Guideline 4.3(b) applied to updates of an app that is already approved and live

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Our app Mithaq (App ID 6779142005) has been live on the App Store since June 2026. Every version was reviewed and approved by App Review, the most recent being 1.3.2, approved on 22 July 2026. It is live today and serves 288 active accounts, 201 of them on iOS.

Since early August, every update we have submitted has been rejected under Guideline 4.3(b), including one that contained only bug fixes, with no new features, no new business model, and no change to the app's purpose or design.

We appealed. The App Review Board upheld the rejection, explaining that Apple does not accept "new apps" in saturated categories. Our difficulty is that Mithaq is not a new app. It is not asking to enter the category. It is already in it, with Apple's repeated approval.

We replied in App Store Connect asking for clarification and have not yet had a response.

The question we cannot answer is this: does Guideline 4.3(b) prevent an app that is already approved and live from shipping updates?

If it does, our existing iOS users remain permanently on a version we cannot maintain, including a photo upload defect that leaves some of their profiles incomplete.

Any guidance from App Review, or from developers who have faced 4.3(b) on an update rather than a first submission, would be very welcome.

Answer 1

Etresoft OP

7h

does Guideline 4.3(b) prevent an app that is already approved and live from shipping updates?

Each new submission is evaluated independently of all previous submissions of the same app, and all previous submissions of all other apps from all other developers.

Any guidance from App Review, or from developers who have faced 4.3(b) on an update rather than a first submission, would be very welcome.

By guidance, I assume you mean suggestions for getting the app approved. Sorry, but I don't have any such suggestions. I can tell you that developers obsess far too much over the guidelines. The fact that so many developers have memorized the individual paragraph numbers is amazing, but sad.

They're just "guidelines". It isn't any kind of law, regulation, or policy. Apple can, and will, reject your app without citing any guideline at all.

This is a power relationship problem. Apple has all the power, developers have none. Getting rejected is a signal that you need to do things differently. Trying to beat down a door for 288 accounts is a waste of your time. The fact that they are citing a specific guideline is a suggestion regarding what you need to do differently on your next app idea.