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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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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TCG Cards - "4.1.0 Design: Copycats" Reject
Hello, I am interested in TCG cards and decided to create an app. I developed an app related to Pokémon cards that provides brief information about the cards, allows users to scan their cards with AI, and includes a Portfolio page where users can view their own cards. However, the app was rejected with the reason "4.1.0 Design: Copycats" from the review team. After this, I reviewed published apps and added a disclaimer to the description, but my issue still persists. The most recent response from the review team was essentially as follows: "You need to remove elements from your app's metadata, such as names and screenshots, that may infringe on brand usage." However, it is not feasible for me to present the purpose of the app without these elements. Pokémon does not grant licensing for such use, and my intention was not to compete with Pokémon but to create a simple, user-friendly app for Pokémon fans. If anyone with experience in this matter could provide assistance, I would greatly appreciate it.
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Get number of new users
I would like to get number of new users by month for my app. The description of "First Time Downloads" metric is : "The total number of first times an app is downloaded per Apple Account; Counted when an app is downloaded from the App Store after a user taps the "Buy" or "Get" button." https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/app-metrics/ So, the first sentence says metric is per Apple account, so by Apple user. But the second sentence says metric is per device... My question is : does metric "First Time Downloads" get number of new users or new devices? if it is new devices, how can I retrieve number of new users (independently of opt-in or not)?
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Smart App Banner is missing the rating
Hi I implemented the smart app banner like this: The banner shows up, but without the rating. My guess is because there are other versions of the app in different region app stores (but same app-id) with not enough ratings? Is Apple checking for a language or country-code on the website to get the correct rating for the app? For example: App on swiss store has about >8k ratings on us store it has <20 ratings on german store about 150 ratings
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In-App Purchase Transaction Handling and Refund Implications in App Store API
Hello, I am currently encountering an issue while using the server-side API for in-app purchase integration. Suppose a user has already purchased a product, and the App Store returns a transactionId of 1. After some time, the user repeats the purchase for some reason, and the App Store returns a transactionId of 2. However, when I use the Get Transaction History interface to query the transaction information for transactionId 2, I see that the data returned by the App Store does not include the transaction data for transactionId 2; it only contains the transaction data for transactionId 1. In this situation, my guess is that when the user makes a repeat purchase, the App Store recognizes that the user has already purchased the item and has not executed a refund. Therefore, the App Store generates a new transactionId for this request (the user's purchase) and associates it with the previous purchase's transaction data. This is my inference. If this user has made 5 repeat purchases, when the user successfully requests a refund, if I query the transaction information through the Get Transaction History interface, will the revocationDate for all 5 transactions in the App Store's official database be modified to the same date? Additionally, after the user successfully refunds and makes another purchase, will the new transactionId still be associated with the previous transaction data?
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Question about installing and migrating apps from the App Store for apps deleted by developers
I have an app that I've been using for over 10 years now. When I searched for that app on the App Store, it didn't show up. (both in the US, Japan, and Korean stores) There's a phenomenon where the app crashes and dies when performing a specific function. So I'm trying to develop an app that's very similar to that app. When I migrate or restore after changing or initializing my device, the previously installed app is installed on the home screen. There are several apps that don't show up on the App Store and seem to have been removed by the developer. Some apps have a blank icon image on the home screen, and when you click on them, a pop-up appears saying that they can't be installed and asks if you want to delete the icon. Some apps are still installed. Some functions are broken because the developer stopped maintaining them for a long time. They can't be searched on the store either. What are the differences and similarities between these two apps?
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App Flagged 3.2(f)
We are a team of beginner developers, and we recently published our game (made in Unity) on the App Store for both macOS and iOS. It was live for about 15 days until three days ago, when we received a notice from Apple that our account had been flagged for removal. The email mentioned that our game violates section 3.2(f) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. We've been trying to identify the issue since then, but we're not involved in any fraudulent activities. Any guidance on how to resolve this would be a huge help. Thanks.
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How to make a shop work with generic consumable IAPs
Hi! I'm currently developing an app to support artists. This should include a shop where artists can buy digital resources to use in their projects. Now the issue is how I handle this. I know there are consumable and non-consumable IAPs and there is a limit of 10.000 IAPs per app. Because my shop will have more than 10.000 items eventually, I try to use a different approach: For every price I want to have, I create a generic consumable IAP with the price I want. Then I assign this IAP to the product. To keep transactions safe, users need to sign-up before making a purchase. When a user intends to purchase the item, I create a transaction with the item a user wants to purchase along with the user in my database and return a unique uuid. Then I attach this uuid with the transaction appAccountToken. Then I listen to App Store Server Notifications and unlock the item for the user based on appAccountToken. I already read about this extensively and other people seemed to be able to use it after explaining everything to Apple. I tried to submit the first version of the app and it was rejected with reason: Guideline 2.3.2 - Performance - Accurate Metadata We noticed that the display names and descriptions for your promoted in-app purchase products are the same, which makes it hard for users to identify what they are purchasing from the App Store. Next Steps To resolve this issue, please revise the display names or descriptions for your promoted in-app purchase products to ensure each individual metadata item is unique. Please note that display names for promoted in-app purchases can be up to 30 characters long, while descriptions can be up to 45 characters long. If you have no future plans on promoting this in-app purchase product, you can delete the associated promotional image in App Store Connect. All my consumable IAPs are named the same because it is generic and I don't really see how I would change this. What kind of information do I need to supply to Apple to approve it? Any insights or tips are highly appreciated.
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App Review rejected due to Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam App Store Distribution & Marketing
Hello, My app was rejected because of App Review Guideline 4.3(a). The guideline says: "Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations using in-app purchase." The original answer is: "We noticed your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps submitted to the App Store by other developers, with only minor differences. Submitting similar or repackaged apps is a form of spam that creates clutter and makes it difficult for users to discover new apps." I am very confused. I just bought a Mac and iPhone So I don't have other apps in the Apple App Store. I created my app all by myself and did not repacked another apps or similar procedure. I have only one bundle id. There is one app with a similar concept in the store which unfortunately has the name "weapon mods for gmod". So I renamed my app for iOS to " map addons for gmod to addons for gmod". The difference is that this app give mods regarding Garry's game and redirect user to the steam community and my app has provided different category of mods rather than others and my app has functionality for that user have not to redirect any website From my understanding my app is relatively unique in concept. Anyway I don't understand why my app is rejected. The uploaded version does not contain In-App-Purchase, Achievement, Leaderboard and Sharing like the Android version does because it is still work in progress. I admit the uploaded screenshots are polished and final. I don't know how "shares similar binaries, metadata" with other apps can be fixed if this is the case. It is because I used Unity like most developers and this results in similar filename? Anyone can help? Kind regards, Jay limbani
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App Rejection for iOS 18.1 issue I cant replicate
Forgive me for using this forum I need a quick reply and resolution. Apple says on the iPad Air, ios18.1 the "enter as guest" button doesn't work. But it works for me. Can you tell me if you have the same issue or not? Heres the TestFlight URL: https://testflight.apple.com/join/E97ZXM9T Apples message: Guideline 2.1 - Performance - App Completeness Issue Description The app exhibited one or more bugs that would negatively impact App Store users. Bug description: We were unable to login or enter as guest. The "sign in" and "enter as guest" buttons were unresponsive when tapped on. Review device details: Device type: iPad Air (5th generation) OS version: iPadOS 18.1
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appStoreVersionReleaseRequests failing without error possibly due to new ui dialog?
We have been using app store connect api to release iOS app, using appStoreVersionReleaseRequests endpoints, but on the last couple of releases this has failed to release the app but without any error. On manually releasing the app via app store connect api noticed a new dialog requiring confirmation of release to 175 countries. Suspect this new confirmation maybe the reason the release didn't work via api. Has anyone had this issue and know how to make the release work via the api?
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App Flag for Pending Termination Notice
I have my app submitted to appstore for review, its a custumer support app which basically connect to a live chat after you select your language preference. The resolution given by app review team was "the app have engaged in concept or feature switch schemes to evade the review process, such as dynamically populating different app content after review, submitting apps with hidden features, repeatedly submitting misleading apps, and/or submitting apps with concrete references to content that you are not authorized to provide or is otherwise not appropriate for the App Store" Has anyone encounter this kind of resolution? how did you resolve it?
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App Review rejected due to Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam
Hello, My app was rejected because of App Review Guideline 4.3(a). The guideline says: "Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations using in-app purchase." The original answer is: "We noticed your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps submitted to the App Store by other developers, with only minor differences. Submitting similar or repackaged apps is a form of spam that creates clutter and makes it difficult for users to discover new apps." I am very confused. I just bought a Mac and iPhone and ported my Android app "Travel Trivia" from Weltraumerei to iOS. So I don't have other apps in the Apple App Store. I created my app all by myself and did not repacked another apps or similar procedure. I have only one bundle id. There is one app with a similar concept in the store which unfortunately has the name "Travel Trivia". So I renamed my app for iOS to "Travel Trivia World Quiz". The difference is that this app asks questions about the world and my app has a map and asks questions about countries. On Android the only similar app to my app is "Backpacker". From my understanding my app is relatively unique in concept. Anyway I don't understand why my app is rejected. The uploaded version does not contain In-App-Purchase, Achievement, Leaderboard and Sharing like the Android version does because it is still work in progress. I admit the uploaded screenshots are not that polished and final but ok, you can check it in the Android Store. I don't know how "shares similar binaries, metadata" with other apps can be fixed if this is the case. It is because I used Unity like most developers and this results in similar filename? Anyone can help? Kind regards, Chris
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