I have used and loved Apple products for about twenty years, and building my first app for the App Store was meant to be a proud moment. I'm writing this with a lot of respect for the people who do App Review, because I know it is hard work at enormous scale. But this experience has been genuinely discouraging, and I hope someone here can help.
The app is Echo: Memories in progress (Apple ID 6806832918), a private memory vault for families. Here is what has happened so far:
- 8 Oct: App Review asked for more information under Guideline 2.1, which was fair for a new developer account.
- 10 Oct: I replied with everything requested: an 11-minute screen recording on a physical device, the purpose and audience, a demo account and setup steps, every external service we use, regional details, and a full In-App Purchase overview. The same information is in the App Review Notes, with the recording attached.
- 10 to 20 Oct: no reply. The submission stayed in Waiting for Review.
- 20 Oct: I resubmitted the same build with the same information. It is still in Waiting for Review.
- I opened a support case (102998235613) and sent an expedited review request. There has been no reply to either, and phone support shows as temporarily unavailable.
I'm not asking to skip the line or for special treatment. I would just like to know that someone has seen it, and whether anything more is needed from me. Silence is the hardest part. As a small team, we have no way to tell whether we've done something wrong or are simply waiting.
If anyone from App Review or Developer Relations can take a look, I would be very grateful. And if other developers have been through something similar, I'd appreciate hearing what helped.
Thank you.