The use case that I want to implement is as follows: user A has the app, user B doesn't have the app yet. User A wants to referral user B to get points. User B scans the QR code present in user A's app. User B gets redirected to the App Store and when downloads the app, the code will be automatically present in the sign up request (so the referral code will be cashed during first launch of the app). In Android it was implemented using Google Play Install Referrer. Based on my research, in Apple apparently there isn't an alternative, can you please confirm me this.

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.

My iOS app currently holds a 3.5★ rating with limited reviews, and I’d like to raise it by motivating happy users to share feedback. I’m looking for ethical ways to do this without being pushy. What are the best strategies and timing for review prompts to boost ratings while keeping users satisfied?

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.

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

I realised after coding my new app that it is possible to give it as an update to an older app via light weight migration. i dont mind removing the new app. Better if i can merge the Into a single product. is it possible?

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?

FB20444423 was already filed, please help us on: Is it possible to fix the following issue on new Macos version? Is there any AppStore configuration that can mitigate this issue? Similar issues: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/778746 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/781317?page=1#836167022 Reproduce Version: Macos 15.3.2 and above. Reproduce Steps: Copy and run the following desktop watermark app(attachment); 2.After the watermark app running a watermark window is showing at the left top corner. 3. Open App Store and try to install any app, after the confirm installation dialog appears, move the App Store window to desktop watermark area, the confirm installation button will disappear. On some Mac, we can see a different app installation behavior, as the following picture shows, with the following behavior the app installation works on Macos15.3 and above. #import <Foundation/Foundation.h> #import <Cocoa/Cocoa.h> int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) { @autoreleasepool { // insert code here... NSLog(@"App started"); //TODO1:Get current screens and get screen's NSRect NSScreen *screen; NSRect frame = NSMakeRect(0, 0, 1000, 1000); NSWindow* window = [[NSWindow alloc] initWithContentRect:frame styleMask: NSWindowStyleMaskTitled //0x80 backing:NSBackingStoreBuffered defer:NO]; // ant-setttings [window setAcceptsMouseMovedEvents:NO]; //[window setFloatingPanel:true]; ==> only valid for NSPanel //0x111 = 1 << 0 | 1 << 4 | 1 << 8 [window setCollectionBehavior:NSWindowCollectionBehaviorCanJoinAllSpaces | NSWindowCollectionBehaviorStationary | NSWindowCollectionBehaviorFullScreenAuxiliary ]; [window setMovableByWindowBackground:YES]; [window setExcludedFromWindowsMenu:YES]; // [window setAlphaValue:0x3FF0000000000000]; [window setOpaque:NO]; [window setHasShadow:NO]; [window setHidesOnDeactivate:NO]; [window setLevel:NSScreenSaverWindowLevel]; [window setIgnoresMouseEvents:YES]; [window setReleasedWhenClosed:NO]; [window setStyleMask:NSWindowStyleMaskBorderless]; // get screen rect and set to NSWindow [window setFrame:frame display:YES animate:NO]; [window setMovable:NO]; //Step1. Create a NSImage object with user-infomation embedded; ==> get this done NSSize size; size.width = 100; size.height = 300; NSImage* watermark_image = [NSImage imageWithSize:size flipped:NO drawingHandler:^(NSRect dstRect) { NSGraphicsContext* current_ctx = [NSGraphicsContext currentContext]; [current_ctx saveGraphicsState]; //current_ctx = [NSGraphicsContext currentContext]; CGContextRef context = [current_ctx CGContext]; //Rotates the user coordinate system in a context. CGFloat tilt_angle = 20*M_PI/180; CGContextRotateCTM(context, tilt_angle); NSString* data = @"12345"; NSPoint point; point.x = 20; point.y = 0; NSFont *font = [NSFont fontWithName:@"Arial" size:20.f]; NSDictionary *attributes = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjects: @[font, [NSColor redColor]] forKeys: @[NSFontAttributeName, NSForegroundColorAttributeName]]; [data drawAtPoint:point withAttributes:attributes]; [current_ctx restoreGraphicsState]; return YES; }]; //Step2. Create a UIColor object based on the NSImage object created above; NSColor* backgroud_color = [NSColor colorWithPatternImage:watermark_image]; //Step3. Set the new UIColor object as NSWindow background; [window setBackgroundColor:backgroud_color]; // TODO:Double check again; [window makeKeyAndOrderFront:NSApp]; CFRunLoopRun(); NSLog(@"App ended"); } //sleep(10*1000); return 0; }

I have published the app on the App Store along with its corresponding app clip, my app clip is configured with some advanced experiences for each one of my clients, but whenever some users try to scan an NFC or QR Code they see the card rendering correctly with their configured banner image, but with the message "App Clip Unavailable". The weird thing is that both iMessage and the website to which the associated domain is set and the apple-app-site-association is stored, renders the banner or card correctly, and when the users tap the banner or card they open the advanced app clip experience correctly without any issue. I have attempted to troubleshoot the issue by checking the following: if the app clip is below 15MB if we are using a second level domain in my associated domain both for my app clip and app (excluding the www subdomain). checking if the AASA is correctly stored inside .well-known directory checking the configuration for the advanced experience I opened a case: 102233443873, and added a bunch of videos and screenshot showcasing the issue, but I have not yet received a reply

1) The circumstances: iPADOS~>18, USB still-imaging-gadget, 1-3 gadgets might connect simultaneously via USB-hub, proprietary DExt, UserClient App in developers' iPADs or in TestFlight. = 1 variation A) UserClientApp has attribute [Background modes][Enable external communications]. = 1 variation B) "active USB-hub" vs "passive". = 1 variation C) "ConsoleApp logs iPAD" vs "ConsoleApp is not started". = 1 the term "zombie" below assume issue: == after plug-in ConsoleApp logs "IOUsbUserInterface::init", "::start"; == UserClient never receives respective callback from IOServiceAddMatchingNotification == further IOKit APIs "teardown", "restart" and "re-enumeration of connected gadgets" doesn't reveal the zombie (while it sees another simultaneous gadget); == unplug of the gadget logs "IOUsbUserInterface::stop". =2) The situation when UserClient is in foreground: ~ everything is fine. Note in MAC OS everything (same DExt and UserClient-code) works fine in background and in foreground. =3) The situation when UserClient is in background (beneath ~"Files" or "Safari"): =3A) "1A=true" phys plugin causes zombie in ~1/20 cases (satisfactory) =3B) "1A=false" phys plugin causes zombie in ~1/4 cases (non-satisfactory) =3C) "1 variation B" and "1 variation C" reduce zombies by ~>30%. =3D) ConsoleApp logs with filter "IOAccessory" (~about USB-energy) always look similar by my eyes. =4) From Apple-store: "The app declares support for external-accessory in the UIBackgroundModes"..."The external accessory background mode is intended for apps that communicate with hardware accessories through the External Accessory framework."..."Additionally, the app must be authorized by MFi," =5) My wish/ask: =5 option A) A clue to resolve the "zombie-plugin-issue in background" in a technical manner. = E.g. find a straightforward solution that ~elevates UserClient's "privileges" in background like [Enable external communication]... E.g. what ConsoleApp-logs to add/watch to reveal my potential bugs in DExt or in UserClient? =5 option B) A way to pursue Apple-store to accept (without MFI) an UserClientApp with [Enable external communication].

The app icon of my iPad app appears as a placeholder/template instead of the correct app icon when viewed through the App Store. It is correctly displayed on the website version of the App Store, in App Store Connect, and when running the app. I noticed that another app with the same issue is "Things 3 for iPad." This might be related to the fact that both apps are iPad-only. I implemented a new app icon using the new Icon Composer. Since users can switch between different icons, some are created with Icon Composer and others are still included traditionally within the asset folder. This is my app (Bubbles' Journal): https://apps.apple.com/app/id1547297023

The specific identifier (com.utel.prod) is not getting listed in app creation form in app store connect. I hereby attached my screenshot.

Hello, I have a question regarding the Mac App Store deployment and App Review process. Our macOS app will also be distributed on the Steam platform. In our current build setup, the App Store build output (inside Contents/MacOS/) may still contain Steam-related dynamic libraries (e.g., libsteam_api.dylib) and metadata/configuration files (such as .txt files used only by Steam) These files are not used in the App Store version. Users will not see any Steam-related information, functionality, or UI when the app is running. Their presence is simply a byproduct of the current packaging process. My concern is whether including such unused Steam-related files in the App Store submission could be considered a violation of App Store Review Guideline 2.3.10, or otherwise lead to rejection during review. Would Apple recommend that we strictly separate the build targets so that the App Store submission does not contain any Steam-related files, even if they are unused and invisible to the user? Thank you very much for your guidance.

Description of the Issue We are encountering issues with App Store Server Notifications, where the notification type received does not align with our expectations for subscription changes. Specifically, we receive DID_RENEW notifications in scenarios involving downgrades or intra-tier upgrades, which disrupts our backend subscription management logic and may lead to incorrect user subscription states and billing errors. Below are two reproducible scenarios with associated transaction data. Scenario 1: Downgrade from Premium Yearly (with 7-Day Trial) to Standard Yearly Steps to Reproduce: A user purchases the Premium Yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial (initial transaction ID: 700002116066502). On the day before the trial ends, the user downgrades to the Standard Yearly subscription via the App Store’s subscription management interface. Expected Behavior: We expect to receive a DID_CHANGE_RENEWAL_STATUS or a similar downgrade notification (e.g., DID_CHANGE_RENEWAL_PREF) to indicate the subscription plan has been downgraded, enabling immediate updates to the user’s subscription status. Actual Behavior: Upon downgrade, our server receives a DID_RENEW notification instead of a downgrade-specific notification. This causes our system to incorrectly interpret the action as a renewal of the Premium subscription rather than a downgrade to Standard, with no subsequent downgrade confirmation received. Relevant Transaction Data: New Transaction ID: 700002122810952 Notification Type: DID_RENEW Notification UUID: 26de9b0e-5d61-4893-b679-0bd18ae3d208 Original Transaction ID (Trial): 700002116066502 Scenario 2: Intra-Tier Upgrade from Standard Monthly to Standard Yearly Steps to Reproduce: A user purchases the Standard Monthly subscription. On the day before the monthly subscription expires, the user switches to the Standard Yearly subscription via the App Store’s subscription management interface. Expected Behavior: The original Monthly subscription expires normally, with a DID_EXPIRE notification received. Upon expiration, we expect a DID_RENEW or SUBSCRIBED notification for the new Yearly subscription to confirm its activation, allowing seamless transition of the user’s subscription plan. Actual Behavior: Immediately after the upgrade, our server receives a DID_RENEW notification for the new Yearly plan. No further notifications are received, including no DID_EXPIRE for the original Monthly subscription. This leaves our system unable to confirm the expiration of the Monthly plan, potentially resulting in duplicate active subscriptions in our records. Relevant Transaction Data: Transaction ID: 70002902074491 Notification Type: DID_RENEW Notification UUID: 3d35bc2f-e769-4549-bf50-d84d41b10342 Impact These notification discrepancies disrupt our subscription lifecycle management, potentially causing incorrect user entitlements, over-billing, and a degraded user experience. Requested Assistance Please confirm the correct notification types for these scenarios as per Apple’s documentation (e.g., App Store Server Notifications V2). Provide guidance on handling these edge cases, including any recent changes to notification logic. If this is a backend issue, please investigate the provided transaction IDs and Notification UUIDs. Thank you for your prompt assistance. We look forward to your response to help resolve this issue for our users. 问题描述： 我们在处理 App Store 订阅变更通知时发现，服务器接收到的通知类型与预期不符，具体表现为降级或同级升级场景下错误接收到 DID_RENEW 通知。这影响了我们后端订阅管理的逻辑，可能导致用户订阅状态和计费出现偏差。以下是两个可重现的场景及相关交易数据。 场景 1：高级年费（含 7 天试用）降级至标准年费 重现步骤： 用户购买高级年费订阅并开启 7 天免费试用（初始交易 ID：700002116066502）。 在试用期结束前一天，用户通过 App Store 的订阅管理界面降级至标准年费订阅。 预期行为： 我们预期会收到 DID_CHANGE_RENEWAL_STATUS 或类似的降级通知（如 DID_CHANGE_RENEWAL_PREF），以表明订阅计划已降级，从而允许我们立即更新用户订阅状态。 实际行为： 降级后，服务器立即收到 DID_RENEW 通知，而非降级相关通知。这导致系统误认为高级订阅仍在续订，而非降级为标准订阅，且后续未收到任何降级确认通知。 相关交易数据： 新交易 ID：700002122810952 通知类型：DID_RENEW 通知 UUID：26de9b0e-5d61-4893-b679-0bd18ae3d208 原始交易 ID（试用）：700002116066502 场景 2：标准月费订阅升级为标准年费订阅 重现步骤： 用户购买标准月费订阅。 在月费订阅到期前一天，用户通过 App Store 的订阅管理界面切换至标准年费订阅。 预期行为： 原月费订阅正常到期，预期收到 DID_EXPIRE 通知。 月费到期后，预期收到新年费订阅的 DID_RENEW 或 SUBSCRIBED 通知，以确认年费订阅开始，方便我们无缝切换用户订阅计划。 实际行为： 升级后，服务器立即收到新年费订阅的 DID_RENEW 通知。 后续未收到任何通知，包括原月费订阅的 DID_EXPIRE 通知。这导致我们无法确认月费订阅的到期状态，可能在记录中出现重复的活跃订阅。 相关交易数据： 交易 ID：70002902074491 通知类型：DID_RENEW 通知 UUID：3d35bc2f-e769-4549-bf50-d84d41b10342 影响： 这些通知异常干扰了我们的订阅生命周期管理，可能导致用户权益错误、潜在的重复计费以及用户体验下降。 请求协助： 请确认根据 Apple 文档（例如 App Store Server Notifications V2）在上述场景中应返回的正确通知类型。 请提供处理此类边缘场景的指导，包括通知逻辑的任何最新变更。 如果这是后端问题，请调查提供的交易 ID 和通知 UUID。 感谢您的及时协助，期待您的回复以帮助我们为用户解决问题。

I had everything working with Revenue Cat. Then my app got rejected for not loading subscriptions, which was odd because a previous built was rejected for wording on that same paywall. I checked, and realised I suddenly can't fetch products in testFlight either. I can only see products in Xcode using the store kit configuration file. I've found many issues like this online and everybody point to the same solutions (that seem to work for most), but here's what I tried so far: Checked that all my agreements in App Store Connect are active Checked that ids match between Xcode / revenue cat / App Store connect Store kit config file is syncing with App Store Connect correctly I removed revenue cat and used the store kit api directly to fetch products. The array of products is empty in all environments that don't have access to store kit config file. Checked status of all subscriptions (all waiting for review -- as they were when the paywall worked) Nothing seems to work... Any suggestions? Many thanks

Even the best apps struggle to get noticed—over 5 million apps compete in stores, and most never hit 1,000 downloads. Visibility, not quality, is the real challenge. App Store Optimization (ASO) is the key to breaking through. Optimizing your app’s title, keywords, visuals, and description, combined with ongoing testing and competitor analysis, can drastically improve discoverability and downloads in 2025.

I work on a MacBook Pro M3 Max 36GB RAM I am running macOS Tahoe Version 26.1 Beta (23B5042k) The last few days I had a couple of situations where Blender 4.5 LTS Froze and I had to forcequit, I noticed Blender would get Deleted with no notification after the forcequit, it was nowhere to be found on the Application List, Finder. Thought it was a blender issue because I run a special module with it. However around 30min ago I was using Mem and the App froze and I had to ForceQuit, The app also got removed, is not on the list of application and nowhere to be found however the icon on the dock which remained shows a Question Mark. I think this is an OS Behavior I just dont know what to attribute it to.

Hello, I'm trying to understand what happens when a subscribed customer of a subscription A purchases a promotional offer for the same subscription A. Let's say the product is a yearly subscription priced at $100. When the month 7 starts (6 months remaining in the regular subscription period), I send the user a promotional offer for the same product but priced at $25 for the first year (100$ afterwards) and he accepts the offer. Is the promotional offer started only at the end of the current year (after the 6 remaining months) or is it started immediately and he gets a pro-rata refund for the 6 remaining months? Thanks.

I’ve been building iOS apps since 2011 and have worked on hundreds along the way. Recently, I started a series on App Store Optimization (ASO) to share tips, strategies, and lessons learned. In this first post, I dive into how responding to customer reviews can directly influence ASO performance and App Store ranking - covering timing, response style, and best practices to turn negative reviews into positive ones.

Hello, We are working on integrating billing into our dating app, targeted at the Russian market. Our main requirement is to support subscriptions with automatic renewal and cancellation. We understand that, according to App Store Review Guideline, all digital subscriptions should use Apple In-App Purchase (IAP). However, we are unsure how this applies in Russia, where some local regulations may limit the use of non-Russian payment processors, and where not all Russian bank cards are accepted by Apple. Our question is: -For iOS apps in Russia, is it strictly required to use Apple IAP for subscriptions? -Are there any approved exceptions allowing integration with local processors such as Robokassa or YooKassa? -How are other developers currently handling subscriptions for the Russian market? We want to ensure full compliance and avoid any risk of rejection or removal. Thank you in advance for any clarification. Best regards, Dan