pp rejected under Guideline 4.3 (Spam) dating app with unique BaZi engine

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Created 3w

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Hi all,

My app Kindred: Find Your Match was rejected under Guideline 4.3 (Spam) and I'm struggling to understand what specifically triggered it, as I believe the app offers genuinely unique functionality.

Kindred is a dating app built around BaZi (八字) — a 3,000-year-old Chinese metaphysical system. Unlike standard dating apps, every user gets a personalised Four Pillars (四柱命盘) chart calculated from their exact birth date and time. Matching is based on elemental compatibility (Day Master, useful god, ten gods) — not a swipe algorithm or questionnaire. Users can also view a full synastry profile showing how their chart interacts with a match's.

What frustrates me is that the App Store has hundreds of generic dating apps that are nearly identical to each other — same swipe mechanic, same profile structure, same matching logic — and they're all approved. Yes, the dating app market is saturated. But if we as developers are willing to put ourselves out there, to fight for our chance, to build something with a unique angle and real users behind it — why should Apple be the one to limit us? The barrier shouldn't be "too many dating apps exist." It should be "does this app offer something different?" And Kindred does.

The app is already live on the Google Play Store and has been getting downloads daily since launch — real users, real engagement. It's not a throwaway app. It's been tested, refined, and is actively being used. Yet on Apple's side, I've been stuck in review limbo for nearly a month. I submitted on August 6, waited over three weeks just to get a rejection, filed an appeal, waited another week for the appeal board to uphold the rejection — and now I'm back in the queue again with no clear timeline. For an indie developer, this is incredibly discouraging, especially when the rejection reason is vague and no specific guidance was given on what to fix.

At this point I'm genuinely asking — should I just give up on the App Store? Has anyone been in a similar situation and managed to get through? Any advice on what Apple looks for when distinguishing a unique app from spam, or how to get more meaningful feedback beyond "the previous rejection was valid," would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Tomato OP

3w

There have been several topics of the same nature (dating app rejected) this year alone. Have you searched and read them?

The app is already live on the Google Play Store and has been getting downloads daily since launch

How does that come into play with your rejection at Apple's App Store? If that truly matters, you should file your appeal to Google Play Store, shouldn't you?

I am afraid you are not helping yourself at all. Basically, all you write is that you have gotten your dating app rejected. Nobody gives you a dime about how unique your app is. You don't state your app description at App Store. You don't show the list of keywords you are using. You don't even mention your development platform or the exact rejection statement.

the dating app market is saturated.

Okay. Which one isn't?

By the way, nobody knows what 'pp' stands for.

Answer 2

Etresoft OP

3w

Kindred is a dating app built around BaZi (八字) — a 3,000-year-old Chinese metaphysical system. Unlike standard dating apps, every user gets a personalised Four Pillars (四柱命盘) chart calculated from their exact birth date and time.

So dating + astrology + collection of personally identifiable information == rejection. Good to know.

Answer 3

GetResubmit OP

3w

Because Apple explicitly lists dating apps as an established category under 4.3(b), the key question is probably not whether your BaZi engine is original, but whether the submitted app delivers a visibly different user experience from the first few minutes of use.

I would stop resubmitting the same build. Prepare a short comparison showing how Kindred differs from the closest dating apps in onboarding, profile creation, match generation, compatibility explanations, synastry analysis and the actions available after a match. Support each difference with annotated screenshots or a brief video from the exact submitted build.

Make sure the BaZi experience is central and immediately visible, rather than appearing as an additional scoring layer behind a conventional dating flow. In Resolution Center, ask Apple to clarify whether the concern is category saturation under 4.3(b) or a binary/metadata association under 4.3(a), because those require different remedies.

Since the appeal was already upheld, Android downloads and development effort are unlikely to change the outcome by themselves. The next submission should demonstrate meaningful product and UX differentiation, not simply provide another general explanation of why the matching algorithm is unique.