August 2010
3 posts
Screenshots cannot display an iAd error condition
Submitted by Mahmud Ahsan: If your screenshots depict an iAd banner, make sure that it’s not showing an error state:
We’ve reviewed your application, but cannot post this version to the App Store because your marketing screenshots display an invalid iAd state. […] The marketing screenshots should not display an error condition in the iAd banner.
This makes sense: an iAd...
Cannot be intended for a limited audience
Submitted by Mark Jones:
“I received a rejection today because we submitted an application specifically for a local Private Golf Club and they (the club) do not want everyone in the world to be able to download their app. The content in the app is specific to club members, i.e. schedules of events, contact info for golf pros, tennis pros, feedback questionaires to improve processes,...
Cannot use background-audio multitasking to...
This is great:
… Paul came up with an idea that would actually allow Pastebot to run in the background. … The idea is to have a silent audio clip play in the background. This would use one of Apple’s backgrounding APIs that allows music to play in the background. Turns out it works flawlessly.
…
Rejected. It wasn’t what we hoped for, but to be honest it was expected. We...
June 2010
1 post
Cannot create desktop or "widget" environments
Apple started removing apps from the Store today that provide Dashboard-like widget environments. Shifty Jelly cites an email response from Steve Jobs:
We are not allowing apps that create their own desktops. Sorry.
Details on enforcement remain scarce, but any app that shows a screen containing various user-configured widgets, such as a clock, weather forecast, and stock ticker, seems...
November 2009
1 post
Cannot call undocumented methods or use their...
Apple has recently been testing submitted apps with a static analysis tool that detects whether an app calls any undocumented methods, even in public frameworks. The tool appears to detect only the undocumented methods’ names, so if you create a category method with the same name as an undocumented method and call it, the analyzer will flag that as an undocumented method call.
Any detected...
September 2009
1 post
Keywords cannot contain names of other apps
Submitted by Dan Fabulich:
We’ve reviewed [app] and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store at this time because of inappropriate ‘Keywords’ used to identify your application. We will not post applications that reference other applications in their search criteria. It would be appropriate to remove [name of a competitor’s...
August 2009
1 post
Must have more than "minimal user functionality"
We get this a lot (thanks, Nick et al.):
We have determined that this application contains minimal user functionality and will not be appropriate for the App Store.
We’ve heard minimal specifics on apps that cause this rejection, but the most common implication is that apps are rejected for being simple brand showcases, showing a few photos or playing a few music tracks, without any...
July 2009
12 posts
Cannot transfer excessive data volumes over...
Submitted by Wouter:
[App] cannot be posted to the App Store because it is transferring excessive volumes of data over the cellular network, which as outlined in the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement section 3.3.20, is prohibited.
Wouter says that the app was loading a video over the network. Apple doesn’t cite an exact data limit, though a few developers have suggested that...
Cannot simulate failures or errors
From Max Williams: “You’re not allowed to have any kind of cracked or broken screen effect.” The rejection cites “simulating failures” as prohibited.
Your app also cannot, intentionally or not, do something that could be construed as an iPhone software or App Store error, as whiskyvangoghgo discovered:
We attempted to publish an app called “@%#!?! Allergies”....
Cannot duplicate the functionality of a built-in...
The recent removal of Google Voice apps has brought this to everyone’s attention again. Many of us had forgotten since the Podcaster rejection first taught us about this rule.
Your app cannot substantially overlap or replace built-in functionality. You can’t make a phone-call app or an email client or an MP3 player or a podcast downloader.
This is a slippery slope, and we have too...
Cannot collect personal data without permission
Please make it clear to the user that their personal user data is being uploaded to your server, and obtain their consent before submission.
From Dave Wood, whose app “reported the device stats, model, OS version, etc. to our servers on startup”.
Must notify the user on internet connection...
Submitted by Chris Hitchcock:
When the device is not connected to a network and the user attempts to view additional details on the web, your application does not load its contents and stays blank. This behavior might lead to user confusion. It would be appropriate to display either a notification or an alert stating that internet connectivity is required.
This site is for less-obvious...
Cannot facilitate a checkout, transaction, or...
Apple will reject apps that allow you to purchase items from a third party. My deal tracking app was rejected and I was told to launch that content in Safari instead. Of course that defeats part of the purpose of such an app.
Submitted by Craig Hunter.
Unfiltered internet access must be rated 17+
We’ve reviewed [App] and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store at this time because it is not appropriately rated. Our review indicates that the application content is not consistent with the current rating. [App] allows unfiltered access to the internet, where content with mature or suggestive themes can be accessed. Applications must be...
Avoid public figures, celebrities, and Apple
Via Mobile Orchard’s Avoiding iPhone App Rejection From Apple, Part 2:
Brian’s original article included “political lampooning.” I’ll extend that to include association or portrayal of public figures. Two examples: around Obama’s inauguration, CodeMorphic created an app called Obamify that manipulated photos to appear like those iconic posters from the campaign; the app went into...
Free/Lite version can't up-sell (tricky)
[…] Lite cannot be posted because it is a feature-limited version. Free or “Lite” versions are acceptable, however the application must be a fully functional app and cannot reference features that are not implemented or up-sell to the full version.
(via App Rejected)
This is tricky and easy to misinterpret, but here’s what it most likely means:
You can have a free version of...
Cannot go anywhere near Apple's trademarks
We’ve reviewed [App] and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because of an Apple trademark image. We want to remind you of the importance of following Apple’s posted Guidelines for Using Apple’s Trademarks and Copyrights.
Apple applies this very broadly:
Your app can not include “iPhone” in its title, and...
Cannot mention prices in Description or app
We cannot post this version of [App] to the App Store because your application contains pricing information in the icon and/or marketing text (Application Description / Release Notes). Providing specific pricing information in these locations may lead to user confusion because of pricing differences in countries. It would be appropriate to remove pricing information from these locations.
...
No contests, giveaways, or charity donations
More from Mobile Orchard’s excellent list:
While not expressly forbidden in the contracts, Apple rejects prize applications and apps that contains contests or giveaways. There are exceptions to this policy. For example, Apple seems willing to let game applications tie into an on-the-web leaderboard with prizes, though an in-app/embedded leaderboard with prizes is likely verboten....
October 2008
1 post
Bundle icon and App Store icon must match
Submitted by Lane Roathe:
[App] cannot be posted to the App Store because the small bundle icon does not match your large icon. This might be confusing to users.
Lane explains: “When submitting a product, you need to make sure that your bundle icon (the 57x57 icon displayed on device) matches your App Store icon (the 512x512 icon displayed in iTunes).
“While there can be some...