My app was submitted on 1/27/2026 and is still in "Waiting for Review" with no updates. I submitted a request to Support several days ago with no response to see if there was an issue that needed to be addressed, and my request to schedule an App Review session was denied.

Hello, My app (App ID: 1616628950) was recently reviewed, and I received an email stating that the submission review was completed and that the build is eligible for distribution. In App Store Connect, In App review - IOS submission, the build shows Approved. However, when returning to the main Distribution page, the app version is still displayed as In Review, and I do not yet see a “Ready for Distribution” or release option. In previous submissions, once review was completed, the status usually transitioned to “Ready for Distribution” or “Pending Developer Release” fairly quickly, so this behavior seems unusual. I have tried refreshing the page and logging out/in, but the status has not changed so far. I just wanted to ask if this is a known synchronization delay between App Review and Distribution, or if there is anything else I should check on my side. Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Hello everyone, We are the developer of PhotoMagic – AI Photo Editor, and we would appreciate guidance from the community regarding a pending enforcement case currently under review by the App Review Board. Case Information Case Number: 102812414888 App ID: 6746860005 Notice Date: January 25, 2026 Current Status: Pending review by the App Review Board Reason cited: Section 3.2(f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement The notice stated that our app submissions were considered to have “repeatedly violated the App Review Guidelines in an attempt to evade the review process.” Background & Acknowledgement Upon receiving the notice, we immediately conducted a comprehensive internal audit. During this process, we identified that certain user-uploaded template content (for example, templates involving concepts such as “kiss” or “hug”) posed potential policy risks. We would like to clearly state that we did not intentionally hide or disguise content to evade App Review. However, we fully acknowledge that our previous content moderation mechanisms were insufficient, and we take full responsibility for this oversight. Corrective Actions Taken Following the audit, we implemented the following remediation measures. Some items are already live, while others will take effect in the next app update once submission restrictions are lifted. Already Implemented 1.Expanded and strengthened our prohibited keyword library to prevent searching or generating sensitive content (e.g. “kiss”, “hug”, “nude”, etc.).(We can provide the keyword list if requested.) 2.Added detection and filtering mechanisms for public figures (including political figures and well-known individuals) to prevent potential deepfake misuse. 3.Raised AI model safety thresholds to prioritize risk prevention, even if this blocks borderline or otherwise normal content. 4.Fully restructured our content moderation team to ensure independence, accountability, and redundancy. 5.Implemented an in-app reporting mechanism allowing users to report any content, which is immediately reviewed and removed if found non-compliant. 6.Discontinued use of Grok and any other AI services deemed potentially risky; all AI generation capabilities have been migrated to Gemini. Pending Next App Update 7. Updated Terms of Use to restrict access to adults only and explicitly prohibit generating any prohibited content. Repeated violation attempts result in warnings and eventual denial of service. 8. Removed all user-uploaded custom templates. Only internally designed, fixed templates are provided, with no user-editable prompts. 9. Added both visible and invisible watermarks to all generated content to ensure clear AI attribution and traceability. Questions for the Community We would appreciate any guidance or shared experience regarding the following: Are there any additional steps that are appropriate or recommended to bring remediation details to the App Review Board’s attention while a case is under review? Is there any specific type of supporting documentation (e.g. technical architecture explanations, data cleanup confirmations, policy mappings) that has been helpful in similar situations? In general, once a case is under review by the App Review Board, is it best to wait for further instructions, or are proactive clarifications sometimes appropriate? We respect Apple’s review process and are fully committed to long-term compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines and the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and support.

Or, can we consider the response completes once the prompt disappears? I will write down the sequence of events in order. A prompt appeared on our app's page asking us to respond to the survey. However, likely because the app hadn't been updated for many years, the “Edit” option for age restrictions was not displayed; instead, “View” was shown. After creating a page for the new app version, “Edit” appeared. We hadn't planned to release the new version to the App Store at this time, but we only created the new page to respond to this survey. After entering “edit” and answering the age restriction survey, the prompt disappeared. I contacted Apple Support to find out if just answering would suffice, but they told me to submit the app for review. However, as mentioned above, we have no plans to modify and release this app. Since it's an old app, I updated the environment, built it, and submitted it, but issues were pointed out. (I think it's because it's an old app.) When I asked the Apple Review team the same question as at the beginning, they suggested I post it here. Many thanks!

App is repeatedly rejected under Guideline 2.5.1 for referencing the private API:_SecCertificateIsValid Reported custom framework CommonLibrary.framework. The SDK is written in Objective-C and uses only public Security APIs. It does not use any deprecated APIs. We have verified the framework binary using nm, otool, and strings, and _SecCertificateIsValid does not appear in exported or hidden symbols. Bitcode is disabled, dead-code stripping is enabled, and the Release build uses -Os. Despite this, App Store Connect continues to detect _SecCertificateIsValid. We have attached herewith screenshots of our analysis for the reference. Can Apple’s server-side analysis or Security.framework internals still surface _SecCertificateIsValid? Is there a recommended way for SDK authors to prevent this symbol from being flagged?

My app was submitted on 1/27/26 for review and is still in "Waiting for Review" status, with no updates. I thought there might be an issue and submitted a Support Request several days ago, but haven't heard back, and my request to schedule an App Review session was denied as well.

Hello, I’m seeking clarification on In-App Purchase requirements for a marketplace vendor app offering real-world, offline services. We plan to offer paid vendor listing plans (Free, Silver, Gold, etc.) that provide business benefits such as increased visibility, analytics, and also include feature limits like the number of images a vendor can upload to their business profile and enhanced dashboard views. These plans are intended to support vendors’ real-world businesses and do not provide digital content to consumers. Does gating vendor features such as image upload limits or dashboard capabilities require Apple In-App Purchase under App Store Review Guideline 3.1, or can such vendor plans be processed using a third-party payment gateway as account-based service tiers?

My app has been in the review queue since January 23, 2026. Is this normal? What’s more, I applied for an expedited review but haven’t received any feedback yet. Could it be that there’s an unusually large number of apps in the review queue right now?

I'm currently working on an OSX app that requires a user to have Spotify installed. (If the user doesn't have Spotify, the app will still run–it will just be useless) It seems like this sort of thing is allowed because I see plenty of apps in the Mac App Store that use Spotify, but do I need to make any special notes of this in my app submission to make sure it's approved?

Hi, I have a completely new release of my app coming out with a new tech stack. I noticed that only 1% of my users were on iPad so the new app was not created to be 'compatible' with iPad including how it looks on iPad. Can I release this new version of the app only for iPhone? Or because it was previously available for iPad I have to release for iPad as well? Really appreciate any support/guidance on this. Thank you!

Dear App Review Team, Our app – Apple ID 6756967338, has been stuck in the “In Review” status for over 10 days (Jan, 19 at 1:33 PM). Normally, reviews begin within a few days, but in our case, it seems unusually delayed. Could you please clarify: • Is there a specific reason for this hold? • Is any action required from our side? • When can we expect the review to finish? Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Hello everyone Hoping for some insights with an issue we're having with our app store review process. Note that this is not a new app, and we've had many successful reviews in the past. We submitted the app for review just over a week ago. We received a timely review about 24 hours later, citing an issue with Apple Pay. We make use of PassKit, but the reviewer could not find where we use Apple Pay in our app. I replied within a few hours with screenshots and videos, as it is quite easy to find where we use Apple Pay. Since then, we haven't received any feedback at all. I tried resubmitting a new build after 4 day,s and that is also sitting unreviewed for a while now. We've got features and bug fixes that were supposed to go out in this release, but we are now blocked on them. Is there anything we can do?

I’ve observed several areas in iOS where user experience could be enhanced, such as keyboard flexibility, animation speed, biometric options, cache management, background uploads, navigation reliability, and automation features. Addressing these aspects would not only improve usability but also align iOS more closely with diverse user needs across regions and use cases. What enhancements would you consider most valuable?

In App Store Connect metadata I added keywords expecting App Store and Apple Watch searches to surface my app using those terms. However searching those keywords does not show my app and it only appears when I search by the app name so I am unsure what is incorrect.

I’m launching my game on May 9 and have been going through Apple’s App Store course. It’s informative but also feels like a marketing push. For those who’ve tried App Store campaigns, did they actually drive results like views, conversions, or in-app purchases? Sharing your app/industry for context would be super helpful.

I’ve been working on marketing my iOS app, but it’s been quite frustrating so far. ASO hasn’t brought the results I expected, and I’m not sure what to try next. I’d like to learn more about indie app marketing beyond keyword tweaks-any blogs, courses, books, or communities you’d recommend for understanding effective strategies and improving app visibility?

Hi everyone, Just wanted to ask if anyone else has noticed longer-than-normal review times recently. Our latest app has been sitting in “In Review” for more than a week now. Normally our apps get reviewed much faster, so we’re unsure if this is just a backlog or something else. Currently: No communication from Apple No visible issues in metadata Review status hasn’t changed Curious to know: • Are others seeing similar delays? • Does this usually mean a deeper/manual review? • When should we reach out to Apple? • How do you usually contact App Review for status checks? Would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

Dear App Review Team, Our app – Apple ID 6754872058 has been stuck in the “In Review” status for over 7 days (since Jan, 15 at 10:44 PM). Normally, reviews begin within a few days, but in our case, it seems unusually delayed. Could you please clarify: • Is there a specific reason for this hold? • Is any action required from our side? • When can we expect the review to finish? Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Apple’s documentation indicates that iOS now supports A/B testing for app icons, but I haven’t been able to get it working. My app already includes alternate icons within the same binary, yet when I try to set up an A/B test in App Store Connect, there’s no option to change the icon-only screenshots can be updated in a new treatment.

I am using Product Page Optimization for the first time and after updating a new app version the test stopped automatically. The status shows developer has stopped with no option to restart the test even though I did not stop it.