Real builds, shipping most days. You'll get updates as they land, and a way to tell me when something's wrong — which is the whole point of a beta.
Apple's TestFlight handles this. Tap the link on the device you want it on, install TestFlight if you don't have it, then tap Install.
I'll be straight with you: Google makes this more annoying than Apple does. It's two steps instead of one, and if you skip the first the second just shows an error. Do them in order and it takes about a minute.
Tapping this opens a blank email that's already addressed. Just hit send — you don't need to write anything. That send is what puts your Google account on the approved list.
Important: send it from the same Google account that's signed in on your phone, or the Play Store won't match you up.
Send the join email →
You'll get a confirmation back from Google — some accounts ask you to reply to it, most don't. Once you're on the list, this link opens Life in the Play Store with the testing version available.
Open Life on Google Play →
If it says the app isn't available, give it a few minutes and reload — Google takes a little while to notice you joined the group. That wait is normal and it's not you doing it wrong.
No. It's free for the whole testing period. Subscription pricing is set for the production release, but nothing gets charged to a tester.
Nothing — there's nothing to do. Life has no accounts and no server of mine. What you type stays on your phone unless you connect your own Google Calendar or Tasks, and that goes to Google, not to me.
Sometimes. That's what beta means, and it's why the in-app "something off here" button exists — it writes the report for you, two taps to send. Those reports are the single most useful thing a tester can do.
No. Your data lives on your device and carries over.
Almost always one of two things. Either the join email went from a different address than the Google account on your phone — that's the common one — or Google just hasn't caught up yet. Check the account first, then give it a few minutes and reload.