diff --git a/app/build.gradle.kts b/app/build.gradle.kts
index d2c20450..c6264ed7 100644
--- a/app/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/app/build.gradle.kts
@@ -65,9 +65,20 @@ android {
             configure<CrashlyticsExtension> {
                 mappingFileUploadEnabled = true
             }
-            // To publish on the Play store a private signing key is required, but to allow anyone
-            // who clones the code to sign and run the release variant, use the debug signing key.
-            signingConfig = signingConfigs.named("debug").get()
+            // Conditionally apply signingConfig for release builds
+            // If the 'CI_BUILD' project property is set to 'true', do not assign a signingConfig.
+            // Otherwise, (e.g., for local Android Studio builds), sign with the debug key.
+            if (project.findProperty("CI_BUILD")?.toString()?.toBoolean() == true) {
+                // For CI builds, we want an unsigned artifact.
+                // No signingConfig is assigned here.
+                // The bundleRelease task will produce an unsigned AAB.
+                println("CI_BUILD property detected. Release build will be unsigned by Gradle.")
+            } else {
+                // For local builds (not CI), sign with the debug key to allow easy deployment.
+                // This ensures you can select the "release" variant in Android Studio and run it.
+                println("Not a CI_BUILD or CI_BUILD property not set. Signing release build with debug key.")
+                signingConfig = signingConfigs.getByName("debug")
+            }
         }
     }
     compileOptions {
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 424adedc..7ce2af83 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ echo "INFO: Cleaning the project..."
 
 # Build the production release bundle without generating a baseline profile.
 echo "INFO: Building the production release bundle..."
-./gradlew app:bundleRelease -x test -Pandroid.sdk.path=$ANDROID_HOME
+./gradlew app:bundleRelease -x test -Pandroid.sdk.path=$ANDROID_HOME -PCI_BUILD=true
 
 # --- Artifact Collection ---
 echo "INFO: Preparing artifacts for Kokoro..."
diff --git a/build_presubmit.sh b/build_presubmit.sh
index 372a7956..4ed76ea6 100755
--- a/build_presubmit.sh
+++ b/build_presubmit.sh
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ echo "INFO: Cleaning the project..."
 
 # Build the production release bundle without generating a baseline profile.
 echo "INFO: Building the production release bundle..."
-./gradlew app:bundleRelease -x test -x uploadCrashlyticsMappingFileRelease -Pandroid.sdk.path=$ANDROID_HOME
+./gradlew app:bundleRelease -x test -x uploadCrashlyticsMappingFileRelease -Pandroid.sdk.path=$ANDROID_HOME -PCI_BUILD=true
 
 # --- Artifact Collection ---
 echo "INFO: Preparing artifacts for Kokoro..."