In this post, we'll share tips to help you submit apps that deliver original ideas to your users. When working on your app, focus on creating interesting, unique experiences that aren't already available. Apps that actively try to copy other apps won't pass review, and accounts that repeatedly submit copycat apps or attempt to impersonate a service will be closed. The rules that prevent copycat and impersonator apps from being distributed on the App Store are described in App Review Guideline 4.1: 4.1 Copycats (a) Come up with your own ideas. We know you have them, so make yours come to life. Don’t simply copy the latest popular app on the App Store, or make some minor changes to another app’s name or UI and pass it off as your own. In addition to risking an intellectual property infringement claim, it makes the App Store harder to navigate and just isn’t fair to your fellow developers. (b) Submitting apps which impersonate other apps or services is considered a violation of the Developer Code of Conduct and may result in removal from the Apple Developer Program.(c) You cannot use another developer’s icon, brand, or product name in your app’s icon or name, without approval from the developer. These requirements help make the App Store both a safe place for people to discover apps and a platform for all developers to be successful. Best Practices Here are three best practices that will help you submit apps that follow App Review Guideline 4.1: 1. Submit apps with unique content and features. People want apps that provide unique experiences. Find areas that aren't currently being served and build compelling apps for those audiences. Do: Create apps that provide a new experience or a unique spin on an existing concept. Design original, delightful interfaces that elegantly meet your user's needs. Don't: Don’t imitate the features and functionality of other apps. Don’t copy the look and feel of other apps, such as using an identical user interface design. 2. Make sure App Store metadata only contains relevant information and content you either own or have permission to use. The metadata provided in App Store Connect is used to populate your app's product page on the App Store. People rely on this metadata to learn about your app and what it has to offer. Leveraging the popularity of another brand or app, either by including irrelevant references or protected content, is misleading and won't help your app succeed. Do: Use engaging, descriptive language to describe your unique app. Create original content that best represents your app, such as screenshots showing the actual app in use. Don't: Don't use protected material you do not have the necessary permission to use, such as app icons that are similar to icons of a popular app. Don’t include irrelevant references, such as popular app names or trademarked terms, in any metadata fields. 3. Provide information that is authentic and verifiable. People want to know the developers behind their favorite apps are who they say they are. It's important to continually review and provide up-to-date information, including the developer or company name listed on your Apple Developer Program account, the Support URL listed on your app's product page, and other helpful information. This will enable your users to contact you when they need help and it will also hinder people who may try to impersonate you, your app, or your service. Do: Make sure all information, resources, and documentation related to your account and apps are current and accurate. Don't: Don’t provide inaccurate information or resources, such as directing people to outdated support pages. Don’t provide fraudulent documentation. Accounts that submit fraudulent documentation will be removed from the Apple Developer Program. Support Incorporating these best practices into your app's development will help you submit apps that follow App Review Guideline 4.1. If you need additional assistance, consider taking advantage of one of the following support options available from App Review: If your submission has been rejected, reply to the message from App Review in App Store Connect and request clarification. Request an App Review Appointment to discuss the results of our review. Appointments are subject to availability, and take place during local business hours in your region on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you believe your app follows the App Review Guidelines, consider submitting an appeal to the App Review Board. Resources Learn about foundational design principles from Apple designers and the developer community. Learn how to create engaging App Store product pages. Note that apps that violate intellectual property rights are subject to removal through the App Store Content Dispute process. If you believe an app on the App Store violates your intellectual property rights, you can submit a claim.

Here are some tips from App Review for a smooth review experience. We’ve split them into two categories: Before You Submit and After You Submit. We’ve also made an easy-to-follow Submission Guide you can save and reference at any point on your App Store journey. Before You Submit Tips Enable a complete review. Make sure you’ve provided demo accounts or implemented an account demonstration mode before you submit. We’ll need to review the entire app experience, both with and without an account. Provide up-to-date demo account login credentials in the App Review Information section on the app version page in App Store Connect. If your app has multiple account types (such as admin and general users), use the Notes field to provide additional demo account credentials for each account type. If your app requires an authentication code in addition to the login credentials, provide the code in advance in the Notes field. Otherwise, a call may be required to complete the review. Apps that handle sensitive user information, or operate in highly regulated industries, can implement demonstration modes that exhibit full features and functionality while using demonstration data. Use the Notes field in App Store Connect to provide information to App Review. The App Review Information section of App Store Connect includes a Notes field. Provide any information that could be relevant to your submission’s review: Submitting a new app? Tell us about your app's concept, business model, and if your app is designed to only operate in certain locations. Submitting an update? Tell us about what’s changed and where to locate significant new content or features. Connecting to hardware? Attach a video, not a screen recording, that shows both the hardware and the app running on a physical Apple device as they pair and interact. Test your app on physical devices before submitting for review. Use TestFlight to distribute your app for beta testing. App Review evaluates apps the way your users will use them: installed on real devices and connected to networks with real-world conditions. Make sure your pre-submission testing includes running the app on each device platform where it could be used. Users expect the app to function on all the devices where it’s available. TestFlight will help you do quality assurance and beta testing on real devices. Share your beta app with internal testers on your Apple Developer Program account or to external users via an email invite or public link. Configure In-App Purchases for review in the sandbox environment. App Review assesses In-App Purchases in the same sandbox environment Apple provides for testing them. The sandbox lets us use real product data and server-to-server transactions, without incurring any financial charges. Take these steps to prepare your In-App Purchases for review: Accept the Paid Applications Agreement in App Store Connect. Submit the In-App Purchases in App Store Connect that you’d like reviewed. Follow the steps in TN3186: Troubleshooting In-App Purchases availability in the sandbox if your app fails to display your In-App Purchases. Note: In-App Purchases don’t need prior approval from App Review to function in review. Join a Meet with Apple event if you need assistance before you submit for review. Request an App Review appointment through Meet with Apple to chat with an App Review expert about how to prepare for review, ask questions about specific guidelines, and discuss other topics related to the review process. Appointments are subject to availability during your local business hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After You Submit Tips Contact App Review if you need assistance with an ongoing submission. If your submission doesn’t pass review and you have questions, contact App Review directly by clicking Reply to App Review in App Store Connect. You’ll receive a reply from a review specialist who’s familiar with your app. You can also use the Reply to App Review message window to request a call with an Apple representative. Include your preferred time and language for the call and we’ll do our best to accommodate your requests. Use the Bug Fix Submissions process to quickly deliver bug fixes and resolve other issues on the next submission. If an update includes bug fixes and is rejected, you will be given the option to resolve the issues on your next submission, as long as there are no legal or safety concerns. App Review will let you know if your submission is eligible by including this note at the top of the rejection message: Bug Fix Submissions The issues we've identified below are eligible to be resolved on your next update. To accept this offer, simply reply to the rejection message in App Store Connect and let App Review know you’ll resolve the issues on the next submission. Share ideas with Apple about how to improve or clarify the App Review Guidelines by submitting guideline feedback. Just as the App Store is always changing and improving to keep up with the needs of customers, the App Review Guidelines may be revised to provide new and updated guidance. If you have ideas for improving or clarifying our requirements you can suggest guideline changes. If your submission was rejected but you believe it follows the App Review Guidelines, consider submitting an appeal to the App Review Board. If your submission didn’t pass review but you have reason to believe it follows the App Review Guidelines, you can submit an appeal to the App Review Board. You can also file an appeal if you think we misunderstood your app or the review was unfair. The App Review Board will contact you as soon as they complete their investigation.

Apple platforms make it easy to distribute your app to a variety of compatible devices, so it’s important to maximize your app experience on each platform you support. Here are some tips from App Review to help you understand how device compatibility impacts your app’s distribution — and how to make sure your apps shine on every platform they’re on. Understand device compatibility There are many ways an app built for one Apple device can run on other Apple devices: Apps designed for iPhone can run on iPad devices in compatibility mode if there are no dependencies on iPhone device capabilities. Compatible iPhone and iPad apps can run unmodified on Macs with Apple Silicon. Compatible iPhone and iPad apps can run unmodified on Apple Vision Pro. Xcode provides options to configure settings for apps on multiple platforms. You can specify which platforms your app’s target supports in the Supported Destination field. However, it’s important to note: People may still be able to run your app on a device even if you remove it or don't include it as a Supported Destination in Xcode. For example, as long as an app designed for iPhone doesn’t depend on a capability that’s only available on iPhone, it can be downloaded from the App Store onto iPad. Adding or removing iPad as a Supported Destination in Xcode won’t change that app’s availability on iPad. To view examples of cases where it's appropriate to restrict availability, see Restrict device distribution below. Follow compatibility best practices 1. Plan and test for compatibility modes so your app works on every device where it can be downloaded. Do: Use Xcode simulators to verify basic functionality across different device types. Leverage TestFlight with external testers who have access to a wide range of Apple devices. Don't: Don’t submit for review without testing your app’s behavior in compatibility modes. Don’t assume removing a supported destination in Xcode prevents distribution to that device type. 2. Build adaptive interfaces that work across device variations. Do: Build interfaces that respond to different screen sizes and orientations. Adapt features based on available hardware, providing alternatives for a consistent experience. Don't: Don’t design rigid interfaces that assume only one type of device or input method. Don’t let your app crash or become unusable when optional hardware is unavailable. Restrict device distribution Wherever possible, it’s best to make your app available on multiple platforms to increase its reach and provide people with a consistent experience across devices. But there are cases where it does makes sense to restrict an app’s availability. For example: iPhone apps that rely on iPhone-specific hardware won’t function as expected on iPad. Use the UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities key in the information property list file to specify hardware dependencies. Note: Apps should only use the UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities key for genuine hardware dependencies, not to indicate distribution preferences. Navigation- or camera-based apps are not well suited for visionOS. Learn more about managing availability of iPhone and iPad apps on Apple Vision Pro. Apps that rely heavily on touch inputs that can’t be replicated on a keyboard are not well suited for macOS. Learn more about restricting distribution to Apple Silicon devices. Learn more about how to configure multiplatform apps in Xcode. Support If you need more assistance, explore these support options: If your submission has been rejected, reply to the message from App Review in App Store Connect and request clarification. Request an App Review appointment through Meet with Apple. Appointments are available during local business hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you believe your app follows the App Review Guidelines, consider submitting an appeal to the App Review Board.

Hello, I'm looking for guidance on a submission that appears to be awaiting re-review following my response to a "2.1 Information Needed" message. App: Markets: Global Trading 24/7 App ID: 6756673679 Version: 1.0.6 Timeline (all times ET): Apr 17, 10:45 AM: Submission entered "Waiting for Review" Apr 17, 9:25 PM: Moved to "In Review" Apr 17, 10:14 PM: Received "2.1 Information Needed" message regarding the OTP demo account flow Apr 17, 10:45 PM: Replied in Resolution Center clarifying the OTP behavior Apr 20, 9:10PM: Still awaiting response, and in "Waiting for Review" status The App Review FAQ notes that messages in Resolution Center are generally responded to within 24 hours. My reply has now been pending for approximately 3 full days, so I wanted to check in here in case it would be helpful to surface this. Our prior two updates to our published app were approved quickly, and the 2.1 message concerned the demo account OTP flow, which I responded to in detail in Resolution Center. If anyone from App Review is able to take a look, I would very much appreciate it. Happy to provide any additional information that would help. Thank you, Chuck Bradford Dexari Inc.

I've submitted my Digital Service Act a month adn a half ago, but it is currently stuck in the "In Review" state. Because of this pending status, my app has been removed from the European storefronts, specifically Germany. i have customers waiting and it really hurts my business, what can i do? I tried to write to the developer support but received answer only onces that they cannot see any DSA cases where in reality there is and i cannot resubmit it or do anything otherwise waiting. If the support here or anyone can help it would be the best news for me, Thank you for that matter.

Hello, My app "Tall - App de rencontre" (App ID: 6761081326) has been rejected 4 times under Guideline 4.3(b) Design Spam. The App Review Board also upheld the rejection (Appeal Ticket APL411770). I fully understand the dating category is saturated. However, my app has unique mechanical features that do not exist on any other dating app on the App Store: MANDATORY HEIGHT GATE: During registration, women below 1.75m and men below 1.80m are blocked and CANNOT complete registration. This is hard-coded into the onboarding. It is not an optional filter. Users who do not meet the height criteria simply cannot use the app. DOOR-FRAME HEIGHT VERIFICATION: Users must submit a full-body photo standing barefoot under a standard door frame to verify their height. Unverified users see all other profiles blurred. This trust-and-safety mechanism is entirely unique. "THE BAKERY": A curated, time-limited daily drop of compatible profiles replacing infinite swipe. This is an anti-swipe paradigm designed to prioritize quality over quantity. I also have an existing community of over 1,000 people across multiple WhatsApp groups TALL FRANCE, 10K Instagram followers, and 44K TikTok followers — all specifically for tall people looking to connect. This proves real demand for this niche. I also noticed that the app "Score Dating" is currently live on the App Store in the Lifestyle category. Score blocks users who do not have a credit score of 675 or above. My app uses the same concept — a mandatory gate based on a specific criteria (height instead of credit score). If Score is accepted, I believe Tall should be evaluated with the same standard. I have responded to every rejection with detailed explanations and visual evidence, but received the same copy-paste response each time. I have a Meet with Apple consultation scheduled to discuss this further. Has anyone successfully overcome a 4.3(b) rejection for a niche app with genuinely unique features? Any guidance from Apple or the community would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Frankie Babet

My apps are stucked in „Waiting for revlew” for 6-7 days. What is going on? It’s not only my problem, a lot of users have the same problem, there are many forums with that issue. It’s pretty unbelievable for me, that in 2026 we have to wait about week to approve or reject an app. Ridiculous. Take the example of Google Play…. Regards.

My app is waiting for review for more than 48 hrs since Wednesday at 5:57 PM. It has been rejected, and errors were fixed with an updated new build. Is this normal?

Hi, My app version 1.1.0 has been in ‘Waiting for Review’ for over 2 weeks, this is significantly longer than any previous submission. Could you please check if everything is in order or if any action is needed from my side? Thank you

Hi everyone, I’m experiencing a delay with my app review process and wanted to check if this is normal or if anyone has faced something similar. App Name: Finna: Budget Tracker Here’s the timeline: Apr 13: Submitted → Waiting for Review → In Review → Rejected Apr 15: Fixed the issues and resubmitted → Waiting for Review (since then, ~48+ hours now) Current status is still “Waiting for Review”, and it hasn’t moved to “In Review” yet after resubmission. A few points: -> This is not a brand-new submission (it was previously reviewed and rejected once). -> I addressed all rejection points carefully before resubmitting. -> No major feature changes, just fixes based on Apple’s feedback. Questions: Is it normal for resubmitted apps to take longer than the first review? Does rejection history affect queue priority? Should I wait more or consider contacting Apple Developer Support? Would appreciate insights from anyone who has gone through similar delays recently. Thanks!

Hi everyone, We are currently facing an issue in our App Store Connect account where all of our production apps are suddenly showing the status “Removed from Sale.” This happened unexpectedly, and: We did NOT make any manual changes to app availability No recent app rejections or guideline violations were received Agreements, Tax & Banking section shows no pending actions TestFlight builds are still working fine We also have not received any clear communication from Apple explaining the reason for this. This is affecting all our live apps and impacting business operations. Has anyone else faced a similar issue recently? Could this be related to account-level restrictions or any recent policy updates? Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone, My app is has been "In Review" since Thursday evening, and held in that status since. In my experience, when an app moves to "In Review" it takes at most an hour to review app functionality and move to ready for release. We have timelines to meet. Neither an expedited review nor reaching out to support helps the situation.

My app was submitted for review in test flight almost 5 weeks ago and there is no update till now. Similar thing happened when I was trying to release the regular version (not TestFlight) and I had to wait for 3+ weeks. Is this the norm now? I have expedited and called support. They give generic answers that they are expediting and there is nothing else to do. Is there anything that I am missing here to get my app review done?

Hello everyone, I’m facing an issue with my app "FindUWay" (iOS), and I’m trying to understand if this is related to EU Digital Services Act (DSA) compliance. Current situation: App is approved and published on the App Store All agreements, tax forms (including W-8BEN), and banking info are completed and active App is set to be available in 175 countries, including Malta Issue: The app is NOT available in Malta and shows "App Not Available" on multiple iPhones and Apple IDs. Important detail: In App Store Connect, the only pending item is: Digital Services Act (DSA) compliance → Status: "In Review" since April 5th What I’ve observed: The app works and appears normally in some regions In Malta (EU), it does not open or install properly This seems to affect multiple devices (including iPhone 17 Pro Max) Questions: Is DSA compliance review blocking app availability in EU countries? Is it expected for the app to be unavailable while DSA is still "In Review"? Is there anything else I need to configure or submit? Has anyone experienced delays with DSA review recently? This is impacting my app launch, so any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hello, I recently submitted an update for my app, and I would really appreciate it if you could review it when possible. The latest version includes important fixes and improvements. Please let me know if anything else is needed from my side. Thank you for your time and support.

Hello, Our app has been stuck in "In Review" for 7 days, after being approved. The iOS version was approved on April 9th and the macOS version was approved on April 12th. Since then, both versions show "In Review" and there has been no status changes or messages in App Store Connect. • April 8 ---> Waiting for Review • April 9 ---> In Review (Approved) • ... • April 16 ---> In Review We contacted Apple a week ago (case ids 102865508515 and 102865870578) but there was no response. We also talked to Apple Support, they told us the issue has been escalated to the technical team. There are also leaderboards that were archived before these last versions and they are still showing in the Games App and Game Center. Possibly because of this same issue, we suspect. At this point we don't know what the issue is, how long until these very important updates will go live, or when we can push other updates. App ID: 1611398578 Thanks.

Hello, I would like to request an escalation regarding my app review status. My app (Apple ID: 6758756966) was submitted for review on February 24 and has been in “Waiting for Review” status for an extended period, with no progress so far. I have contacted Apple Developer Support multiple times (Case IDs: 102840237455, 102840079647, 102846664998, 102841727941) starting from March 9, but unfortunately, I have not received any response to any of these requests. I have also submitted three expedited review requests, but none of them have been acknowledged. Could you please: • confirm whether the submission is still active in the queue • check if there are any issues preventing it from moving forward • and assist in escalating the review if possible If any additional information is required from my side, I am ready to provide it immediately. Thank you very much for your time and support.

Hi all, Looking for some clarity.. I have an app (Pocket Love: AI Roleplay Chat, Apple ID: 6745031268) that went through a long review process with many resubmissions. The feedback I received across those reviews was often generic “overtly sexual”) message, but without any detail on exactly what needed to change. Because of that, I approached it iteratively making adjustments each time based on what I thought the issue might be. Over time I made quite significant changes across the app (imagery, unlockable content, voice-overs, menus, copy, etc.), and increased the age rating to 18+. I also had a call with a policy eexpert & App Review. In the final interaction, I was asked to ensure all unlockable content was visible, so I re-uploaded a build and provided screenshots with everything pre-unlocked for transparency. Despite this, my account has now been flagged under 3.2(f) for “dishonest or fraudulent activity,” and is pending termination. What I’m struggling to understand is: Can repeated resubmissions / iterative changes alone be interpreted as “evasion” under 3.2(f)? Or does this typically mean App Review believes there was something intentionally misleading? From my perspective, I was trying to respond to feedback and get the app into a compliant state, not bypass review or hide anything. The game does have "sexy" imagery lingerie etc..and adult themes but 0 nudity and is tamer than similar games live on the app store. Would really appreciate any insight from others who’ve experienced similar, or from anyone familiar with how this is interpreted internally. I can't believe my account is pending termination without any intentional wrongdoing, I currently have 3 other live games one with strong revenue, that will be removed too due to this. My initial appeal was rejected today. Thanks!

My app was declined for violation of Guideline 5.1.1. I'm very confused though, because a shopping app like Nike is permitted to not allow anyone into their app if they don't "Sign Up/Log In", yet my client a smaller first time app maker, isn't allowed to do the same? Why is it okay for a company like Nike to do it but not smaller brands?

I had an app rejected for a reason I thought was incorrect. I replied with an explanation and resubmitted, but it was rejected again, so I clicked the link to appeal that went to the link below where I submitted a detailed appeal.https://developer.apple.com/contact/app-store/?topic=appealI did not receive any email confirmation or response from the appeal and can find now way to track the status of the appeal. However, I do now see in iTunes Connect that the app no loger displays the red bar at the top that used to say "There are one or more issues with the following platform(s):1 unresolved iOS issue". Does this mean the appeal was accepted? Is there a way to track the status of an appeal?

Hi everyone, I am writing this post with the hope that someone from Apple's App Review team, Developer Relations, or the wider developer community can shed some light on what I am experiencing. I have exhausted every official support channel available to me, and I am at a complete loss. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ THE SITUATION ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I have a v1.0 iOS app that has been stuck in 'Waiting for Review' for 57 days. It has never progressed beyond this status. No rejection. No feedback. No communication. Just silence. I am not here to complain. I am here because I genuinely do not understand what is happening, and I need guidance. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ TIMELINE ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ • Day 1 — App submitted for review. Status: 'Waiting for Review.' • Day 22 — No movement. No feedback. Out of frustration, I made the mistake of doing a Developer Reject and resubmitting. I now understand this was the wrong decision, as it likely reset my position in the queue. • Day 27 — Contacted Apple Developer Support. A Senior Advisor confirmed the app was still in review and said they would reach out to the internal review team. • Day 42 — Still no change. Sent a formal follow-up and escalation request. • Day 44 — A second Senior Advisor responded, confirming they had also forwarded the case to the review team. • Day 57 (today) — The app is still in 'Waiting for Review.' Nothing has changed. Two separate Senior Advisors have each told me they contacted the internal review team. After both of those interactions, nothing changed. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WHAT MAKES THIS UNUSUAL ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I want to be clear about something: the app has NEVER entered 'In Review.' It has been in 'Waiting for Review' the entire time. This is not a case of a slow review — it appears the app has never been picked up for review at all. I have checked Apple's System Status page multiple times throughout these 57 days. All services have consistently shown as fully operational. I have not resubmitted again after Day 22. I have been patiently waiting, following the advice given to me. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ MY HONEST QUESTIONS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Is it technically possible for a v1.0 app to be permanently stuck in 'Waiting for Review' without any notification or rejection? Could this be a system or queue issue on Apple's end? Is 'Waiting for Review' for 57 days — with no status change and no communication — within the range of what other developers have experienced? I want to understand if this is abnormal. When a Senior Advisor says they have 'forwarded the case to the review team,' what does that actually mean in practice? Is there a way to verify this happened or to escalate further? Is there a formal escalation path beyond Developer Support — for example, Developer Relations or the App Review Board — for situations where standard support channels have not produced any result after nearly two months? Could the app category (social / matching) be the reason for an extended manual review? If Apple requires additional information, documentation, or content moderation policies from developers in certain categories, why is there no notification or communication mechanism to request this? ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WHAT I AM NOT ASKING FOR ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I am not asking for my app to bypass the review process. I am not asking to skip the queue. I am not asking for guaranteed approval. I understand Apple's review process exists to protect users, and I fully respect that. I am simply asking for ONE of two things: — Either: review the app and give me a decision — approval or rejection, both are acceptable. — Or: tell me if there is a problem, a hold, or something you need from me, so I can act on it. Fifty-seven days of silence, with no path forward, is the one outcome I cannot work with. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ A NOTE TO APPLE DEVELOPER RELATIONS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ If anyone from Apple is reading this — I am not writing out of anger. I am writing because I am a solo developer who has poured everything into this product, and I am genuinely stuck. I have done everything I was asked to do. I have been patient. I have followed the process. All I am asking for is a resolution — in any direction. If there is anything I can provide — demo account credentials, additional documentation, a content moderation policy, privacy details, anything at all — I will provide it within hours of being asked. Thank you sincerely to anyone who takes the time to read this and share their experience or advice. — Akif Solo Developer

Our app update for Underground Arena (a padel sports community platform) has been pending review for over (65 days), since the first submission on February 11, 2026. At no point has the submission transitioned to "In Review" or received any feedback. The previously approved version (v1.1.2) was reviewed and approved within one day. This update includes security improvements, privacy policy alignment, and metadata updates. No changes to monetization or permissions. We have submitted two expedited review requests and opened support case 102840575585 — none have resulted in movement. We have a padel tournament on April 22, 2026 that requires the updated app for participant registration. Our Android version is already live on Google Play, and iOS users are currently unable to access the latest features. Could someone from the review team please confirm whether this submission is in extended review, or advise on any information needed to proceed? Thank you.

After waiting for review, making changes, then stuck "In Review", I made the major decision to pull my pro audio application from the App Store before it was even accepted. The friction generated from Apple's process is not worth what you are getting back. Consequently, the offering for audio in the Mac App Store itself look very amateur and are largely limited to toys. This is an uninspiring group to be associated with and given the delays, cost, and hamstringing due to sandboxing, the motivation to follow through is very low. I would encourage Apple to rethink their macOS approach if they actually want developers to use this system. This has been an issue for many years, and the situation is not improved. I thought I'd try again this round, but have again given up on the wait and restrictions.