Hello,
I'm looking for advice from developers who have successfully published internet radio applications on the App Store.
My app has been rejected multiple times under Guideline 5.2.3 with the following message:
"The app provides potentially unauthorized access to third-party audio or video streaming, catalogs, and discovery services."
Apple asks me to provide:
"documentary evidence evidencing that you have all necessary rights or permissions to the third-party audio or video streaming, catalogs, and discovery services in the app."
However, I'm not sure what documentation App Review actually expects.
My application works as follows:
• It does NOT host, proxy, cache, retransmit, record, convert, or modify any audio streams. • Playback uses Apple's AVPlayer. • Audio is streamed directly from the original broadcaster to the user's device. • The application only retrieves publicly available station metadata and stream URLs from the Radio Browser API. • The app no longer contains any built-in curated station list. • Music identification uses Apple ShazamKit together with metadata lookup (MusicBrainz, Last.fm and Apple iTunes Search API). These services are used only for metadata and artwork, not for streaming audio.
I have already contacted the Radio Browser maintainers asking whether they can provide written permission or an official statement, but I have not yet received a reply.
My questions are:
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Has anyone successfully published an App Store internet radio application that uses the Radio Browser API (or another public radio directory)?
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What documentary evidence satisfied App Review?
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Does Apple expect permission from the Radio Browser project, or from every individual broadcaster whose publicly available stream is listed in the directory?
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If your app was approved, what documentation did you provide?
Any experience or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Has anyone received a successful approval for an internet radio app under Guideline 5.2.3 in 2025 or 2026?