed by fixes is common for a first release.

Why does Apple reject Lovable apps?

According to the App Store Review Guidelines, Lovable apps are mostly rejected for being too close to a website (guideline 4.2), Google sign-in without an equivalent alternative (guideline 4.8), external payment for digital content (guideline 3.1.1) or missing account deletion (guideline 5.1.1(v)).

Apple guideline 4.2: the "website in a box"

App Store guideline 4.2 is the minimum functionality requirement: the app must provide features and an interface that go beyond a repackaged website. A shell that simply displays your website will very likely be rejected.

Apple guideline 4.8: signing in with Google

If your users sign in with Google (or another social network) to create their account, Apple requires another equivalent option that limits the data collected to name and email and lets users hide their email. In practice, that is often "Sign in with Apple". There are exceptions: for example, if your app only uses your own account system (email and password), or if it is a business app that requires an existing company account.

Apple guideline 3.1.1: payments

If your app sells digital content or features (premium subscription, credits, unlocked content), Apple requires its in-app purchases, with its commission. A built-in Stripe payment for these purchases will be rejected. Physical goods or services consumed outside the app (a delivery, a service, a booking) must, on the contrary, use another payment method, such as Stripe (guideline 3.1.3(e)). In the United States, Apple also allows links to external payment: this is not the case in other countries, including France, as of October 2026.

Supabase sign-in in a mobile app

Most Lovable apps use Supabase for accounts and the database. On the web, after a Google sign-in or a magic link received by email, users simply return to your site. In a mobile app, you need to configure deep links so that this return reopens the app at the right place, as explained in the Supabase documentation. Without this setting, sign-in gets stuck.

Mandatory account deletion

Apple (guideline 5.1.1(v)) and Google require any app that lets users create an account to also let them delete it from within the app, along with the associated data. According to Apple's page on account deletion, simply deactivating the account is not enough, and neither is asking users to send an email. According to Google Play's requirements, you also need a web page where users can make this request.

Can you keep editing a Lovable app after publishing it?

Yes, a Lovable app published with a Capacitor shell can still be edited in Lovable as before. But each change must then be built into a new version of the app, recompiled and resubmitted to the App Store and Google Play.

Over-the-air update services, such as Capgo, push changes to the web layer directly to phones without going through the stores again. These updates do not cover the native layer, and Apple strictly regulates downloaded code that changes an app's features: keep them for small fixes.

How much does publishing a Lovable app cost, and how long does it take?

Publishing a Lovable app on the stores costs at least the developer account fees, USD 99 per year for Apple and USD 25 once for Google as of October 2026, plus the mobile development time.

• On your own: expect several weeks if you are new to Capacitor, Xcode and the store consoles.
• With a contractor: expect a few weeks, depending on the mobile features to add and the review feedback.

How do you secure a Lovable app before publishing it?

Securing a Lovable app before publishing it mainly means checking the Supabase access rules, so that no user can read another user's data.

Row Level Security (RLS) is the Supabase mechanism that defines, row by row, which data each user can read or modify (Supabase documentation). If you are not sure about your rules, have your app checked: that is the purpose of our Lovable security audit (€1,200 excl. VAT).

Get help publishing your Lovable app

GUIGUI Tech's Your Lovable app on iPhone and Android offer covers turning it into a mobile app with Capacitor, adding mobile features and submitting to both stores, starting at €8,500 excl. VAT for 3 to 6 weeks, with the price fixed before work begins. If your app has already been rejected by Apple, the App rejected by Apple offer starts with a €500 excl. VAT diagnosis.