diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/android-promote.yml b/.gitea/workflows/android-promote.yml
index efedb712..693b4b01 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/android-promote.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/android-promote.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # android.yml would mean an `if:` on all ten of its build steps.
 #
 # What it is for:
-#   * promote a tested build up a track (alpha -> production)
+#   * promote a tested build up a track (beta -> production)
 #   * roll production back by re-pointing it at an older versionCode (to_track=production,
 #     version_code=<the good one>, from_track blank)
 #   * halt a rollout (status=halted)
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ on:
       from_track:
         description: 'track to verify it is on, then clear (blank = touch nothing else)'
         required: false
-        default: 'alpha'
+        default: 'beta'
       notes_tag:
         description: "tag whose docs/releases/whatsnew/<tag>.txt to attach, e.g. v0.23.0 (blank = none)"
         required: false
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/android.yml b/.gitea/workflows/android.yml
index 3b4b5b76..ea1f7726 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/android.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/android.yml
@@ -36,8 +36,13 @@ on:
       - '.gitea/workflows/android.yml'
     # Single project version: a `vX.Y.Z` tag is THE release (publishes to Play `production` at
     # 100% + attaches the .aab/.apk to the unified Gitea Release). A main push is canary
-    # (Play `internal`). Production access was granted 2026-08-01; before that a tag could only
-    # reach `alpha` and someone had to promote it by hand in the Console.
+    # (Play `beta` = open testing: public opt-in, no tester list — but unlike the previous
+    # `internal` target, every canary now passes Google review before testers see it, so a
+    # canary lands in hours/days, not minutes). The same canary versionCode is also assigned
+    # to `alpha` (closed testing) in the same Play edit, so the pre-production-access closed
+    # testers keep receiving builds without re-opting-in. Production access was granted
+    # 2026-08-01; before that a tag could only reach `alpha` and someone had to promote it
+    # by hand in the Console.
     tags: ['v*']
   pull_request:
     paths:
@@ -94,8 +99,9 @@ jobs:
       # store listing. Failing here also means a missing file cannot leave a half-published
       # release: nothing is built, nothing is attached to the Gitea release, nothing reaches Play.
       #
-      # Canary is exempt on purpose: it has no curated notes, and Play reusing text for internal
-      # testers costs nothing.
+      # Canary is exempt on purpose: it has no curated notes. Open-testing users therefore see
+      # the previous release's text on a canary — cosmetic, and cheaper than gating every main
+      # push on a notes file.
       - name: Play release notes gate (tags only)
         if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
         run: |
@@ -226,11 +232,12 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           eval "$(bash scripts/ci/pf-version.sh)"   # -> PF_BASE (one minor ahead of the latest stable tag)
           case "$GITHUB_REF" in
-            refs/tags/v*) VN="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"; TRACK="production" ;;
-            *)            VN="${PF_BASE}-ci${GITHUB_RUN_NUMBER}"; TRACK="internal" ;;
+            refs/tags/v*) VN="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"; TRACK="production"; ALSO="" ;;
+            *)            VN="${PF_BASE}-ci${GITHUB_RUN_NUMBER}"; TRACK="beta"; ALSO="alpha" ;;
           esac
           echo "VERSION_NAME=$VN" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
           echo "PLAY_TRACK=$TRACK" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          echo "PLAY_ALSO_TRACK=$ALSO" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
           # Play's own "What's new" (500-char cap, its own file — the vX.Y.Z.md body is ~34 KB).
           # On a tag the gate step above already proved this exists, so the else branch is only
           # ever the canary path. See docs/releases/README.md.
@@ -240,7 +247,7 @@ jobs:
           else
             echo "no Play release notes at $NOTES (canary — Play keeps the previous text)"
           fi
-          echo "android version $VN -> Play track '$TRACK'"
+          echo "android version $VN -> Play track '$TRACK'${ALSO:+ (+ '$ALSO')}"
 
       - name: Build Release (signed AAB + universal APK)
         if: github.event_name == 'push' && (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v'))
@@ -312,7 +319,8 @@ jobs:
       # Direct Publishing-API upload instead of r0adkll/upload-google-play — that action hides the
       # real API error behind "Unknown error occurred."; this prints it. stdlib + openssl only (no
       # pip), reuses SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON (raw JSON or base64), auto-handles changesNotSentForReview.
-      # Track: canary main -> `internal`; a vX.Y.Z release -> `production` at 100% (`completed`).
+      # Track: canary main -> `beta` (open testing) + the same versionCode on `alpha` (closed
+      # testing) in the same Play edit; a vX.Y.Z release -> `production` at 100% (`completed`).
       #
       # A tag therefore ships to real users with no further click. Two things keep that honest:
       # the tag is only pushed once every platform is green, and Play reviews each production
@@ -324,9 +332,10 @@ jobs:
         env:
           SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON: ${{ secrets.SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON }}
         run: |
-          echo "uploading to Play track '$PLAY_TRACK'"
+          echo "uploading to Play track '$PLAY_TRACK'${PLAY_ALSO_TRACK:+ (+ '$PLAY_ALSO_TRACK')}"
           set -- --package io.unom.punktfunk \
                  --aab clients/android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab \
                  --track "$PLAY_TRACK" --status completed
+          if [ -n "${PLAY_ALSO_TRACK:-}" ]; then set -- "$@" --also-track "$PLAY_ALSO_TRACK"; fi
           if [ -n "${PLAY_NOTES:-}" ]; then set -- "$@" --release-notes-file "$PLAY_NOTES"; fi
           python3 clients/android/ci/play-upload.py "$@"
diff --git a/clients/android/README.md b/clients/android/README.md
index 1d06356e..97dfcba1 100644
--- a/clients/android/README.md
+++ b/clients/android/README.md
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ Google TV, budget Amlogic boxes) that otherwise reject a 64-bit-only build as "n
 
 ## Get it
 
-Published to **Google Play (Internal Testing)** — join the beta via the
+Published to **Google Play (Open Testing)** — join via the
+[public opt-in link](https://play.google.com/apps/testing/io.unom.punktfunk) or the
 [Discord](https://discord.gg/kaPNvzMuGU). Per-device setup and pairing:
 **[docs.punktfunk.unom.io/docs/install-client](https://docs.punktfunk.unom.io/docs/install-client)**.
 
diff --git a/clients/android/ci/play-upload.py b/clients/android/ci/play-upload.py
index b557707d..777f3e20 100644
--- a/clients/android/ci/play-upload.py
+++ b/clients/android/ci/play-upload.py
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ tolerates it being raw JSON *or* base64-encoded JSON.
 Usage (upload a new build):
   SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON='<raw-or-base64 SA key>' \
     python3 play-upload.py --package io.unom.punktfunk \
-      --aab path/to/app-release.aab --track internal --status completed [--no-commit]
+      --aab path/to/app-release.aab --track beta --also-track alpha \
+      --status completed [--no-commit]
 
 Usage (promote a build that is already on Play, no rebuild):
   python3 play-upload.py --package io.unom.punktfunk \
@@ -164,6 +165,9 @@ def main():
     ap.add_argument("--promote-from", metavar="TRACK",
                     help="with --promote: assert the code is on TRACK, then clear TRACK")
     ap.add_argument("--track", default="internal")
+    ap.add_argument("--also-track", action="append", default=[], metavar="TRACK",
+                    help="assign the same versionCode to this track too, in the same edit "
+                         "(repeatable). Canary uses it to feed open + closed testing at once.")
     ap.add_argument("--status", default="completed")
     ap.add_argument("--user-fraction", type=float,
                     help="staged rollout fraction, 0<f<1; required by --status inProgress")
@@ -183,6 +187,11 @@ def main():
         sys.exit(f"ERROR: --user-fraction must be strictly between 0 and 1 (got {a.user_fraction})")
     if a.aab and not os.path.isfile(a.aab):
         sys.exit(f"ERROR: AAB not found: {a.aab}")
+    for t in a.also_track:
+        # `--also-track <promote-from>` would assign and clear the same track in one edit;
+        # whichever PUT lands second silently wins. Refuse the ambiguity instead.
+        if t in (a.track, a.promote_from):
+            sys.exit(f"ERROR: --also-track {t} duplicates --track/--promote-from")
 
     notes = load_release_notes(a.release_notes_file, a.release_notes_language) \
         if a.release_notes_file else None
@@ -209,6 +218,11 @@ def main():
         put_track(app, edit, tok, a.track, [vc], a.status, a.user_fraction, notes)
         print(f"assigned versionCode={vc} -> track={a.track} status={a.status}"
               + (f" userFraction={a.user_fraction}" if a.user_fraction is not None else ""))
+        # Same edit, so one commit (and one Play review) covers every track the code lands on —
+        # the tracks can never disagree about which canary is current.
+        for t in a.also_track:
+            put_track(app, edit, tok, t, [vc], a.status, a.user_fraction, notes)
+            print(f"assigned versionCode={vc} -> track={t} status={a.status}")
         # Same edit as the assignment above, so the code is never active on both tracks at once.
         if a.promote_from:
             put_track(app, edit, tok, a.promote_from, [], a.status)
diff --git a/docs/releases/README.md b/docs/releases/README.md
index 4004d86f..4f7878cc 100644
--- a/docs/releases/README.md
+++ b/docs/releases/README.md
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ no build, no assets on the Gitea release, nothing on Play. Two more checks sit d
 `play-upload.py` refuses text over the 500-char cap (printing the real count) before it uploads,
 because the API only rejects oversized notes at commit, by which point the AAB is already on Play.
 
-Canary is exempt: it has no curated notes, and Play reusing text for internal testers costs
-nothing.
+Canary is exempt: it has no curated notes; open-testing users see the previous release's text on
+a canary, which is cosmetic and cheaper than gating every main push on a notes file.
 
 Same freeze rule as the notes: once the tag exists, this file is the record of what that
 versionCode shipped.