TestFlight

When you upload a build to App Store Connect, it becomes available in TestFlight. Testers install Apple's free TestFlight app, accept an invitation by email or a public link, and install your build from there. They can send feedback and screenshots from inside the app, and you see crash reports in App Store Connect. A build stays testable for up to 90 days. After that it expires and testers can no longer open it, so you upload a newer one.

• Internal testers are members of your App Store Connect team, up to 100 of them. They get new builds right away, with no review.
• External testers can be anyone, up to 10,000, invited by email or through a public link. The first build you send to external testers needs Apple's beta app review. Later builds of the same version may not need a full review.

TestFlight is the step between "it works on my phone" and App Store review. It's where you catch the crashes, permission prompts and sign-in problems that only show up on other people's devices, and where Apple first looks at your app if you invite outside testers.

TestFlight is part of App Store Connect, so you need a membership in the Apple Developer Program. The build must be signed for distribution, which is what an EAS Build production or store profile produces. Moving from TestFlight to the App Store is a separate submission. You fill in the store listing, choose the tested build, and submit it for App Review.

Vibely's iOS publishing runs through TestFlight. The agent builds your app with EAS, uploads it to TestFlight in your own App Store Connect account, and waits for it to reach "Ready to test". When you're ready to release, it promotes that same TestFlight build to the App Store and submits it for review, using the store details you saved. It won't submit without a TestFlight build, so whatever goes to review is the build your testers already had. Your Apple Developer account and your app listing stay in your name.