New Release Management role changes for enhanced security

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Making sure that only the right people have access to release to production. 

Ensuring the right people have the keys to your production kingdom is vital. That’s why in our continuous effort to enhance the security and efficiency of our Release Management add-on, we’re introducing changes to the developer roles within our platform. In this blog post, we’ll cover the current lay of the land for developers and admins, the upcoming changes, and what you can expect moving forward.

The role of permissions in Release Management

As of now, all current and new developers who join your team are automatically granted release manager permissions. Simple? Yes. Optimal? Not quite. This setup, while straightforward, offers limited flexibility and control for team admins in managing who can release to production. 

What’s changing?

To improve this process, we’re introducing a more refined permissions structure. Beginning today, new developers will no longer automatically inherit release manager permissions. Instead, admins have the reins to assign these roles as they see fit.

Admins, take control

You’re in the driver’s seat. Tailor release permissions for your team for tighter control and enhanced security. You can do so by visiting your team settings to make any necessary changes. New developers joining your team will also start without Release Manager permissions.

Developers, request access

Notice your release manager permissions missing? It’s us, not you. We’re upping our security game, so if you need those permissions back, please request this from your team admin. New to the team? Reach out to your admins for release privileges; they won’t be automatic anymore.

Why the shift in developer release permissions?

It’s all about empowerment and security. By shifting away from default release manager permissions, we’re ramping up the security and precision of your release management. This change reflects our commitment to a secure, user-friendly platform.

Understanding Release Management roles: Permissions at a glance

Below is a quick refresher on the various roles within Release Management, highlighting what each role can do.

Tester roles can:

  • Open release
  • Create a release
  • Change the release candidate
  • Update RC configs
  • Deploy to TestFlight and Google Play
  • Distribute to beta testing
  • Approve/edit/create/delete approval tasks

Developer roles:

  • NEW: Can be granted additional Release Manager permissions to perform app store-related actions
  • Inherit Tester’s capabilities
  • Perform store-related actions

Admin roles:

  • Inherit Developer’s and Release Manager’s capabilities.
  • Can grant Release Manager permissions to Developers

Moving Forward with Confidence

We believe these updates forge a more secure, controlled environment for your mobile app releases. We encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the new settings and adjust their team configurations as needed.

Got questions? Our support team is just a message away, or check out our guide in the dev center for more details. Alternatively, you can leave us your feedback on Slack.