Dear Apple Developer Relations and App Review Management,
I am writing to request greater transparency regarding Apple's published App Store review processing times and the actual number of developer submissions awaiting review.
Apple's published App Review guidance states that its goal is to review at least 50% of submissions within 24 hours and 90% within 48 hours.
However, recent discussions on the Apple Developer Forums show developers reporting considerably longer waiting periods, including submissions remaining in "Waiting for Review" or "In Review" for several days or weeks.
As an independent developer currently navigating the App Review process, I believe greater transparency would benefit the wider developer community.
Formal request for statistical information
I would appreciate Apple's response to the following questions, preferably using anonymised aggregate data covering January–September 2026, broken down by month.
1. Actual review processing times
- How many app submissions were received each month?
- How many received an initial review decision within 24 hours?
- How many received an initial review decision within 24–48 hours?
- How many took 48–72 hours, 3–7 days, 8–14 days, 15–30 days, or more than 30 days?
- What percentage of submissions met Apple's published 24-hour and 48-hour targets?
2. Approval and rejection statistics
- How many submissions were approved within 24 hours and within 48 hours?
- How many submissions were rejected within those periods?
- What were the median, 90th-percentile and 95th-percentile times from submission to initial decision and final approval?
- Can these figures be separated between first-time apps, app updates and resubmissions?
3. Outstanding review backlog
As of 30 September 2026, how many submissions remained in the following categories?
- Waiting for Review: 0–24 hours, 24–48 hours, 3–7 days, 8–14 days, 15–30 days and over 30 days.
- In Review: the same time intervals.
I would also appreciate the latest available equivalent figures as of October 2026.
4. Expedited review requests
- How many expedited review requests were received?
- How many were accepted or rejected?
- What was the median processing time for accepted expedited requests?
- Are resubmitted builds automatically retained within an expedited review queue?
5. Transparency and methodology
- Are Apple's published 24-hour and 48-hour percentages measured from submission to the beginning of review, initial review decision or final approval?
- Are weekends, public holidays, rejected submissions and resubmissions included?
- Are the published figures global or restricted to specific regions?
- When were the published percentages most recently verified against actual operational data?
Purpose of this request
My intention is not to obtain confidential information about individual developers or applications. I am requesting aggregated, anonymised statistical information to understand whether the published review-time targets accurately reflect developers' experiences.
Apple's 2025 App Store Transparency Report confirms that more than 9.1 million submissions were reviewed. Given this volume, additional statistical reporting on processing times and outstanding submissions would be valuable.
I recognise that Apple is a private company and that this is a voluntary transparency request rather than a statutory Freedom of Information request.
I would appreciate a written response, publication of the relevant data, or referral to the appropriate department responsible for App Store operational transparency.
If the requested information is already publicly available, please provide the relevant links.
Kind regards,
GoldEngine AI
Independent App Developer
https://goldengine.ai
