I have an app which is in the app store since 2022. It is an app with combined features of note taking, todo list and calendar. My most recent app update is rejected with the following message. Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam 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. Next Steps 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. Resources Some factors that contribute to a spam rejection may include: Submitting an app with the same source code or assets as other apps already submitted to the App Store Creating and submitting multiple similar apps using a repackaged app template Purchasing an app template with problematic code from a third party Submitting several similar apps across multiple accounts Learn more about our requirements to prevent spam in App Review Guideline 4.3(a). Support Reply to this message in your preferred language if you need assistance. If you need additional support, use the Contact Us module. Consult with fellow developers and Apple engineers on the Apple Developer Forums. Help improve the review process or identify a need for clarity in our policies by suggesting guideline changes. I reply the reviewer with the following message. Hi, I am writing to appeal the rejection of my app, ***. I would like to emphasize the unique aspects of *** that distinguish it from other apps in the market: Integrated Functionality: Unlike most apps that are standalone note-taking, to-do, or calendar apps, *** uniquely combines all three functions into a single app. Extensive Calendar Features: *** includes a comprehensive calendar feature covering holidays in 250 countries and 3,680 states and provinces, a rare and valuable feature. Chinese Lunar Calendar: Our app includes a Chinese Lunar Calendar, which is highly appreciated in the Taiwanese market, adding a culturally specific feature not commonly found in other apps. Organizational Tools: *** allows unlimited tabs and colors for organizing notes, surpassing many competitors who offer limited color options. Flexible Viewing and Sorting Modes: Users can choose from four viewing modes (Grid, Compact Grid, List, Compact List) and five sorting modes (Modified Time, Created Time, Alphabet, Color, Check, Reminder), enhancing the user experience by providing flexibility and customization. No Character Limit: Our design supports notes of any length without character limitations, unlike many apps that impose restrictions. Organized To-Do Lists: Completed to-do items are automatically moved to the bottom, keeping the list clean and organized, a feature that sets us apart from other apps. Rich Attachments: *** supports unlimited picture attachments, drawing attachments, and voice recordings for notes, offering more versatility than many other apps. Advanced Security: *** offers 3 different kinds of password lock mechanisms to protect note privacy, ensuring users have multiple options for securing their information. Powerful Reminders: Our app includes highly customizable reminders that can repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly, making it easy for users to stay on top of their tasks and appointments. Due to the character limits of this form, I cannot list all the unique features of ***. Please refer to our product description for a comprehensive overview. We are proud of our 5k user reviews with an average rating of 4.8, reflecting user satisfaction with ***'s unique features. Here's are some of the recent reviews. (United states only. Please kindly contact me to obtain full list of the reviews) by ??? – Jun 14, 2024 omg i cannot explain how much i love *** like unlike the boring notes app this one is actually fun to use and rlly easy and i rlly like the fonts, color, to do list, calandar that can remind you like every day, week, month, and year like omg?!?!? i love *** and this app is going in like my "I 💖U" folder like tysm for making *** idk what i would do without it like omg tysm i cant explain in words how much i love it💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 by ??? – May 12, 2024 I love it sooo much I give it a 5 because there is a password so no one can look by ??? – Apr 30, 2024 Perfect app. All in one by ??? – Mar 26, 2024 I just downloaded this app a few days ago and I love it!! 😃 Up til recently I ALWAYS used paper sticky notes that I would have on my desk - and the reason why is because I could see everything all at once at all times; it’s very convenient - but it also produces clutter and anxiety because every subject is all in one place. *** fixed that!! 😀 With tabs and the list or grid view mode, I can have more organization of subjects and still see almost everything all at once! I love it! 🤩 suggestion I would really love to have more format options for the text! 🙂 Like a button to indent, and be able to have sub notes with points, dashes, or numbers. It makes everything look more tidy and neat. Thank you for this wonderful app! 😆 I am available at 123-456-789 to discuss further and provide additional detail. Thank you. Till to date, I haven't received reply from the reviewer. May I know, what are some other actionable items I can do, so that I can get through "Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam" app update rejection? Thank you so much!

Hello, so I have a SwiftUI app that is relatively large, and it has multiple targets, one for each platform. but as I near App Store release I'm feeling very confused as to how to configure it. One app was rejected because the Mac target's name becomes the app which is different from App Store (Texty+ [App Store] vs Texty+ Mac [on target]). So I then just combined all the files into one target with a #if os(Mac... iOS) etc, but is that the proper way for multi platform app. I know there is like a Multiplatform target but that would require I restructure all the files and that always leads to issues in this near release app.

App rejection : The app uses public APIs in an unapproved manner, which does not comply with guideline 2.5.1. Specifically, your app using configuration profiles to install icons and/or wallpapers. Since there is no accurate way of predicting how an API may be modified and what effects those modifications may have, unapproved uses of public APIs in apps is not allowed. I’m wondering if it’s true that asking users to download a configuration profile doesn’t jive with 2.5.1? How to resolve the problem and what reason ?

My app aggregates transaction news and data from different sources and shows users inside the app. Users are not required to sign in to view the content. However, a subscription is required to view transaction data details. Users only sign in to the app, and there is no registration. For example, if a user wants to view the details of transaction A and they are not yet subscribed, once they click on the transaction they get redirected to an external website to sign up or log in and subscribe. Once that is done, they can then sign in to the app and view the details. There are no in-app purchases. QUESTIONS Does my app qualify to be a consumption-only (reader) app? If yes(for question 1) do I have to pay a commission to App Store?

Hello, I want to develop iOS app to sell digital goods, which includes source codes of apps, website templates and 3d designs. But the official in-app purchase is risky because some people can refund after they take a copy of the purchased content. and I cannot disable refund. Will this app be approved if I use different method to accept payments such as paypal or stripe? Thank you in advance, /Firas

My app previews are coming up on about 5-6 hours of processing time and have not completed. The message is: "This file has been uploaded and is processing." I have submitted app previews in the past on this same app and they have worked. Is there a current issue on the App Store Connect server side? Is there any action I need to take, or do I just continue to wait? What would the typical wait time range be for these to process? Thank you

I am submitting an app for review but it throws below warnings. A few more items are needed in order to submit for review The items listed below are required for submission: There are still screenshot uploads in progress. I have followed the instructions from https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/649241 Delete and re upload the images one by one, rename the images, using safari instead of chrome, using jpeg instead of png. However, all are not working. How to solve this problem?

Hi, I would like to remove an app from apple vision pro app store but also I would like to keep it for iPad and iPhone. Is it possible? I tried in xcode to select destinations only for iPhone and iPad but this doesn't work.

I'm submitting a new version of my app, and after click "submit for Review", it shows "Unable to Add for Review: There are still screenshot uploads in progress." However, these screenshots have been in progress for many hours. I tried verified that it was not a problem with the screenshot files, as I deleted and uploaded screenshots that had uploaded and been approved in previous updates. I also verified this behavior is happening across multiple apps. Therefore, I suspect that it is an issue with App Store Connect's server. I have been waiting all day for this to be resolved - hopefully someone can fix this ASAP as it is a blocker to submit any app updates and I have a critical bug fix that needs to be approved.

Xcode just crashes when either is attempted. The app can be deployed directly to a device for testing. I’ve also checked that agreements are all accepted and have tried updating certificates. I see some previous posters with the same problems. Has anyone found a solution? Crash Log

We have been pursuing an issue with Apple Support but so far have not been able to get the advisors to understand our issue, so I am posting here in the hope that someone has a solution. We are working on a new app that has IAP. Our first submission failed app review. After making changes to the app to address Apple's concerns, we submitted a new app build but we could not include the IAP because the "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions" section was missing from "Prepare for Submission." The app reviewer flagged the build as incomplete because of the missing IAP. If we go to submit another build, that section is still missing from the UI. Is it expected that the "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions" section would be omitted even though the app has never passed review? Since we are required to submit our first IAP along with an app submission, this seems like a bug in the App Store Connect interface.

Guideline 3.2 - Business We found in our review that your app is intended to be used by a specific business or organization, including partners, clients, or employees, but you've selected public distribution on the App Store in App Store Connect. Since the App Store is intended for apps with a public audience, we recommend reviewing the other distribution options available to you through your Apple Developer Program Account. App Store Connect Reject as the our app create for specify business, including partners, clients and they recommend us to distibute app as unlisted app I found many apps that have the same business model like ours, can be public on app store. anyway for us was rejected from app store. Do you have idea on this? Thank you!

我委托第三方才帮我们在苹果商店更新过APP，因为图片中含有隐私手机号，因此需要自己再重新上架，/Users/zhangteng/Desktop/WechatIMG24.jpeg。他提示需要构建版本，我已经在涂鸦平台构建了app，好像需要打包，我该如何操作打包上传呢。

Hello, I can't delete my app because my subscription group was in 'Waiting for Review' status. Then I deleted subscriptions and all subscription groups. The steps I followed: Submitted app to the review (new app) App Store Team Rejected I decided to make changes in the app Submitted new build for the review App was in the status "Waiting for the review" I decided to don't publish my app Removed Subscription groups and removed app from the sale Tried to delete the app Now I can't delete the app. Is there way to delete this app? I don't like having an app that isn't published to App Store. In other words, I don't want to see this app in the App Store Connect

I'm an indie developer. My latest minor update for my game which has been on the Mac App Store for 13 years and which has spent time at #1 on the download charts just started getting rejected for the following reason: Guideline 2.5.2 - Performance - Software Requirements The app installed or launched executable code. Specifically, the app uses the itms-services URL scheme to install an app. However my app is certainly not installing any apps and to the best of my knowlege it is not using any itms/itunes/etc. type URLs in any way, so I can't figure out what would be triggering this claim. Inquiries as to what app I am supposedly installing or what URL I am supposedly using have yielded 'no further information can be provided'. Has anyone run into something similar? Any ideas on obscure scenarios that could trigger this particular rejection? Or any advice on what one should do in my situation? I feel a bit stuck. Has anyone had luck with the appeal process for this sort of thing (to at least get more information)?

Hi, For 10 days now we've been rejected with no answer. I am afraid Apple will never answer us... and 3 years of development down the drain. My team and our whole families are waiting but as the days go by, it is looking more and more grim for us I am afraid. Is there anything we can do? Our game had a decent rating and audience reception so far. All of our code is built by us over thousands of hours. We have alot of features that competitors do not have, this was even mentioned by several Youtubers and called out as a unique game. Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam 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. Any advice would be so appreciated ! Thank you, Alex

my app got reject for reason "other", It's almost a month passed, I got no resonse, no email, please help

We’re looking forward to completing our review, but we need additional information about your app's cryptocurrency exchange services. This information is required to review the app for compliance with App Review Guideline 3.1.5(iii), which requires exchange services only be offered in countries or regions where the app has appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange. Next Steps Please provide the following information and/or documentation: Confirm in which specific countries or regions you intend to make your app's cryptocurrency exchange services available. Provide documentary evidence of the licensing and permissions for the cryptocurrency exchange services in your app for all of the countries or regions where your app is available. The documentation you provide should indicate where you intend to distribute your app. Provide links to government websites that display the licenses you've secured to provide exchange services in all the countries or regions where your app is available. Provide information on the third-party exchange APIs that your app connects with, including links to public APIs and documentation of partnership with specific third-party exchanges. Do the cryptocurrency exchange transactions occur between the users and the exchange(s) or do you, as the developer, handle the transaction requests with the exchange(s) directly? Are the cryptocurrency exchange features provided in your app decentralized, centralized, or a mix of decentralized and centralized exchange features? Does your app offer new or exclusive tokens or cryptocurrency to users? If so, which ones and on which exchanges can users obtain the currency? Explain the precautions you've taken to comply with anti-money laundering ("AML") and Know Your Customer ("KYC") requirements. If you intend to distribute your app in the United States, provide a copy of your Money Services Business (MSB) registration. Additionally, confirm that you will restrict your app's availability to the states listed on your MSB registration. I'm so confused about this. The reviewer has mention about cryptocurrency exchange services. We enrolled as an organization, in our app doesn't provide cryptocurrency exchange. We just provide decentralized application for users to easily interact with our smart contracts. Basically, all transactions calling smart contracts are generated by our DApps and presented to the users for further verification (meta mask, trust wallet etc) before being sent to the blockchain. So, our app doesn't have any control of user crypto assets. I have no idea. If we need licensing and permissions for the cryptocurrency exchange services. Because, we don't provide cryptocurrency exchange in our app. Am I missing something? anyone can help me to explaine for this case? Thanks

Hello, I submitted my app on April 15th, and still "Waiting for Review" for over 20 days. Can anyone help me resolve this issue? [Edited by Moderator]

I've tried uploading a build through xcode, and transporter app with no luck. I have waited hours and it never completes. Also, I have tried using fastlane our main way of uploading builds and have included a verbose flag to see why the build upload never finishes or errors out. The problem is an endless loop of the following error: DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: "LocalUploadTask <EF4ED1D8-1CB0-47F7-876B-C126DF9A3696>.<302624>" DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: ), NSLocalizedDescription=A server with the specified hostname could not be found., NSErrorFailingURLStringKey=https://northamerica-1.object-storage.apple.com/itmspod11-assets-massilia-200001/PurpleSource211%2Fv4%2F22%2F2d%2F17%2F222d1786-e205-57c4-7c62-a8e88503ff18%2FNRkOOpVWKZwGMd9KSYr92VImlIecE45alTBupZzt5Z0_U003d-1715285171894?uploadId=951d5230-0e3f-11ef-be19-783fd2f0b3f1&Signature={REDACTED}&AWSAccessKeyId={REDACTED}&partNumber=1&Expires=1715889972, NSErrorFailingURLKey=https://northamerica-1.object-storage.apple.com/itmspod11-assets-massilia-200001/PurpleSource211%2Fv4%2F22%2F2d%2F17%2F222d1786-e205-57c4-7c62-a8e88503ff18%2FNRkOOpVWKZwGMd9KSYr92VImlIecE45alTBupZzt5Z0_U003d-1715285171894?uploadId={REDACTED}&Signature={REDACTED}&AWSAccessKeyId={REDACTED}&partNumber=1&Expires=1715889972, _kCFStreamErrorDomainKey=12} DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: 2024-05-09 16:11:52.048 DEBUG: [ContentDelivery.Uploader] Created new upload task (0x139d071e0) for part 1. DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: 2024-05-09 16:11:52.048 DEBUG: [ContentDelivery.Uploader] Saving uploader state (CDUploaderStateUploadAssetDescription) for identifier 'com.apple.cds_0C29B49B-B8A0-45FA-BFF3-10A7424FE286'. DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: 2024-05-09 16:11:52.049 DEBUG: [ContentDelivery.Uploader] There are 2 parts remaining to upload. DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: 2024-05-09 16:11:52.049 DEBUG: [ContentDelivery.Uploader] LOST 0 bytes for part 2. DEBUG [2024-05-09 16:11:52.04]: [altool]: 2024-05-09 16:11:52.049 DEBUG: [ContentDelivery.Uploader] Adding upload task 302627 for part 2.