Hello,
Our app was rejected under App Store Review Guideline 1.4.1 for providing “medical-related data, health-related measurements, diagnoses or treatment advice without appropriate regulatory clearance.”
However, the features in question are not intended for medical use, and we have already:
Added clear disclaimers that the feature is wellness-only,
Explicitly stated it is not clinically validated,
Indicated that it is not intended for diagnoses or medical purposes,
Avoid all medical wording in UI,
Added references similar to other wellness apps (e.g., breathing, stress, HRV-style indicators),
Updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy accordingly.
The app provides non-medical, wellness-oriented visual indicators, similar to many other wellness apps (breathing record, stress reference, basic heart rate ranges), but no medical interpretation, no diagnosis, and no treatment advice.
Still, the review response continues to classify the features as “medical-related data” and asks for regulatory approval.
My Questions
I understand that Apple cannot comment on specific app review decisions, so I would like to ask for clarification on the general interpretation of Guideline 1.4.1:
- Under what conditions does a wellness feature become classified as “medical” under 1.4.1?
Examples:
If the UI shows only relative ranges (e.g., “slow / average / fast”),
If we avoid numeric medical measurements,
If we avoid clinical wording,
If the feature is based on general wellness indicators (like stress trends, breathing rhythm, etc.)
- Are disclaimers + non-clinical UI enough to classify the content as wellness?
We added disclaimers in the UI that match Apple’s guidelines:
“This feature provides wellness-only information and is not intended for medical use.”
Yet it still appears to be treated as medical.
- Is there any additional requirement for wellness-only apps to avoid being considered medical devices?
For example:
Specific wording we must avoid?
Required UI changes?
Required documentation in App Review Information?
Differences between “wellness”, “health”, and “medical” in the context of 1.4.1?
- If similar apps on the App Store provide wellness-style visualizations (stress, breathing, HRV trends), what distinguishes them from medical use?
We would like to understand how to align with the Human Interface Guidelines and App Review Guidelines correctly.
Goal
The goal is not to bypass regulations but to correctly classify our features as wellness-only. If there is any general guidance for how to structure such features so that they clearly fall under the wellness category, that would be very helpful.
Thank you in advance for any clarification or guidance.
