Hi devs community,
I've run into an interesting situation with App Review that I'd like to get the community's perspective on.
My Safari extension "Protego for Reddit" (a content filter for Reddit) was rejected under Guidelines 2.3.7 for using "Reddit" in the name/subtitle, citing potential customer confusion.
What's puzzling is there are many established apps using the same naming pattern for the app name and subtitle, all currently on the App Store:
Narwhal 2 for Reddit - "Highly customizable Reddit app"
Sink It for Reddit - "Upgrade Your Reddit Experience"
Reno for Reddit - "instagram styled Reddit app"
Dystopia for Reddit - "A Better Way to Reddit"
MultiTab for Reddit - "Best viewer for image/video"
Nano for Reddit - "The wrist-based Reddit client"
Focus for Reddit - "A unofficial app for Reddit"
Monocle for Reddit - "A comprehensive Reddit client"
Redirect for Reddit - "Redirects to old.Reddit.com!"
Alerts for Reddit - "News"
rex for Reddit - "Lurk with ease!"
Comet for Reddit - "Fast, Robust, and Beautiful"
Redista client for Reddit - "Entertainment"
Readder for Reddit - "Entertainment"
lurkur for Reddit - "a new way to browse"
Pics HD for Reddit - "Entertainment"
Apollo for Reddit - "Closed. Goodbye and thank you!"
and more
I submitted a reply to the app review rejection and they told me that if I disagree with the outcome of their review that I need to file appeal to the App Review Board.
I've already submitted an appeal pointing out these precedents and explaining that the name accurately describes the app's functionality without implying any official association. While I wait for the response, I'm curious about a few things:
For those who maintain apps with "for [Platform]" in the name:
Do you face this rejection with every update?
Did you only have to appeal once, after which subsequent updates were approved?
Was there any special process to get your app "whitelisted" for this naming convention?
Has anyone noticed if this is a recent change in enforcement? The number of existing apps with similar names suggests this wasn't always strictly enforced.
For those who successfully appealed similar rejections:
How long did the appeal process take?
Did you need to escalate beyond the initial appeal?
My concern is whether I'll need to go through this rejection/appeal cycle with every update, which would significantly impact our ability to push out timely fixes and improvements. I've had to delay two updates due to this issue.
Context:
App description: Safari extension for filtering Reddit content on Mac
Current name: "Protego for Reddit"
Subtitle: "Filter your Reddit Feed"
Version: 1.3
Status: Awaiting appeal response
Many of these established apps even use "Reddit" in their subtitles, which makes the rejection of my subtitle "Filter your Reddit Feed" particularly confusing.
Thanks in advance for any guidance or shared experiences!
App Review
RSS for tagApp review is the process of evaluating apps and app updates submitted to the App Store to ensure they are reliable, perform as expected, and follow Apple guidelines.
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Hello Apple Developer Community,
I hope this message finds you well. My app submission was recently rejected under Guideline 4.3(a) due to the App Review Team's determination that my app shares similarities in binary, metadata, and concept with apps submitted by other developers, with only minor differences.
The feedback I received stated:
"We still found that your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and concept as apps submitted to the App Store by other developers, with only minor differences. Since we do not accept spam apps on the App Store, we encourage you to review your app concept and submit a unique app with distinct content and functionality."
I have already made significant efforts to differentiate my app by implementing unique features and functionality tailored to my audience. However, I’d like to better understand:
What specific aspects of my app might be contributing to the similarity concerns?
How can I further highlight the unique features and functionality of my app to meet Apple's expectations?
Are there any tools or resources to validate that my app concept is distinct enough from others?
If anyone has faced a similar rejection or has advice on how to navigate this, I would greatly appreciate your guidance. Additionally, I am hopeful that the Apple App Review Team might consider contacting me by phone to discuss my app in detail, as I believe a direct conversation could help clarify any misunderstandings and expedite the resolution process.
Thank you for your time and support!
Best regards,
Bryan
Can multiple apps with different bundle IDs under the same development team be sold on the AppStore using the same App icon?
My company has multiple apps, and we expect to be able to use the same company logo as the App icon on multiple apps to facilitate the management of the company's apps.
Hi, this is my app:
https://macsyzones.com
Here, a video that demonstrates my app:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jNx3ZUD8Rw
It's a very cute window management app with unique features. It needs Accessibility Permission but App Store requires App Sandbox enabled which makes to request Accessibility Permission impossible.
How can I submit my app without App Sandbox enabled to Apple?
Apple can review the code and build it themselves? There are apps that uses Accessibility Permissions on App Store as I can see. Hope you help to have my app on App Store, it will be very good. 😇
I hope you'll give my app a place on App Store. 🥳
Thank you.
We are a team of beginner developers, and we recently published our game (made in Unity) on the App Store for both macOS and iOS. It was live for about 15 days until three days ago, when we received a notice from Apple that our account had been flagged for removal.
The email mentioned that our game violates section 3.2(f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
We've been trying to identify the issue since then, but we're not involved in any fraudulent activities.
Any guidance on how to resolve this would be a huge help. Thanks.
Hello,
My app was rejected because of App Review Guideline 4.3(a). The guideline says: "Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations using in-app purchase."
The original answer is: "We noticed your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps submitted to the App Store by other developers, with only minor differences. Submitting similar or repackaged apps is a form of spam that creates clutter and makes it difficult for users to discover new apps."
I am very confused. I just bought a Mac and iPhone
So I don't have other apps in the Apple App Store. I created my app all by myself and did not repacked another apps or similar procedure. I have only one bundle id.
There is one app with a similar concept in the store which unfortunately has the name "weapon mods for gmod". So I renamed my app for iOS to " map addons for gmod to addons for gmod". The difference is that this app give mods regarding Garry's game and redirect user to the steam community and my app has provided different category of mods rather than others and my app has functionality for that user have not to redirect any website From my understanding my app is relatively unique in concept.
Anyway I don't understand why my app is rejected. The uploaded version does not contain In-App-Purchase, Achievement, Leaderboard and Sharing like the Android version does because it is still work in progress. I admit the uploaded screenshots are polished and final.
I don't know how "shares similar binaries, metadata" with other apps can be fixed if this is the case. It is because I used Unity like most developers and this results in similar filename?
Anyone can help?
Kind regards,
Jay limbani
Forgive me for using this forum I need a quick reply and resolution. Apple says on the iPad Air, ios18.1 the "enter as guest" button doesn't work. But it works for me. Can you tell me if you have the same issue or not? Heres the TestFlight URL: https://testflight.apple.com/join/E97ZXM9T
Apples message:
Guideline 2.1 - Performance - App Completeness
Issue Description
The app exhibited one or more bugs that would negatively impact App Store users.
Bug description: We were unable to login or enter as guest. The "sign in" and "enter as guest" buttons were unresponsive when tapped on.
Review device details:
Device type: iPad Air (5th generation)
OS version: iPadOS 18.1
Hello, developers!
I recently submitted my app for review, but it was rejected under Guideline 3.1.2 related to auto-renewable subscriptions. According to the review team, my app is missing some required information:
The title of the auto-renewing subscription
The length of the subscription
The price of the subscription
Functional links to the privacy policy and Terms of Use (EULA)
I’ve checked my app and believe I have included these details, but it seems there might be something I am overlooking.
I will attach a screenshot of my app's subscription screen to provide more context.
Has anyone experienced a similar issue or can provide guidance on ensuring compliance with this guideline? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
I might be interpreting their feedback incorrectly since I'm not a native speaker and the feedback comes from another country.
Hi, my name is Yuki.
I'm developing an application with generative AI for junior and high school students based on the Nocode tool "bubble" (BDK Native).
I want to upload this app to the App Store, however, a notch-like interface element is appearing only in the iPad environment, which is causing my app to fail App Store review.
I've reached out to the BDK Native support team about this issue, but they were unable to identify the cause and only offered a refund as a solution. This is particularly frustrating as I'm unable to proceed with the App Store publication, and time is passing without a resolution.
Technical details:
The notch appears only on iPad devices
The issue is not present on iPhone versions
The app was built using bubble/BDK Native
Multiple App Store submissions have been rejected due to this UI issue
Has anyone encountered a similar issue or knows how to resolve this iPad-specific interface problem? Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as this is blocking our app's release.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Hello,
Our release has been 'In Review' for 11 days, despite containing crucial fixes, including a crash on startup.
Apple ID:1339170533
Could you please let me know if there is anything I can do to help speed up the acceptance of our submission?
Thank you.
Unable to Add for Review
The items below are required to start the review process:
An unexpected error was encountered when submitting for review. If the issue persists please contact us
Hello everyone,
I’m submitting my app for the first time, and I’m running into an issue with fetching my in-app purchase products in the release environment.
In the sandbox environment, everything works perfectly: my app can fetch and display the products from StoreKit without any issues. However, when I switch to the release environment, my app is unable to retrieve the in-app purchase products from App Store Connect.
Because the app can’t fetch the products, this results in an error when either a user or the App Review team attempts to make a purchase, effectively blocking the purchase process.
Has anyone encountered this before? Any guidance on troubleshooting or common mistakes to watch out for would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Hello everyone,
I’m submitting my app for the first time, and I’m running into an issue with fetching my in-app purchase products in the release environment.
In the sandbox environment, everything works perfectly: my app can fetch and display the products from StoreKit without any issues. However, when I switch to the release environment, my app is unable to retrieve the in-app purchase products from App Store Connect.
Because the app can’t fetch the products, this results in an error when either a user or the App Review team attempts to make a purchase, effectively blocking the purchase process.
Has anyone encountered this before? Any guidance on troubleshooting or common mistakes to watch out for would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I created an app for fine art for iOS and for the screenshots, I originally had art by actual artist so it was denied by Apple: under the guideline 2.5.10 – performance – software requirements.
"To resolve this issue, please revise your app to complete remove or fully configure any partially implemented features. Please ensure your screenshots do not include any images of demo, test, or any incomplete content. To resolve this issue, please revise your app to complete, remove, or fully configure any partially implemented features. Please ensure your screenshots do not include any images of demo, test, or other incomplete content."
This is what Apple reviewer said, so I removed the screenshots of the actual artwork and replace them with the app's logo and I am still getting denied. I don’t know what to do, complete removal of any images would hinder showing off the app features. I asked them to clarify and they repeated the statement above.
My first review for my application has been rejected stating Guideline 2.1 - Information Needed- We were unable to sign in with the following demo account credentials you provided in App Store Connect.
However, we were able to actively sign in and navigate through the entire application without any issues. How can I find out what is the exact problem the review team is facing and how do I fix it to ensure a smooth release?
I got this message when my subscriptions were rejected:
We have begun the review of your in-app purchases but aren't able to continue because your submitted in-app purchases indicate a change of business model for your app.
Therefore, we need to verify the implementation of your submitted in-app purchases in the app to ensure your app, and its in-app purchases, are in compliance with the App Review Guidelines.
I already submitted the new build with the revised pricing(new business model). But they dont seem to review the new build.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Hi there,
My subscriptions have been rejected. I get this message:
We have begun the review of your in-app purchases but aren't able to continue because your submitted in-app purchases indicate a change of business model for your app.
Therefore, we need to verify the implementation of your submitted in-app purchases in the app to ensure your app, and its in-app purchases, are in compliance with the App Review Guidelines.
This has been going on for the last 1 week. I am still not sure how to fix this issue and get my app approved.
I dont see an option to include subscriptions/IAP when submitting the app for review. Any idea what is going on and how to fix it. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Best,
Guna
The guidance provided only explains how to remove the entire app from review, but not how to remove a single subscription. Currently, I have one incorrect subscription that has been rejected due to localisation issues, and it is stuck in the "In Review" status. Unfortunately, I am unable to make changes to it.
The correct subscription is in the "Waiting for Review" status, and while I am able to remove it, there is no need to do so. What I would like to do is remove the previous, incorrect subscription.
Does your app store/platform support AI apps
is there any difference in the submission to review process for AI apps vs non AI apps
Can you share any documentation supporting the above
Thank you App review team for accepting one my games . Now i have only an game left with 4.3.0 Design-Spam rejection . Im still trying in every possible way to be accepted but still dont understand where the problem stands becouse my game is unique and not duplicated . I recreated the design but still got rejected . In waiting of a successful review now , becouse all this time i have been angry of having many rejections . For others that also are having the 4.3.0 Design-Spam rejection . What i did is that i added new functionality , and later i mentioned it in app review message