How to Add External Testers in TestFlight

Quick answer: To add external testers in TestFlight, do these steps in App Store Connect:

1. Open your app and click the TestFlight tab.
2. Fill in Test Information.
3. Click the add button (+) next to External Testing to create a group.
4. Add a build to the group. Enter What to Test, then click Submit Review.
5. When Beta App Review approves the build, invite testers by email or with a public link.

Testers install the free TestFlight app, accept the invitation and install your beta.

External testers are people outside your App Store Connect team. Apple lets you invite up to 10,000 external testers per app.

Internal testers are different. They are team members with App Store Connect access, and you can have up to 100 of them. This guide shows the external setup with the labels that App Store Connect uses as of October 2026.

Before you start

• An Apple Developer Program membership. TestFlight is part of the Apple Developer Program. To invite external testers, you also need the Account Holder, Admin or App Manager role.
• A processed build. Upload the build with Xcode, Transporter, altool, Xcode Cloud or the App Store Connect API. Apple processes each build and sends you an email when it is ready. A build that you upload as TestFlight Internal Only works only in internal groups. For external testing, upload a regular build.
• An answer to the export compliance question. Without this answer, the build is marked Missing Compliance. This is a build status that needs action from you. To answer the questions, click Manage next to the build. To skip the questions for each new build, add the ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption key to your Info.plist. Apple's page on encryption export regulations tells you which value to use. Apple says that encryption built into the OS, such as HTTPS through URLSession, is typically exempt from the export documentation upload.
• An internal group. Apple's help page says that you must create an internal group before an external one. If you have no internal group, click the add button (+) next to Internal Testing and create one. The group can have only you in it.

Step by step in App Store Connect

1. Fill in Test Information

You do this one time for each app. Update it when something changes.

1. In Apps, select your app. Then click the TestFlight tab.
2. In the sidebar, under Additional, click Test Information.
3. Enter a Beta App Description. Testers see it in the TestFlight app. Tell them what the app does and its current stage of development.
4. Enter a Feedback Email. Testers use this address to contact you from TestFlight. It is also the reply-to address on email invitations.
5. Fill in the Beta App Review Information section. Apple's TestFlight page says that you must complete it before you share a beta with external testers.

Beta App Review Information holds a contact name, phone number and email for the reviewer. If the app needs sign-in, it also holds a demo account.

Apple's API reference for these fields says that the credentials must stay valid for the whole review. The same reference gives a limit of 4,000 characters for review notes.

If people sign in with a social account, give the reviewer an account that they can use. Before you submit, sign in with the demo account yourself.

Under Invitation Experience, the App Information checkbox is selected by default. If a version is approved and in the Ready for Distribution state, the invitation shows its screenshots and app category (Provide test information).

2. Create an external group

1. On the TestFlight tab, click the add button (+) next to External Testing in the sidebar.
2. Enter a group name. Then click Create.

Give each group a name that shows its purpose, for example "Friends round 1" or "Public beta". With separate groups, you can send different builds to different people. You can also compare what each group reports.

3. Add a build to the group

1. Under External Testing, select the group. Then click Add Builds.
2. Choose the platform and the version. Select a build in the table. Then click Add.
3. In the What to Test dialog, tell testers what to check. Our guide on getting TestFlight testers to send feedback has a template.
4. Decide if you want "Automatically notify testers". If you do not select it, you must notify testers yourself after approval. To do this, click Notify Testers for the build under Builds in the sidebar.
5. Click Submit Review or Start Testing. Which one you click depends on the build status.

You can add one build at a time. To add more builds later, click the add button (+) next to Builds on the group page.

4. Pass Beta App Review

Apple checks the build and its metadata against the App Review Guidelines. Apple's help pages call this step TestFlight App Review. The external testers help page gives these rules:

• The first build you submit gets a full review. Later builds of the same version might not.
• You can submit up to six builds for review in 24 hours.
• Only one build of each version can be in review at a time.
• Users with the Admin role get an email when Apple approves the build.
• If Apple rejects the build, its status changes to Rejected. To see the reason, click App Review under General in the sidebar.

Apple's help pages do not give a review time. Submit the build before you promise testers a date.

The review is part of external testing. The TestFlight overview says that a build may need review if you invite external testers. Apple's Get started with TestFlight tech talk puts the review before external testing starts.

5. Invite testers

In the same group, you can invite testers by email, with a public link, or both.

By email. Select the group. Then click the add button (+) next to Testers. You can add new testers by email address, select testers that you added before, or import testers from a CSV file.

Each tester gets an invitation email. When a tester accepts, you see their name, email, install date, sessions and crashes.

With a public link. Select the group. On the Testers tab, click Create Public Link. Then do these steps:

1. Choose Open to Anyone or Filter by Criteria. Filter by Criteria accepts only the devices and OS versions that you select.
2. If you want a limit, click Set Limit under Tester Limit. Enter a number from 1 to 10,000.
3. For Filter by Criteria, click Next. Then click Add Criteria. Select a device and an OS rule: From (a range), Newer than or equal to, Older than or equal to, or All supported. You must add at least one criterion.
4. Click Confirm. Then copy the link and share it.

To change the criteria or the limit later, click Manage next to Public Link. You can also disable the link there.

Anyone can share the link with other people. Testers who join through the link appear as anonymous. You see their install date, sessions and crashes, but not their name or email.

Apple also asks you to check that the builds in the group match your criteria. Insight cards at the top of the group page warn you about incompatible builds and a full link. If a link stops accepting testers or does not open, see TestFlight public link not working.

What testers do on their side

1. Install the free TestFlight app from the App Store. To test iPhone and iPad apps, TestFlight needs iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 or later.
2. Tap View in TestFlight in the email invitation, or tap the public link on the device.
3. Tap Accept. Then tap Install. A returning tester taps Update or Open.
4. To install new builds automatically, turn on automatic updates. This step is optional.

On iPhone, testers accept the invitation in the TestFlight app. Apple's tester instructions mention a redemption code only for Apple TV betas.

For an Apple TV beta, the tester opens the email invitation on another device to get the code. Then the tester enters the code under Redeem in TestFlight on the TV.

Under the app name in TestFlight, testers can see how many days a build has left. They can also select an older build under Previous Builds.

Limits worth knowing

Sources: Apple's TestFlight overview, the external testers help page and the TestFlight page.

A build expires after 90 days. After that, testers cannot use it. To continue testing, upload a new build.

Sometimes testers accept the invitation, but TestFlight shows nothing to install. In this case, check the build status, the group, the expiry date and the device criteria. Our guide to TestFlight "No Builds Available" explains each check.

FAQ

After launch

TestFlight is for the beta. After your app is on the App Store, you still need people who try the live version and tell you where they had problems.

Raizy is a free feedback exchange for indie iOS developers. Another developer installs your app from the App Store on their own iPhone and uses it. Then they send a short silent screen recording or a screenshot with written notes.

A moderator checks every feedback session before any credit moves. You earn credits when you test other developers' apps. No task ever asks for an App Store rating or review.

Raizy does not take TestFlight builds. Read how feedback on a live iOS app works.