Apps that are simply a book or game guide should be submitted to the iBooks Apple Books Store. Also avoid piling on to a category that is already saturated; the App Store has enough fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra apps , etc.
Health, fitness, and medical data are especially sensitive and apps in this space have some additional rules to make sure customer privacy is protected:. Apps intended for kids may not include third-party advertising or analytics. Collecting and transmitting data to third parties from apps in the Kids category is not allowed.
Apps offering VPN services may not sell, use, or disclose to third parties any data for any purpose, and must commit to this in their privacy policy. VPN apps must not violate local laws, and if you choose to make your VPN app available in a territory that requires a VPN license, you must provide your license information in the App Review Notes field.
Such apps may only be offered by commercial enterprises such as business organizations, educational institutions, or government agencies , and in limited cases, companies using MDM for parental control services. MDM apps must not violate local laws. Apple has updated the App Store Review Guidelines , adding some minor changes, the most important being a small change to now allow gifting in-app purchases:. On the following pages you will find guidelines arranged into five clear sections: Safety, Performance, Business, Design, and Legal.
A few other points to keep in mind:. It is clear that the theme of this update is user privacy and data protection. You can check out all the additions marked with green and removals marked with red below, but a few noteworthy changes include:.
We have updated the App Review Guidelines with that principle in mind. We hope these new guidelines help you sail through the App Review process, and that approvals and rejections are more remain consistent across the board.
This is a living document; new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your app will trigger this. We love this stuff too, and honor what you do. People need to know how to reach you with questions and support issues. Make sure your app and its Support URL includes include an easy way to reach contact you ; this is particularly important for apps that may be used in the classroom.
Failure to include accurate and up-to-date contact information not only frustrates customers, but may violate the law in some countries. Also ensure that Wallet passes include valid contact information from the issuer and are signed with a dedicated certificate assigned to the brand or trademark owner of the pass. Apps should implement appropriate security measures to ensure proper handling of user information collected pursuant to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement and these Guidelines see Guideline 5.
You Upon request, you must provide an index of software and metadata available in your app upon request. You must make a clear declaration of what user data will be collected and how it will be used.
Apps should never prey on users or attempt to rip-off customers, trick them into making unwanted purchases, force them to share unnecessary data, raise prices in a tricky manner, charge for features or content that are not delivered, or engage in any other manipulative practices within or outside of the app. Wednesday the App Store Review Guidelines was updated with quite a few changes. Besides some minor clarifications, new sections were introduced about:.
Introduction We strongly support all points of view being represented on the App Store, as long as the apps are respectful to users with differing opinions and the quality of the app experience is great. We will reject apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? And we think that you will also know it when you cross it. Submissions to App Review , including apps you make available for pre-order, should be final versions with all necessary metadata and fully functional URLs included; placeholder text, empty websites, and other temporary content should be scrubbed before submission.
Make sure your app has been tested on-device for bugs and stability before you submit it, and include demo account info and turn on your back-end service! If you offer in-app purchases in your app, make sure they are complete, up-to-date, and visible to the reviewer, or that you explain why not in your review notes. We will reject incomplete app bundles and binaries that crash or exhibit obvious technical problems.
Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies e. Bitcoin, DogeCoin provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions. But this update is actually rather big and includes many changes that does not relate to the new products as such. Professional political satirists and humorists are generally exempt from this requirement. Similarly, you should not market your app on the App Store or offline as including content or services that it does not actually offer e.
Egregious or repeated behavior is grounds for removal from the Developer Program. If you decide to promote in-app purchases on the App Store, ensure that the IAP in-app purchase Display Name , Screenshot and Description are written appropriate for a public audience and that your app properly handles the Purchase Intent API SKPaymentTransactionObserver method so that customers can seamlessly complete the purchase when your app launches. They may also include text and image overlays e.
However, a gift that is connected to or associated at any point in time with receiving digital content or services must use in-app purchase. For example, the HomeKit framework should provide home automation services; and HealthKit should be used for health and fitness purposes and integrate with the Health app.
Apps using ARKit should provide rich and integrated augmented reality experiences; merely dropping a model into an AR view or replaying animation is not enough.
Apps may contain or run code provided by third party developers that is not embedded in the binary e. HTML5-based games , bots, etc. You must provide an index of third party software and metadata available in your app upon request. We know this stuff is complicated, but it is your responsibility to understand and make sure your app conforms with all local laws, not just the guidelines below.
And of course, apps that solicit, promote, or encourage criminal or clearly reckless behavior will be rejected. More particularly:. There are many changes ranging from minor rephrasings to totally new rules. All the changes are listed below. Additions have green highlight and deletions have red highlight and strikeout. Introduction The App Store is a great way to reach hundreds of millions of people around the world. Consider Ad Hoc distribution or the Enterprise Program. If your app looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first practice app into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection.
We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality apps to be surrounded by amateur hour. If you attempt to cheat the system for example, by trying to trick the review process, steal user data, copy another developer's work, or manipulate ratings your apps will be removed from the store and you will be expelled from the Developer Program.
Before you submit To help your app approval go as smoothly as possible, review the common missteps listed below that can slow down the review process or trigger a rejection. Learn More about App Store Improvements. Apps may display customized icons, for example, to reflect a sports team preference, provided that each change is initiated by the user and the app includes settings to revert to the original icon. All icon variants must relate to the content of the app and changes should be consistent across all system assets, so that the icons displayed in Settings, Notifications, etc.
This feature may not be used for dynamic, automatic, or serial changes, such as to reflect up-to-date weather information, calendar notifications, etc. Apps may contain or run code provided by third party developers e. HTML5-based games , as long as the code is not offered in a store or store-like interface, and provided that the software 1 is free or purchased using in-app purchase; 2 only uses capabilities available in a standard WebKit view; your app must use WebKit and JavaScript Core to run third party software and should not attempt to extend or expose native platform APIs to third party software; 3 is offered by developers that have joined the Apple Developer Program and signed the Apple Developer Program License Agreement; and 4 adheres to the terms of these App Review Guidelines e.
With this minor update to the App Store Review Guidelines Apple added a subsection saying that approved nonprofits may fundraise directly within their app using Apple Pay. There is also a link to a new page about how to become an approved nonprofit. The change followed an official press release from Apple that details the new program allowing Apple Pay donations to nonprofits.
These apps must disclose how the funds will be used, abide by all required local and federal laws, and make appropriate tax receipts available to donors. Nonprofit platforms that connect donors to other nonprofits must ensure that every nonprofit listed in the app has also gone through the nonprofit approval process.
Learn more about becoming an approved nonprofit. Apps that seek to raise money for such causes must be free on the App Store and may only collect funds outside of the app, such as via Safari or SMS.
This update to the App Store Review Guidelines is mostly about the new iOS features SiriKit and Stickers, but also includes the previously promised new rules for subscription based apps. The full diff is listed below, but a few interesting new bits include:. App names must be limited to 50 characters and should not include terms or descriptions that are not the name of the app.
Apps should not force users to rate the app, review the app, download other apps, or take other similar actions in order to access functionality, content, or use of the app. Seems to me that many apps and games currently encourage users to rate the app by offering rewards like free coins or similar for doing so.
It will be interesting to see if Apple enforce this rule in a way that also prohibits this behavior where users are not forced, but gets rewarded. And remember that even after your app has been approved, you should update your app to ensure it remains functional and engaging to new and existing customers. Last month, Apple published a new webpage that explains the principles that govern the App Store as well as the most common reasons for rejection to show an increased level of transparency over previous years.
Any app or update that runs on an iPhone needs a stamp of approval from a human being in order to be distributed on Apple's App Store. While Apple does use automated filters, people familiar with the department say it's always relied on manual labor. Unlike content moderators at Silicon Valley companies such as Facebook or YouTube that rely on tens of thousands of contractors, Apple's app reviewers work for Apple, people familiar with the process said.
They're paid hourly, have employee badges and get Apple benefits such as health care. Everyone starts out reviewing iPhone apps, and as reviewers become more senior, they are trained to evaluate apps with in-app purchases, subscriptions, Apple Watch and Apple TV. The department has more than reviewers and is based out of a pair of offices in Sunnyvale, California — not Apple's famous Apple Park campus or its older headquarters, Infinite Loop, people familiar with the offices said.
Lots of reviewers are fluent in non-English languages, and some teams in the division specialize in individual languages. Apple says its reviewers speak 81 different languages.
App Review is organized under the marketing umbrella at Apple and always has been, even before Schiller took over the greater App Store marketing and product departments in late Although Schiller is involved in decision-making through the ERB, people who worked at the App Review office said that he rarely if ever visits the office where the review takes place.
According to people familiar with app review operations, day-to-day oversight mainly falls to a vice president at Apple, Ron Okamoto, and a director who joined Apple when it bought TestFlight in , whom CNBC is not naming because of security reasons. Reviewers say they sometimes receive feedback from developers that can be threatening.
App Review was developed shortly after the iPhone App Store was launched in Reviewers "claim" a batch of apps through a web portal on a Mac desktop, called App Claim. They often examine the app on an attached iPad, even if it's an iPhone app, although there are stations for reviewers to evaluate Watch and TV apps on those devices, people familiar with the process said.
Some developers have said they were surprised to see iPad screenshots of their iPhone apps in their logged communication with App Review. Reviewers compare the app with Apple's public App Store guidelines , including making sure it runs without crashing and isn't full of illegal content.
Then the reviewers make a call whether to accept, reject or hold the app. Most reviewers spend only a few minutes per app, but many apps are simple and only require a short period to evaluate, the people said. Reviewers have daily quotas of between 50 and apps, and the number of apps any individual reviewer gets through in an hour is tracked by software called Watchtower, according to screenshots seen by CNBC.
Reviewers are also judged on whether their decisions are later overturned and other quality-oriented stats. People who worked at App Review said that work days could be long, especially ahead of Apple's annual release of its new version of iOS, when app developers update their apps so they're compatible. Click again to start watching. App Id's : , Any one else also facing similar issues? App Review. Asked by rahianeja. Copy to clipboard Share this post.
Copied to Clipboard. Add a Comment. Posted by john daniel. I don't know what's wrong with a review process these days.. Posted by Jellobus. Posted by rahianeja. Support don't respond anithing about it, just: "keep waiting". Posted by kvkjfgckug.
Same problem. I stuck for all update of my apps. Have you been approved? Posted by Hoang Hai. Not to be a jerk, but my apps have been approving at a ridiculously quick pace.
Sometimes under an hour. I had one get approved in literally 15 minutes. It must depend on factors beyond our control. Posted by pianosmooth. Posted by MartinW. Posted by abcd We are wating for 3 weeks without any response for 2 new apps. Posted by Wangzheng. Anyone get result after long review time?
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