Hi All, My app has been stuck in the “In Review” status for more than a week. I have resubmitted it, strangely it almost took no time for it to be "In Review" again in App Store Connect. Normally, reviews only take a few days, and I have submitted a much more complex app and all was good. We had a good feedback loop but now I am concerned that something may be wrong with my submission or my account entirely. Could someone from Apple please advise if there is an issue with my account or I don't know I feel like something is wrong. Thank you for your help.

Hi everyone, I’m developing an iOS app that needs to be available on the App Store, but it only works when the user is connected to a corporate VPN (all backend APIs are only reachable inside the company network). I would like to clarify a few points: Is it possible to publish such an app on the public App Store, or will it likely be rejected during App Review because it’s only useful inside a VPN environment? What is the recommended distribution method in this scenario: public App Store, Custom Apps via Apple Business Manager, or Enterprise distribution? Are there any specific requirements or best practices for the App Review process (for example, showing clear error messages when the device is not connected to the VPN)? Thanks in advance for any guidance or experiences!

Our app (version 4.0.49, Submission ID: c55b9044-fb43-4677-b48d-134fed482b5d) was recently rejected under Guideline 3.1.1 – Business – Payments – In-App Purchase with the note that it “uses promo codes to unlock discounts.” We’d like to clarify our implementation and get guidance on the best compliant approach: • Apple Promo Codes: We already use App Store Connect’s official promo codes/offer codes for consumer campaigns, and these work through Apple’s IAP system. • Business Codes: In addition, we provide a second type of code for our enterprise/business users. These codes are not used for consumer unlocks and no money is collected via these codes. They are strictly used to validate access for business customers who already have pre-existing agreements with us outside of the App Store. This setup has been approved in our past submissions for nearly a year, but the most recent review resulted in rejection. Our Questions: How should we structure or frame these business codes so that they are seen as compliant with 3.1.1? • Would positioning them as enterprise account validation (aligned with Guideline 3.1.3(c) “Enterprise Services”) be acceptable? We want to remain fully compliant with Apple’s guidelines, but also continue supporting our enterprise customers. Any guidance on the correct approach for handling these business-only codes would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I need to get the app icon from the AppStore Connect API in order to display a list of my apps. However there seems to be no way. I See in the appstoreconnect.apple.com website that the icons are there and available, there is even a function where you can click on it and get the high res version: https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/apps/1504874998/distribution/ios/version/deliverable (this link is of course not available from the outside) I tried builds/{id}/icons which always returns nothing and found an iconAssetToken object in the builds array, but the link is weirdly formatted and leads to nothing. Hope someone can help, I'm fairly new to the API and the usage is quite odd for me so far. Best, Nils

Hello Apple Support Team, We are planning to discontinue support for older macOS versions (macOS 11 and below). However, I have a concern regarding the analytics I see in App Store Connect. When I filter Paying Users by platform version, I see that about 23% of users are on macOS 11 or lower. This is a significant portion of our user base, and I would like to clarify: Does this “platform version” metric reflect the current operating system version that the paying user is running? Or does it reflect the macOS version at the time when the user first purchased a subscription? Thank you in advance for your clarification.

No payments received since December 2023 - Zero response from support I have not received ANY revenue payments from December 2023 through October 2024. App Store Connect shows no error messages or problem notifications. Despite submitting multiple support inquiries over several weeks, I have received ZERO responses. Not even an acknowledgment. Absolutely remarkable operations, Apple. RIP Apple.

Hi everyone, I’m an indie developer and recently published our first app on the App Store. It was an exciting milestone, but on April 4, 2025, after the app had been live for about 1–2 weeks and one update had been pushed, we received a notice from Apple stating that our app had been removed from the store and that our developer account is scheduled for termination within a month. Understandably, this was incredibly alarming—but we stayed calm, carefully read through the allegations, and tried to handle the situation with patience and professionalism. The reason given was: App submissions from your account have engaged in concept or feature switch schemes to evade the review process, such as dynamically populating different app content after review, submitting apps with hidden features, repeatedly submitting misleading apps, and/or submitting apps with concrete references to content that you are not authorized to provide or is otherwise not appropriate for the App Store. This was cited as a violation of Section 3.2(f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. We were accused of dynamically changing game content after review, but we do not have the capability to do anything like that. The game has stayed exactly as it was when submitted, and the single update we pushed included only the changes listed in the “What’s New” section. They also mentioned hidden features. While we don’t hide anything, our game does include progression-based unlocks (such as new upgrade cards or mechanics unlocked as you play). We believe this is standard for many games, and we’ve explained this in our appeal. We also addressed another possible issue—some light pop culture jokes in push notifications—which we are more than happy to remove immediately if they were deemed inappropriate. We’re not here to argue or avoid accountability. If we’ve made any mistakes, we’re more than willing to correct them. But terminating the entire account for a first-time submission, without any discussion or specific feedback, feels incredibly harsh—especially for a small team trying to break into the industry. We submitted an appeal to the App Review Board over a week ago but have not received any response or update since then. So I’m posting here in the hopes of catching someone’s attention—whether that’s Apple or anyone in the community who’s been through something similar and can advise. I know the $99 annual fee might not be a huge deal for many developers, but for someone just starting out, it represents more than money—it’s a foot in the door. I’m not looking for sympathy, just a chance to make things right, follow the rules properly, and keep building on the platform I admire. Thank you for reading, and I truly hope someone can help guide us on the next steps. Best, Veekshith Kolanupaka

Hello everyone, I’m currently working on an iOS app built with Capacitor(5.0.6) with Cordova and vanilla JS. At the moment, my app uses Stripe to handle payments — on iOS I open a Safari View Controller so users can pay with Apple Pay or their credit card. However, I need to migrate to Apple’s In-App Purchase system to comply with App Store policies. I would really appreciate some guidance or a step-by-step outline on the following: The exact process to enable and configure In-App Purchases in Xcode and App Store Connect for a Capacitor-based app. How to properly set up local testing with StoreKit (or any other recommended approach) before submitting to review. Best practices for integrating In-App Purchases when using RevenueCat, since I’m considering it to simplify the implementation. Any pitfalls or gotchas that I should be aware of during the first submission (for example, the requirement to include the first IAP with a new app version). My goal is to fully comply with Apple’s policies and provide a smooth user experience for iOS users. I’m open to suggestions on frameworks, workflows, or tools that could make this easier. Thank you in advance for any help or examples you can share!

I built a TestFlight version of my unpublished app. While using it, I wanted to test out the subscription purchase and when I did, I used my real production Apple ID and not a Sandbox test account to purchase the subscription. I was surprised to see that it worked and I was able to use the test subscription in the app. However, I now have no way of canceling it. It has renewed every day at the same time due to the accelerated TestFlight subscription rate (it's a monthly sub). I read that it should stop auto-renewing after the 6th time, but I believe it's been over a week now and it still hasn't cancelled. I understand that it's not a real purchase, but I would still like to cancel it so I can try it without the purchase again using this account and also use it with a different Sandbox account. Can someone help me with canceling it? Since the account I used was not a Sandbox account, I can't just clear the purchase history in App Store Connect. Also, I can't go into my personal account settings to remove the subscription since it's not a production one.

We have developed apps for the App Store for more than 7 years. One day, out of the blue we noticed all our apps have been removed and our account was pending termination. We really didn't know what was going on since we behaved correctly and honestly during all those years of development. After we asked for more info on why our account was in pending termination state we received this reply: Hello [redacted], We received your complaint filed on 2 October 2024 pursuant to the Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (“P2B Regulation”). This correspondence serves as a response to your complaint. We thoroughly evaluated the activity associated with your Apple Developer Program membership. Our investigations confirm that your Apple Developer Program membership has been repeatedly used for dishonest and fraudulent activity in violation of Section 3.2(f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, which states: “You will not, directly or indirectly, commit any act intended to interfere with any of the Apple Software or Services, the intent of this Agreement, or Apple’s business practices including, but not limited to, taking actions that may hinder the performance or intended use of the App Store, Custom App Distribution, TestFlight, Xcode Cloud, Ad Hoc distribution, or the Program (e.g., submitting fraudulent reviews of Your own Application or any third party application, choosing a name for Your Application that is substantially similar to the name of a third party application in order to create consumer confusion, or squatting on application names to prevent legitimate third party use). Further, You will not engage, or encourage others to engage, in any unlawful, unfair, misleading, fraudulent, improper, or dishonest acts or business practices relating to Your Covered Products (e.g., engaging in bait-and-switch pricing, consumer misrepresentation, deceptive business practices, or unfair competition against other developers).” We found a pattern of manipulative or misleading behavior. As a result of this behavior, your Apple Developer Program membership has been flagged for termination. These behaviors can include, but are not limited to, inaccurate metadata describing your app or service, misleading app content, engaging in inauthentic ratings and reviews manipulation, providing misleading customer support responses, providing misleading responses in App Store Connect, engaging in misleading purchasing or bait and switch schemes, or other dishonest or fraudulent activity within or outside of the app. Our recent investigation and review of your developer account confirm violations of the App Review Guidelines. Specifically, we received a notice claiming that your [redacted app] allowed users to download media content without authorization from the relevant third-party sources. Our investigations confirmed this behavior which constitutes direct and egregious violations of App Review Guidelines 2.3.1 and 5.2.3. In addition, your binary submission from 1 October 2024 continued to include references to impermissible conduct under Guideline 5.2.3. Given the egregious nature of the violations, your app was removed and your Apple Developer Program account has been flagged for termination. For the sake of clarity, we have included relevant excerpts from the App Review Guidelines below for reference: 2.3.1 (a) Don’t include any hidden, dormant, or undocumented features in your app; your app’s functionality should be clear to end users and App Review. All new features, functionality, and product changes must be described with specificity in the Notes for Review section of App Store Connect (generic descriptions will be rejected) and accessible for review. Similarly, marketing your app in a misleading way, such as by promoting content or services that it does not actually offer (e.g. iOS-based virus and malware scanners) or promoting a false price, whether within or outside of the App Store, is grounds for removal of your app from the App Store or a block from installing via alternative distribution and termination of your developer account. (b) Egregious or repeated behavior is grounds for removal from the Apple Developer Program. We work hard to make the App Store a trustworthy ecosystem and expect our app developers to follow suit; if you’re dishonest, we don’t want to do business with you. 5.2.3 Audio/Video Downloading: Apps should not facilitate illegal file sharing or include the ability to save, convert, or download media from third-party sources (e.g. Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, etc.) without explicit authorization from those sources. Streaming of audio/video content may also violate Terms of Use, so be sure to check before your app accesses those services. Authorization must be provided upon request. The guiding principle of the App Store is to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for users and a great opportunity for all developers to be successful. We work hard to make the App Store a trustworthy ecosystem and expect our app developers to be honest with users and with us. Manipulative or misleading behavior degrades user trust in the App Store and is grounds for removal from the Apple Developer Program. [...] Sincerely, Apple We immediately checked upon the issue and noticed that the feature that Apple has been mentioning was enabled by mistake due to a technical malfunction inside our app and explained this to Apple in detail. We have also immediately submitted a new update to completely remove the code that allow the download of media content from the third party website in order to avoid an issue like this would ever happen in the future and also explained the situation to Apple, being completely transparent. Apple is currently ignoring our explanation and also the fact that we immediately addressed the issue and nothing was done in bad faith. The update we submitted should have completely fixed permanently the issue and yet we got our account terminated. An account with an app downloaded 50M times that have users worldwide and a 4.5 star rating. We never engaged in dishonest or fraudulent behavior and tried to explain this. It’s really disappointing and unfair to be falsely accused of dishonest behavior, and having no way to resolve the issue. We have been at complete disposal and all the facts reported are true and we have always been honest with our users and with Apple. We heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem having our app implemented Siri support, CarPlay support, MacOS support, Widget support and recently working also on the Apple Watch support. I really hope someone of the Apple Review Team could look into this and gave us the opportunity to fix this issue.

Recently, my app was deactivated due to guideline 3.2f, and not only the app but also my account is at risk of being deactivated. After reading the guidelines, we disagree with the pre-judgment made by Apple. During the review process, we addressed EVERY point requested by the review team by correcting the issues. We submitted a new bundle to fix the problems we had with app distribution and ad performance. The first bundle sent was removed after being published on the store for a few months; this was our MVP—a simple and unattractive app that was meant to be improved in the future. Then we launched two other bundles; one of them was canceled and we continued with another bundle to adjust problems we had with Firebase and some libraries. In the screenshot below, it is possible to see the other apps that were supposed to be "deleted," since Apple itself does not allow the deletion of these apps—I do not know why. After we submitted the third bundle to address Apple’s requests and attempted to publish our app, it was approved but exactly 4 days later it was denied and removed from the store, and our developer account was threatened with deletion. We did not commit any fraud in any step of the Apple process; all the steps for an app to be inserted into the store were followed. Our app is a social network that requires location access and permissions—all of which have been configured, implemented, and are requested when the app is opened. We have ads; however, they are completely valid because they are real companies that pay to advertise in our app, and all we do is direct the user to a company’s page when they click on an ad. Our social network includes reporting tools, blocking, unblocking, encryption with locations, among several other best security practices—even our login is SSO. I tried to file an appeal, but Apple’s website itself is broken and the provided link does not allow any kind of appeal. Our app was called Find-u until we secured the patent, and we have the legal right to use this name in Brazil. We also have a company and have started the process of migrating the account from an individual to a corporate account. I would like a response, some guidance. We can prove in many ways that we have done nothing fraudulent, and we are prepared to take legal action for all the trouble that the review team is putting us through. The first version of our app had more than 200 users in the database, and this third version, which resulted in our account being canceled, has infinitely better features and prettier screens than the MVP. It simply does not make sense to cancel our account; if the app presents any defect, we will fix it just as we did before so that it can be approved. CNPJ: 52.070.419/0001-13

Hello. I am the developer of a game called "Heya! Rising Ball" on the App Store(Apple ID - 6503669512). I first published my app on June 9, and successfully updated it on June 28 and July 19, continuing to provide service until July 27. However, in the early morning of July 27, I received a "Pending Termination Notice." The message stated that my account was found to have engaged in "dishonest or fraudulent activity," and because of the severity of the issue, my app was removed, and my account was flagged for removal. The "Evidence of Dishonest or Fraudulent Activity" mentioned was: "App submissions from your account have engaged in concept or feature switch schemes to evade the review process, such as dynamically populating different app content after review, submitting apps with hidden features, repeatedly submitting misleading apps, and/or submitting apps with concrete references to content that you are not authorized to provide or is otherwise not appropriate for the App Store." I reviewed the mentioned "section 3.2(f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement," and have been trying to understand which part of the regulation I violated that led to my app being removed and my account being flagged for fraudulent activities. I posted on the iosProgramming subreddit on Reddit, seeking advice on what could have caused this issue. Initially, I thought the problem might be due to the name of my app overlapping with others, but feedback suggested that the name should be fine. Secondly, I wondered if the keywords might be the issue. My app is a mobile game developed using Unity, similar to watermelon games, so I included "watermelon game, suika game" in the keywords. Could using "suika game" be interpreted as referencing another game, leading to me being labeled as dishonest? Thirdly, I considered the possibility of copyright issues with the sprites. For instance, the ball objects in my game were created by me using Affinity Designer, and the rabbit-shaped cloud that drops the balls was purchased as part of a GUI pack from the Unity Asset Store. Later, I discovered that the smiling ball I designed somewhat resembles illustrations used by the Headspace app. Could this resemblance be why I’m considered dishonest or fraudulent? Fourthly, people suggested it could be a library issue. The only potentially problematic library I used was "Graphy," a Unity Asset Store app for displaying device stats. I disabled its objects before submission. Could this be the issue, even though the app passed reviews and functioned well until now? My app, released on June 9, hasn’t gained much popularity or downloads. However, there’s one regular player from Italy who plays my game before bed, as shown by Google AdMob stats. Seeing this consistent player motivated me to keep updating and improving the app. When my app was removed, I felt a deep sense of loss as I couldn’t provide this player with an improved experience. I’m at a loss as to what I did wrong to be labeled as engaging in "dishonest or fraudulent activity." While I know I can file an appeal via the link provided, it requires: A thorough explanation of the issues identified Specific steps to prevent its recurrence New information clarifying these issues, if you disagree with the findings However, I don’t know what the exact problem is, so I can’t provide new information or specific steps to prevent recurrence. I need to understand the issue to address it properly. I am currently residing in South Korea, where I was able to speak with an Apple Developers support representative over the phone. However, they informed me that my issue is related to the App Review team and that I need to contact them. Unfortunately, since I live in South Korea, I cannot contact the App Review team by phone. The support representative said they would inform the App Review team, and I should wait for their response, which will likely come via email. It has been over a day, and I am still waiting for their reply. When I searched forums and Google for information about filing an "Appeal" after receiving a "Termination Notice," I couldn't find any instances where the issue was successfully resolved and the termination was revoked. I also read that the "Appeal" is a one-time opportunity, and the decision made is final. Some posts mentioned receiving responses from an A.I. Bot and not being able to change the outcome thereafter. Therefore, before I submit my "Appeal," which could be my last chance, I want to understand what mistake I made with my app that led to this situation. My app passed the review process three times and was being actively serviced before my developer account was suddenly terminated. Knowing the exact issue will help me address it properly in my "Appeal" and assure that it won’t happen again, which could assist in restoring my app and developer account. Please help me understand what’s wrong with my app so that I can explain, provide preventive measures, and hopefully resolve this issue. Thank you.

Hi everyone, we are currently facing an issue with one of our apps regarding the new icon requirements in iOS 26. • We created the app icon using Apple’s Icon Composer. • On the device, everything works perfectly: the app icon is shown on the home screen, and it can also be customized with the new iOS 26 features (colors, transparency, etc.). • However, in TestFlight the app icon is not displayed at all (in the TestFlight app on the device). • In App Store Connect, the icon is also not shown in the overview for the app. Interestingly, within the list of TestFlight builds in App Store Connect the icon is visible. What we have tried so far: • Created an archive and manually uploaded it to App Store Connect → no icon in TestFlight. • Took the working Icon Composer asset from another app target where everything works correctly, deleted the old one in this project, and copied the working asset into the problematic target. → Same behavior: visible on the device, but still missing in TestFlight and App Store Connect overview. In contrast, in another app (using the same workflow and also Icon Composer), everything works perfectly: the icon shows up on the device, in TestFlight, and in App Store Connect. Has anyone experienced a similar situation? Is there something specific that needs to be set in App Store Connect (e.g. Marketing Icon / Branding section), or could this be related to the new iOS 26 icon handling? Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

My app has ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption set to NO, but I am still required to answer the export compliance questions. Are there any specific conditions, APIs, or frameworks (like WKWebView or third-party SDKs) that are known to override this Info.plist setting and force a compliance review? I'm trying to understand what triggers this requirement even when the key is set to NO. Is there any documentation on this?

Until recently, I was able to upload my app with iTMSTransporter version 4.1.0 with the following command: /usr/local/itms/bin/iTMSTransporter -m upload -jwt {x.y.z} -v eXtreme \ -assetFile /Users/abc/Downloads/build.ipa \ -assetDescription /Users/abc/Downloads/AppStoreInfo.plist Starting this week, with iTMSTransporter version 4.1.0, the command fails with the following error: [2025-09-03 11:38:02 GET] <main> ERROR: No value present Package Summary: 1 package(s) were not uploaded because they had problems: /Users/abc/Downloads/build.ipa - Error Messages: No value present The same command still works when using the iTMSTransporter bundled with the Transporter app (version 4.0), so the issue appears to be specific to 4.1. Any guidance or confirmation from others experiencing this would be much appreciated.

Hi all, I'm developing fitness app and I use healthkit to track user's "STEPS" count from their iphone devices. I have been receiving this rejection and can't seem to get past this: Guideline 2.5.1 - Performance - Software Requirements The app uses the HealthKit or CareKit APIs but does not clearly identify the HealthKit and CareKit functionality in the app's user interface. Apps using these APIs should be clearly indicated to provide transparency and valuable information to users. Next Steps To resolve this issue, it would appropriate to clearly identify the HealthKit and CareKit functionality in the app's user interface. Resources Learn more about software requirements in guideline 2.5.1. I have modified my app: adding user permission prompt, adding healthkit notification, adding healthkit indicator in the UI, adding healthkit information in the onboarding process. I keep getting the same message. When I asked the reviewer what else could be done to satisfy the requirement, I only get boiler plate message above. Anyone know what they really looking for? Any insights is appreciated. Thanks!

After upgrading to macOS 26, I cannot install or update my app from either the App Store or TestFlight. Other apps update and install normally. Steps: Before upgrading, the app was installed via TestFlight and worked fine. After upgrading, I tried to update the app from the App Store: The update stalls at ~90% and never completes. Other apps update successfully. I launched the already-installed TestFlight version — it worked. After deleting the app, I tried reinstalling from TestFlight and got the error: “The app couldn’t be downloaded. Try again.” I tried rebooting, logging out/in of my Apple ID, and submitting a new TestFlight build — same issue. Environment: Originally built with Xcode 14 Also tried a new build with Xcode 16 App is compatible with macOS 26. Distribution outside the App Store (Developer ID signed and notarized build) runs fine

Hi, yesterday when I was trying to release the TestFlight build of my app the xcode said that it could not authenticate my apple ID. I then came to know that it actually wanted me to complete and aggrement which was "Paid Apps Agreement". This agreeemnet is to be made if one has to sell their app on AppStore or make in-app-purchases. I want to ask if it was mandatory for me to sign that agreement? As the solution which I could come across suggested that xcode blocks the distribution if there is a pending agreement.

Hello everyone, I published my game Boulder Dash 40 which was created in Unity, exported as an Xcode project, and uploaded using Xcode’s Archive and Distribute functionality. The game successfully passed Apple’s review process and is available on the App Store. However, two users have reported that they are unable to install the game on their Macs. After downloading, the installation fails with an error message. The game installs and runs correctly for other users, including myself. Both affected users installed the game using redeem codes and had no prior installation of the game on their devices. The installation failure also occurs when attempting to install the app via TestFlight. I have made several changes to settings in both Unity and Xcode, but the issue persists. Could anyone provide insights or suggestions on what might be causing this installation failure? Thank you in advance for your help! Best regards, Jan Part of installation log with error attached install.log

Apple Search ADs showing this error for adding a credit card based out of India. I have ICICI Bank Credit Card and it is enabled for International Payments also . Please check attached screenshot