2023 APP Filing Tutorial – Alibaba Cloud Example

Summary: This article provides iOS developers with a detailed step-by-step guide for App filing required for Apple App Store submission, including registering a developer account, creating an App ID, certificates, Provisioning Profile, developing the app, submitting the app, and completing the review process. Understanding this process is essential for developers who want to publish apps on the App Store for users to download.

Alibaba Cloud provides a new APP filing workflow. Other domain filing systems such as West.cn, Tencent Cloud, and Xinwang are similar.

Key Points:

  • A: File the APP where your domain was filed for ease and simplicity.
  • B: Core pre-stored information for APP filing includes APP package name, MD5 fingerprint (Android), SHA1 signature (iOS), public key.
  • C: Obtain the above three items from the app developer; AppUploader allows you to fetch Android and iOS info via Developer Backend → [Configuration] → [Certificates & Package Names].

Filing Process (Alibaba Cloud Example)

1. Log in to Alibaba Cloud Filing Center

Go to My Filings, select Add New APP.
For first-time filings, follow the Alibaba Cloud official tutorial.
In the filing list, locate your domain and click Add New APP.

Add New APP

Enter the APP name and confirm:
Enter APP Name

2. Fill in APP Basic Information

Follow the prompts and fill in the following fields:

Basic Info

Example Table:

Field Description Required?
APP Icon Upload app icon Yes
APP Name Name of the app Yes
Cloud Server IP IP address of server used Yes
Content Category Category of app content Yes
Pre-approval Required for some industries Optional
App Language Supported app languages Yes
Remarks Custom notes Optional
SDK Service Provided? Yes/No Optional
Third-party SDKs Fill if applicable Optional
Backend Service Domain Domain used by the app Yes

Tip: Optional fields can be left blank; other fields must be filled truthfully.

3. Select APP Platform for Filing

Choose iOS or Android and proceed to upload materials.

Android Platform

Android Filing

Required fields:

  • Package name
  • Public key certificate
  • MD5 fingerprint
  • Server domain

Public key info can be retrieved in AppUploader → File Viewer.

iOS Platform

iOS Filing

Required fields:

  • Bundle ID
  • Public key certificate
  • SHA-1 signature
  • Server domain

Use AppUploader → File Viewer to get the corresponding iOS public key and SHA1 signature:
iOS Info Retrieval

If no certificate has been created, upload a valid P12 Apple certificate. The system will automatically parse the signature and public key.

4. Filing Principles

APP filing is based on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) domain filing system:

  • If a domain is already filed, no new filing subject is needed.
  • Just add APP information in the existing domain filing system.
  • Collected information mainly includes: APP package name, signature, public key.
  • APP filing is considered administrative pre-stored entity information; filing is determined by the subject.
  • Domestic Android app stores require APP filing; unfiled apps cannot be listed.

5. Preliminary Review and Verification

  • Fill in information and submit for preliminary review.
  • During preliminary review, the cloud service platform will verify company, contact person, and ID information via phone.
  • After passing the preliminary review, a MIIT verification code SMS will be sent.
  • Open the SMS link, switch to the APP page, enter the verification code, phone number, and last 6 digits of ID number, then submit.

MIIT Verification

6. Review Results

  • Review is handled by local bureaus; processing times may vary.
  • Typically, results are available within 1–5 business days.