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I am working on an Android application and I have some known issues (both platform related and "won't fix" issues).

  1. Is there a proper way to let users know about these known issues?
  2. How visible should this list be?

Just to clarify: I don't expect these issues to be common (or major).

Edit: more info

Example issues:

  1. Platform: Android has a backup system for apps, but it only runs on Android's schedule (when certain conditions are met). If the user made some changes after an update, uninstall and later reinstall he will lose the changes he has made after the update.
  2. Won't fix: there's a notification that is shown to the user if the application goes to the background (configuration related notification). There is a state of the app where this notification will not be sent (although it should have been sent).

Layout: the main application is a map with a drawer - this is the current layout, but this may change.

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    Can you provide some more context? As in, what exactly are these issues and the layout (list/grid) you currently have?
    – Chandan
    Nov 1, 2018 at 9:24
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    I think I've seen something like this once or twice... IIRC, it was tucked into a menu around the sort of place you might get About, Contact, Terms of Use and Licenses pages.
    – TripeHound
    Nov 1, 2018 at 13:36
  • @TripeHound sounds interesting, I'll see what other answers come up.
    – MikeL
    Nov 1, 2018 at 13:45

1 Answer 1

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As a user of an app, I'd not expect these in the app itself. For example, if your app crashes during launch because of a known issue, you wouldn't even be able to view the list. I'd expect a support website to be listed in the Play Store (or App Store for iOS apps). The Play Store offers the option (under Store Listing -> Contact -> Website) to specify a link, e.g. for the official Stack Exchange app it's just https://stackexchange.com:

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Apple's App Store has a dedicated URL for app support.

Since it's something that you probably want to update without needing to publish a new build of the app (especially for an iOS app with its review process), consider using a website for this, and (optionally) add a link to this website somewhere in the menu (or maybe in the FAQ section if you have one).

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  • Having a link somewhere else would be good (for the crash-on-launch case), but (a) I would say known reasons for crashing on launch aren't minor issues and shouldn't be "won't fix", and (b) assuming you can open the app, being able to see the list in-app (or, at least, have a link to the appropriate web page in-app) would still be useful.
    – TripeHound
    Nov 1, 2018 at 13:51
  • Thanks, this makes a lot of sense, however currently I don't think I'll create a site, since this app is intended to be free and I don't think I'll invest in a site (time and money)
    – MikeL
    Nov 1, 2018 at 13:53

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