Navigate the App Store landscape. Share strategies for app submission, distribution, marketing, and user acquisition. Discuss best practices for getting your app discovered and downloaded.

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Rejected for 4.3.0 Design Spam
Thank you for your feedback on our app submission. We noticed that our latest version (1.1.7) was rejected for 4.3.0 Design: Spam. However, the previous version (1.1.6), with similar features and design, was successfully approved. We can confirm that our app is unique, offering distinct functionality and user experience. It is developed using the React Native framework, with a carefully crafted interface and interactions to provide a high-quality user experience. Due to issues with in-app purchases and several bugs in version 1.1.6 affecting user experience, we urgently need to release this update (1.1.7) to resolve these issues and ensure a stable, secure app for our users. We hope to fully resolve this matter to avoid inadvertently encountering this guideline in future releases. We kindly request that the review team re-evaluate the uniqueness and design of our app and assist us in expediting the review process so that we can push this update to our users. If you need further clarification or additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you for your support and understanding. Best regards, 365 Internet Inc
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App Rejected for 4.3.0 Design: Spam
Thank you for your feedback on our app submission. We noticed that our latest version (1.1.7) was rejected for 4.3.0 Design: Spam. However, the previous version (1.1.6), with similar features and design, was successfully approved. We can confirm that our app is unique, offering distinct functionality and user experience. It is developed using the React Native framework, with a carefully crafted interface and interactions to provide a high-quality user experience. Due to issues with in-app purchases and several bugs in version 1.1.6 affecting user experience, we urgently need to release this update (1.1.7) to resolve these issues and ensure a stable, secure app for our users. We hope to fully resolve this matter to avoid inadvertently encountering this guideline in future releases. We kindly request that the review team re-evaluate the uniqueness and design of our app and assist us in expediting the review process so that we can push this update to our users. If you need further clarification or additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you for your support and understanding. Best regards, [Your Name or Team Name]
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Safari Extension rejected for using "for [Platform]" in name - despite many precedents
Hi devs community, I've run into an interesting situation with App Review that I'd like to get the community's perspective on. My Safari extension "Protego for Reddit" (a content filter for Reddit) was rejected under Guidelines 2.3.7 for using "Reddit" in the name/subtitle, citing potential customer confusion. What's puzzling is there are many established apps using the same naming pattern for the app name and subtitle, all currently on the App Store: Narwhal 2 for Reddit - "Highly customizable Reddit app" Sink It for Reddit - "Upgrade Your Reddit Experience" Reno for Reddit - "instagram styled Reddit app" Dystopia for Reddit - "A Better Way to Reddit" MultiTab for Reddit - "Best viewer for image/video" Nano for Reddit - "The wrist-based Reddit client" Focus for Reddit - "A unofficial app for Reddit" Monocle for Reddit - "A comprehensive Reddit client" Redirect for Reddit - "Redirects to old.Reddit.com!" Alerts for Reddit - "News" rex for Reddit - "Lurk with ease!" Comet for Reddit - "Fast, Robust, and Beautiful" Redista client for Reddit - "Entertainment" Readder for Reddit - "Entertainment" lurkur for Reddit - "a new way to browse" Pics HD for Reddit - "Entertainment" Apollo for Reddit - "Closed. Goodbye and thank you!" and more I submitted a reply to the app review rejection and they told me that if I disagree with the outcome of their review that I need to file appeal to the App Review Board. I've already submitted an appeal pointing out these precedents and explaining that the name accurately describes the app's functionality without implying any official association. While I wait for the response, I'm curious about a few things: For those who maintain apps with "for [Platform]" in the name: Do you face this rejection with every update? Did you only have to appeal once, after which subsequent updates were approved? Was there any special process to get your app "whitelisted" for this naming convention? Has anyone noticed if this is a recent change in enforcement? The number of existing apps with similar names suggests this wasn't always strictly enforced. For those who successfully appealed similar rejections: How long did the appeal process take? Did you need to escalate beyond the initial appeal? My concern is whether I'll need to go through this rejection/appeal cycle with every update, which would significantly impact our ability to push out timely fixes and improvements. I've had to delay two updates due to this issue. Context: App description: Safari extension for filtering Reddit content on Mac Current name: "Protego for Reddit" Subtitle: "Filter your Reddit Feed" Version: 1.3 Status: Awaiting appeal response Many of these established apps even use "Reddit" in their subtitles, which makes the rejection of my subtitle "Filter your Reddit Feed" particularly confusing. Thanks in advance for any guidance or shared experiences!
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is it possible to make a Graduated subscription ?
Hello, I am creating a fitness application and i would like to charge subscribers depending on how often they complete their workout. Rn my initial guess i tro create many products like this: 9.99€ 8.99€ 7.99€ .. and everymonth to show them their next product based on how often they complete their workout the last month. But it's not ideal for the conversion rate and i would like to know if it's possible to : Use subscriptions and auto apply a coupon reduction on their subscription ( % based on their use ). Any ideas ?
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How do fees work with re-selling 3rd party gift vouchers
Hi, We are a digital greeting card company. Users choose, customise and then download a card (mp4 file) which they can then send in WhatsApp or any other messaging app that supports sharing video files. Users can either subscribe and send an unlimited number of cards or pay per card. We would like to offer our customers the chance to add an Amazon voucher to their greeting card but are not sure whether it is financially viable unless we can avoid the app store fees on the voucher purchase. If a subscriber purchases a £20 Amazon voucher to accompany their greeting card and we pay 15% (as a small business) to Apple (£3) then we lose £2.60 as we have to purchase the gift card from Amazon for £19.60 (Amazon give a 2% discount). From the Apple Review Guidelines I read: “Digital gift cards, certificates, vouchers, and coupons which can be redeemed for digital goods or services can only be sold in your app using in-app purchase." Which seems to make it clear that we'd have to pay the fees however we have several competitors such as Prezzee who sell gift cards at face value (a £10 voucher costs £10) inside their app which makes me hopeful that there's a way. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Our customers are constantly asking for this feature and we'd love to find a way to provide it. Best wishes, Benjy
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Outdated SDK for Enterprise Account
Hello, currently to upload to appstore, ios sdk 17 is required. my project is using xamarin. i know it's not supported anymore, but we dont have the budget to upgrade it. so the highest sdk version i can produce is 16.2. if my account is enterprise, can I still distribute the app which built using ios sdk 16.2? thanks
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Seeking Assistance to Address Guideline 4.3(a) Rejection - App Concept and Functionality Concerns
Hello Apple Developer Community, I hope this message finds you well. My app submission was recently rejected under Guideline 4.3(a) due to the App Review Team's determination that my app shares similarities in binary, metadata, and concept with apps submitted by other developers, with only minor differences. The feedback I received stated: "We still found that your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and concept as apps submitted to the App Store by other developers, with only minor differences. Since we do not accept spam apps on the App Store, we encourage you to review your app concept and submit a unique app with distinct content and functionality." I have already made significant efforts to differentiate my app by implementing unique features and functionality tailored to my audience. However, I’d like to better understand: What specific aspects of my app might be contributing to the similarity concerns? How can I further highlight the unique features and functionality of my app to meet Apple's expectations? Are there any tools or resources to validate that my app concept is distinct enough from others? If anyone has faced a similar rejection or has advice on how to navigate this, I would greatly appreciate your guidance. Additionally, I am hopeful that the Apple App Review Team might consider contacting me by phone to discuss my app in detail, as I believe a direct conversation could help clarify any misunderstandings and expedite the resolution process. Thank you for your time and support! Best regards, Bryan
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App rejection - Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam
Hello, i have built an app in Unity, the first app I’ve attempted to submit to the App Store. It is a unique app that links to our web shop. Each time the submission is rejected due to “Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam” with some generic info: “We noticed your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps previously submitted by a terminated Apple Developer Program account. Submitting similar or repackaged apps is a form of spam that creates clutter and makes it difficult for users to discover new apps.” Quite bizarre since this is the first time submitting the app! Nobody ever responds to emails to give further information, frustrating considering you pay £79 for this service…
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ASA Basic Hasn't Worked Since Update
I finally got ASA Basic to spend a little. After months of nothing. Maybe my max was too low but it was always higher than the average I am seeing. Then when the update occurred that announced the addition of other countries, I selected all those. I noticed they were all flagged with an error and I also didn't get any new installs. So I deselected all those such that the error flags were gone. But days have gone by and not one new install attributed to Basic. Any ideas?
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Trouble Creating An Apple Silicon (arm64 only) PKG
I'm running into issues creating a valid .pkg file for Transporter.app. I'm building an Electron app for the Mac App Store. I have a working build that's live, but I've encountered issues on x86 architectures. The delivery process fails with the following error: Asset validation failed (90981) Invalid bundle. The “com.XXXX.***.pkg/Payload/XXXX.app” bundle supports arm64 but not Intel-based Mac computers. Your build must include the x86_64 architecture to support Intel-based Mac computers. For details, view: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/building_a_universal_macos_binary. (ID: 56e46e1a-6e77-4468-80e6-249ec8990fa8) My build script that creates the .app and code signs the application uses the productbuild utility to create the .pkg. This is the command: productbuild --sign "$INSTALLER_KEY" --product "./build/requirements.plist" --component "$APP_PATH" /Applications "$RESULT_PATH" From my research, I would have assumed that the requirements property list was all that I would need to specify for the .pkg. This is this contents of /build/requirements.plist/: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>arch</key> <array> <string>arm64</string> </array> </dict> </plist> The application included in the .pkg is correctly built for arm64 and I've verified this with: lipo -archs /Path/To/XXXX.app/Contents/MacOS/XXXX arm64 Other research ha led me to solutions via Xcode, but as stated at the beginning I'm using Electron. Any suggestions or insights would be very beneficial.
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App Clips are approved but aren't rendering in iMessage
Our App Clips have been approved for about a week. However, our App Clips are not loading or previewing in iMessage. My friend and I both have an iPhone with iOS 18. Our App Clip minimum target is iOS 17. For both of us, the App Clip previews aren't loading in iMessage (see image below). But this isn't right—App Clips generally SHOULD preview in iMessage. For reference, when I send my friend an Instagram post URL, the app clip DOES load & preview in iMessage—suggesting it's just an issue with 222's App Clips. In the iMessage screenshot... the top url is https://rsvp.222.place/?id=0034d4c8-7dcd-44bf-89df-6dc1acd806d2 The bottom url is https://appclip.apple.com/id?p=place.twotwotwo.twotwotwo-ios.Clip (default App Clip Link) When I run either of these URLs in App Clip Diagnostics in Settings -> Developer, both of them are marked as approved and ready to go.
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AI generated content filtering
Hey guys. I got this message from reviewer: Guideline 2.3.6 - Performance - Accurate Metadata The app includes AI-generated content but does not appear to include content filtering at this time. Since the app may produce content not appropriate for all audiences, it would be appropriate to revise the app's age rating to 17+ in App Store Connect or implement content filtering. Next Steps There are two ways to resolve this issue: You may update your Age Ratings selections to 17+ in App Store Connect. This can be done by selecting "Restrict to 17+" when editing the app's Age Rating. Or you may implement content filtering so that all generated content is appropriate for the app's current age rating. The services I am using already has a content filtering implemented in them. I have no idea what am I supposed to do.
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I'll publish my app on App Store but it needs Accessibility Permission
Hi, this is my app: https://macsyzones.com Here, a video that demonstrates my app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jNx3ZUD8Rw It's a very cute window management app with unique features. It needs Accessibility Permission but App Store requires App Sandbox enabled which makes to request Accessibility Permission impossible. How can I submit my app without App Sandbox enabled to Apple? Apple can review the code and build it themselves? There are apps that uses Accessibility Permissions on App Store as I can see. Hope you help to have my app on App Store, it will be very good. 😇 I hope you'll give my app a place on App Store. 🥳 Thank you.
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Error Message when Trying to Submit EU Trader Status: "Something went wrong. Please try again."
I can’t submit an App Update without providing the EU trader information. I keep trying to submit this information. I upload all the documents, go through all the steps, then at the end I get the following error message: “Something went wrong. Please try again.” This is pretty frustrating. Then I had to start over...did it all again and ended up with the exact same error message. So I'm blocked from updating an app today...any advice on how I should proceed?
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