Hi everyone, I am hoping someone here has experienced this and can help, because we are in a really difficult position right now. We received a notice from App Review regarding Guideline 5.6.4 and have been working hard to prepare a full response with supporting evidence. The problem is that a draft response exists in App Store Connect that we cannot submit or delete. Every time we click either Submit or Delete Draft, we get the same error: "The resource cannot be found" That is it. No further explanation, no workaround, nothing. The draft is just stuck there and we cannot get past it. Because we could not submit through the normal channel, we uploaded a new build with our action plan included in the notes, hoping that would reach the review team. The build has been sitting there unreviewed. We have raised a support ticket with Apple Developer Support and have not received any response. The clock is ticking. App Review has given us a deadline to respond or face removal from the App Store. We have our response ready. We have our evidence ready. We just physically cannot submit it because of what appears to be a technical bug on Apple's side. Has anyone else hit this "resource cannot be found" error on a draft App Review response? Is there any other channel we can use to get this in front of the App Review team directly? We have tried everything we can think of. Any help would be massively appreciated. This is our livelihood and the deadline pressure combined with a broken system is genuinely distressing. Thank you

Hi there, I originally submitted my app on February 3, 2026. It was rejected initially with a request for additional information. Since then, I’ve gone through several rounds of communication and provided all the requested documents, including company formation details etc. The app was moved to “In Review” again on March 10, 2026, but there has been no update since then. It’s now been over two months since the initial submission, and I haven’t received any further feedback or decision since more than a month. This delay is starting to impact our business, as we’ve been waiting without any clear timeline or direction. Could you please advise if there’s any way to contact the review team directly or expedite the process or any other suggestion that could help? Thank you.

Is anyone else seeing a sudden outage with the iTunes Search API (https://itunes.apple.com/search) today? As of this morning (April 16), all my requests to the /search endpoint are returning HTTP 404 Not Found. I've tested across multiple countries (us, gb, fr) and entities (software, iPadSoftware), but they all fail with the same error. Interestingly, the /lookup endpoint (e.g., https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=[APP_ID]) is still working perfectly fine. What I've checked so far: Apple System Status page is "All Green" (as usual). Tried different IP addresses/regions to rule out local blocking. Tested simple queries like term=car to rule out specific keyword issues. Questions: Are you guys seeing 404s as well, or is it just me? Has anyone heard of a sudden migration or deprecation notice for this legacy endpoint?

Since April 6 I’m waiting for review. No updates. They usually say that takes 24-48hrs to be reviewed. I'm at 10 days already. And I get no response on my emails and ticket.

My current app is a smoking cessation app and it is desgined to help people quit smoking for good. Currently users of the app are expected to set a quit date and then remain quit from cigarettes for 12 weeks. The app helps with this by using badges, notifications and even live chats to stop smoking professionals (depending on your area). The app "frequently" mentions smoking and tobacco, but it never promotes it. It does the opposite. By mentioning the harms of smoking and the benefits of stopping. The app also mentions (and can provide, depending on your area, medical history and a professionals final opinion) about nicotine replacement therapy, which users who are quitting smoking may be interested in. Currently the app is rated 18+ as I have to tick "frequent" mention of drugs/tobacco/alcohol in the age rating questionnaire. Though it does not mention recreational drugs or alcohol. We will soon be adding a large update to the app to add vaping support. The app will change largely in the fact smoking content and vaping content will be siloed from each other. So a user can either be on a smoking support journey (and see stop smoking content), or a vape support journey (and only see vaping content). We need the app to be 13+ on the store and we will enforce age restrictions using the declared age range API as part of the account creation process. If the user is aged 13 - 17, they will only see vape related content, if they are 18+ they can see vaping OR smoking. How negotiable is the age rating certificate, can we change it to 13+ if we implement age restrictions in the app and protect stop smoking related content behind it?

Hello, I have a question regarding Apple's policy on third-party SDK signatures. I have reviewed the official documentation here: https://developer.apple.com/support/third-party-SDK-requirements/ Our app is developed in the following environment: Minimum Target: iOS 15 Xcode: 26.2 Engine: Unreal Engine 4.27.2 We are integrating the Firebase SDK into our project. However, we are experiencing app crashes caused by an issue within the GoogleAdsOnDeviceConversion.xcframework included in the Firebase SDK (related to a memory optimization issue in UE4). According to an official response from the Firebase team, this crash can be resolved by wrapping the Firebase SDK in a dynamic XCFramework. We have confirmed that this solution does indeed fix the crash. The problem is that wrapping the Firebase SDK in a custom dynamic XCFramework removes all of the original Firebase SDK signatures. The documentation on third-party SDK signatures, which I referenced earlier, states that a signature is required for the Firebase SDK, and this requirement also applies when repackaging it. This leads me to the following questions: Question 1: When we wrap and repackage the Firebase SDK, is it mandatory for the resulting XCFramework to still include the original Google LLC signature? Question 2: To resolve the crash, we intend to use the Firebase SDK by wrapping it in our own dynamic XCFramework (e.g., FirebaseWrapper.xcframework). When we do this, the resulting XCFramework loses the Google LLC signature, and consequently, the final built IPA's signature list does not contain any Firebase-related signatures. Will this be a reason for rejection during App Store review? Question 3: If we wrap the Firebase SDK in a dynamic XCFramework and then sign it with our own developer certificate, would this be a reason for rejection during App Store review?

Hello, I made my app icon with Icon Composer and added the .icon file directly to my Xcode project. I noticed that the icon preview in Icon Composer looks one way, while the icon shown on the App Store looks different. Details: I am using the .icon file directly in the project I am not using an exported PNG for the app icon I did not add a separate background image The background was set with fill in Icon Composer The preview in Icon Composer looks as expected The App Store version has a different appearance I would like to ask whether this difference may come from: App Store processing caching or a recommended Icon Composer setup for background fill If anyone has seen something similar, I would appreciate any guidance. I can also share screenshots of the Icon Composer preview and the App Store result.

Hello, I created my app icon with Icon Composer and use the .icon file directly in my Xcode project. The preview in Icon Composer looks as expected, but the icon on the App Store has a different appearance. For reference: .icon file is used directly no separate background image was added background was set with fill in Icon Composer the difference appears on the App Store side Has anyone seen this before? I’m trying to understand whether this is related to App Store processing, caching, or Icon Composer background setup. I’ve attached: Any guidance would be appreciated.

Hello Apple Developer commuinty! We have been developing a VPN client app with unique protocol for quite a while, and now it have come to publishing it in App Store/Google play. I know that publishing a VPN service requires organization(which i cant register because of my life situation), that why i have choosen to make a client. User is NOT necessarily required to use official hosting, theres an option of importing external key. App itself, doesnt contain any hardcoded server credentials and such, but it does have option to get free config from website by click. For some reason, my app review have not gone well. Apple have claimed my app have violated Guidelines 4.3(a) and 5.4. In all of my respect for App Review Team, but claim on Guideline 4.3(a) - Spam is completely ridiculous! App was completely written from the ground, not only including protocol, but the design itself. The "MONOGON" style, is unique application style which no other app on app store have seen(featuring dotted ASCII style, with blooms and contrast colors). In a million years, i would never guess what they have seen "identical to other apps on app store". Claim on Guideline 5.4 though, is a lot more reasonable, yet still not exactly correct. My app is mainly a client, not a service. The main function of it - bringing secure d1mension protocol to live on iOS and iPadOS platforms. The first setup, has both link to get official config(completely free without login, similar to AmneziaWG app), or to import own config. The code secures and encrypts packets such a way, that no external server could listen/decrypt it except for the original user destination, which makes it completely secure for the user. The main goal of DrochVPN app, is to bring users freedom in how they connect, to which server they connect. Any sort of help with publishing our app would be greatly appreciated, and we are ready to introduce changes, if they are required. App review identificator: 2f59adfb-ec49-4431-91c0-8e9b1984ad2e

Hello, I’m a developer of an iOS app that provides paid educational courses (video-based content). Our recent app update was rejected under guideline 3.1.1 because the app includes paid digital content that is not using Apple’s In-App Purchase system. We fully understand and respect this guideline. However, we are facing a significant limitation: We are based in Iraq, and currently we do not have access to supported financial infrastructure that allows us to: Use Apple In-App Purchase (due to lack of supported banking setup) Use common payment providers like Stripe or similar services At the moment, our app relies on external payments completed outside the app, and users log in to access purchased content. Due to the rejection, our release and marketing plans are currently blocked, and we are looking for a compliant solution.

I'm posting here after 8 months of back-and-forth with Developer Support (case 102685152651) because I've exhausted that channel and need to know if others have experienced this or if any Apple engineers can advise. The issue: When a user types "Dabah" — the exact name of my app — the App Store autocorrects/redirects to "Sabah." My app does not appear in those results. It only appears when the user searches "Dabah recipes." This means users who know the app by name cannot find it unless they add a secondary keyword. What makes this clearly a system-level bug, not a ranking issue: The same behavior occurs inside Apple's own Developer Marketing Tools portal. Searching "Dabah" returns only Sabah-related apps. Searching "Dabah recipes" finds my app immediately. This is not a user-facing algorithm issue — it's happening in an internal Apple tool. "Dabah" is a unique, uncommon word with no major competing apps. There is no legitimate reason an exact-name search should be overridden. The app has been live on the App Store since mid-2024, is properly indexed (it surfaces on keyword searches), and has "Dabah" listed as a keyword. The problem is specifically in the autocorrect/normalization layer treating "Dabah" as a misspelling of "Sabah." I've submitted screen recordings demonstrating both behaviors. Developer Support has confirmed my ticket is with the engineering team, but I've received no resolution or timeline in 8 months. Has anyone else encountered autocorrect overriding an exact app name match? Is there a known path to escalate search indexing bugs beyond the standard Developer Support channel? App: Dabah (id6745241806) Category: Food & Drink

I’m trying to find out whether anyone has seen this kind of App Store Connect issue remain unresolved for this long. This is for a first auto-renewable subscription. Timeline: Original support case opened: Feb 27, 2026 Support initially repeated the normal guidance that the first subscription must be submitted with the app version I explained that the issue was not the process itself, but a stuck review state On Mar 25, 2026, I was told the case had been escalated to the appropriate internal team Since then, I have sent follow-up emails asking for status / owner / ETA As of Apr 12, 2026 (KST), there has still been no meaningful update Current state in App Store Connect: App version 1.0.10 is still “Prepare for Submission” Previous 1.0.10 submissions show as “Deleted” There is no active app review submission for 1.0.10 The subscription previously showed “Waiting for Review” Now the subscription itself shows “In Review” But its localization still shows “Waiting for Review” So the state looks inconsistent: no active app review submission app version still draft subscription partially moved into review anyway At this point I’m not asking about the normal first-subscription submission flow. I already understand that. What I’m trying to understand is: Has anyone seen a case like this stay stuck for 6+ weeks? Has anyone had Apple say it was escalated internally and then go silent for weeks? Did Apple eventually fix it manually? Is this something that can remain stuck indefinitely unless the internal team intervenes? Any comparable experience would be helpful.

Hi everyone, My new app, was recently approved and its status changed to "Ready for Sale" in App Store Connect. Everything seems to be working fine technically: I can download the app perfectly using the direct App Store link, and it also appears correctly when I click on my Developer Name. However, when I search for the exact and unique name in the App Store search tab, it doesn't show up at all. I am aware that search indexing can usually take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours, but I wanted to ask if anyone else is experiencing unusual delays with the search index right now? Is there anything else I can do to trigger the indexing process besides waiting or pushing a new update?

I’ve had an issue with all of my apps. Where I push my build to TestFlight and then the image pops up. I’ve troubleshooted EVERYTHING. My account has no issues on it, no payment or compliance issues. I’ve looked to reddit for advice, one user says they need there app to get approved by apple, i got a couple apps to have there update approve, still the bug persist. Whether the app is on the App Store or a work in progress nothing works.

I have an issue where I’m pushing out my builds to TestFlight, it goes through. sometimes there’s an error saying that it can’t download but if I try a couple times it goes through. but when I go through and look at my app (That TestFlight says is running the updated version) all I see is the old version

I need to bring attention to a very suspicious "copycat" incident that suggests a potential metadata scraping issue. I submitted my original sports insights app, KickPick, for review on April 2nd, 2024. To my shock, I discovered a competitor app already live on the store with same app name and nearly identical app information (descriptions, metadata) and a very similar UI structure. Domain Registration: The infringing developer registered their website domain on the exact same day I submitted my app for review (April 2nd). This is not a coincidence; it points to automated monitoring or scraping of new submissions/metadata. Plagiarized Legal Assets: While the UI has some variations, they have copied my Privacy Policy and Terms of Service verbatim. These documents were custom-written for my specific project logic, yet they appear on their site with only the company name changed. App Information: The app descriptions and store metadata are almost identical to what I provided in my pending submission. It is highly concerning that an original creator's work, is being "front-run" by a low-effort clone that appears on the store exactly when the original is submitted. I have filed a formal Rights Infringement report, but I want to ask the community: Has anyone else noticed clones popping up with domains registered on their exact submission date?

Hi all, We've been rejected four times under Guideline 2.5.2 with identical responses, despite providing detailed clarifications each time. Hoping someone here has dealt with a similar situation. What our app is: A B2B SaaS companion app for our platform (Setgreet). Our customers — product managers and designers — create in-app engagement content (onboarding flows, feature announcements, surveys) on our web dashboard. This companion app lets their teammates and stakeholders view that content on a real device for review and approval before it goes live in the customer's own app via our SDK. The content is structured UI data (text, images, buttons, layout) fetched from our REST API. No executable code, no app binaries, no runtime interpretation, no app distribution. The rejection (verbatim, repeated 4 times): The app appears to be designed for clients or users to preview apps prior to being submitted to the App Store for review. This type of design allows you to change the app's behavior or functionality to differ from the intended and advertised primary purpose of the app, which is not in compliance with App Review Guideline 2.5.2 and section 3.3.2… What we've tried: Detailed written replies explaining the app is a content viewer, not an app preview tool Comparisons to approved App Store apps that work the same way (Figma Mirror, InVision, Braze, Notion — all render remotely-created content via shared links/codes) Filed an App Review Board appeal (waiting for response) Requested a 30-min App Review video call — declined by Apple Each reply gets the exact same rejection text back, with no engagement on our explanations. My questions: Has anyone successfully resolved a 2.5.2 rejection where the reviewer pattern-matched a content viewer as an "app preview tool"? Is the QR-code-to-view-content interaction the likely trigger? Should we de-emphasize it in favor of a login + flow list as the primary UX? Any advice on getting a senior reviewer to actually engage with the explanation vs. copy-pasting the same response? Submission ID: 2f079345-04df-4701-8089-5e55e982f99a Any insights appreciated. Happy to provide more detail. Thanks!

A few months back I migrated my account from an Individual account to an Organisation account. Since then, I published an app to the appstore. Under "Developer" in the app store, it still shows my Individual Account name, not the Business name I have entered since. I did open a case to try and fix this on March 30th but havent received any response or update. In the meantime our business also got a new phone number so I decided to update account information and in the Notes section reference the issue with the Developer field again, but also havent received an update. Am I looking in the wrong place or contacting the wrong people? Any help would genuinely he lifesaving.

Hello, My app has been approved on March 14, 2023 and has the status "Ready for sale" ever since. But the app is still not available on App Store, and whenever i use the link in App Connect to view on App Store it says "App Not available. This app is currently not available in your country or region". Initially I made the app only available in my country, after few days of getting that error, I made it available worldwide but still can't seem to find my app being available. I've sent a support ticket to apple a few days ago but got no reply. In the approval email it said it may take up to 24 hours for the app to be available on App Store, but few days have passed and still not available on app store. The app is free, and i checked all the countries and regions for availability. What can be the problem, how long does it take? Thank you

We are planning to distribute our app outside of TestFlight because our testing period exceeds the 90-day limit. Since we have an Apple Developer account, we are considering using Unlisted App Distribution for long-term testing. I have a few questions regarding this approach: After completing testing via Unlisted Distribution, is it possible to switch the same app to a public App Store release, or would we need to create and submit a separate app for public distribution? If a separate app is required, are there any restrictions from Apple on releasing essentially the same app under a different bundle identifier through another distribution channel? (Additionally, once testing is finalised, we plan to discontinue the Unlisted App version.) Are there any potential complications or limitations we should anticipate (e.g., app review concerns, versioning, or policy compliance) related to this matter? Any guidance or best practices in this matter would be greatly appreciated.