Need Advice: Family Controls Fully Removed but App Review Still Detects Unapproved API Use

Question

ios_older OP

Created 6h

Replies 1

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Participants 1

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on a repeated App Store rejection under Guideline 2.5.1.

Background:

We initially explored using Family Controls for a planned feature.
That feature has now been fully removed from the app.
We no longer provide any Screen Time related functionality.

What we already cleaned up:

Removed all FamilyControls / ManagedSettings / DeviceActivity code usage.
Removed commented-out code and all related references from the project.
Removed related capabilities and entitlements from targets.
Removed related frameworks/dependencies.
Performed a clean rebuild and submitted a new archive.

However, App Review still says the app includes ScreenTime API in an unapproved manner and suggests removing those APIs.

Questions:

What are the most common hidden places where Screen Time / Family Controls traces remain?
Has anyone seen this triggered by transitive dependencies or stale build artifacts?
What evidence/details should I provide in App Review Notes to help the reviewer verify cleanup?
Is there a recommended way to ask App Review to share the specific symbol/framework/target they detected?

Any practical checklist or experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Answer 1

ios_older OP

6h

The app uses public APIs in an unapproved manner, which does not comply with guideline 2.5.1.

Specifically, the app still includes ScreenTime API without ScreenTime features.

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.

Next Steps

Revise the app to ensure that documented APIs are used in the manner prescribed in the documentation. It would be appropriate to remove these APIs from the app if you have no approved use case.

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