App Store review · first-hand · data through Oct 23, 2026
App Store rejections, decoded from our own
Every App Review guideline and App Store Connect message our account has actually hit, with the date, the wait, what we changed and whether it worked. No guesses about rules we have not met.
Short answerSince September 10, 2026 our developer account has received 86 App Review decisions on 21 apps; 47 were not approved. Almost all of them trace to a handful of guidelines: 4.3 spam (22, on new apps submitted in a batch), 2.1 information needed (routine for a new account), and in October the metadata rules around subscriptions (2.3.2, 2.3.6, 2.3.7, 2.3.13). Pick yours below: each page has what Apple means, our dated cases and the change that got approved.
86App Review decisions on our account
21apps submitted
47not approved
11guidelines with a page
Guidelines we were rejected under
GuidelineGuideline 4.3: SpamGuideline 4.3 is Apple's anti-spam rule: (a) no copies of one app under several bundle IDs, (b) no app that is "indistinguishable from what's already ...GuidelineGuideline 4.2.6: Apps created from a template or app generation serviceGuideline 4.2.6 rejects apps built from a commercial template or app generation service unless the owner of the content submits them under their own a...GuidelineGuideline 2.1: App Completeness (and "Information Needed")Guideline 2.1 covers apps that crash, have placeholder content, or that the reviewer cannot fully test. On a new developer account it usually arrives ...GuidelineGuideline 2.3.7: Accurate Metadata: names, keywords, pricesGuideline 2.3.7 bans prices, "free", discounts and keyword stuffing in the app name, subtitle, screenshots and previews. Apple counts the word "free" ...GuidelineGuideline 2.3.2: In-app purchases in metadata and promoted purchasesGuideline 2.3.2 says your store page must make clear what costs extra, and that promoted in-app purchases need a display name, image and description f...GuidelineGuideline 2.3.6: Age rating answersGuideline 2.3.6 says to answer the age rating questionnaire honestly. The reviewer compares your answers with what the app shows. Our habit tracker, C...GuidelineGuideline 2.3.13: In-App EventsGuideline 2.3.13 lets you feature timely events from inside your app on the App Store. Events must be real, dated and about the event itself. We learn...GuidelineGuideline 2.5.1: Public APIs, used for their intended purpose (HealthKit)Guideline 2.5.1 requires public APIs only, and that frameworks like HealthKit are used for their purpose and visible to the user. Our Chain 1.4 update...GuidelineGuideline 1.4.1: Medical and health accuracy claimsGuideline 1.4.1 says health apps must disclose the data and method behind any accuracy claim, or be rejected. It reaches further than medical devices:...GuidelineGuideline 5.1.1: Data Collection and Storage (privacy policy)Guideline 5.1.1 requires a privacy policy, linked in App Store Connect and inside the app, that says exactly what you collect and why, plus consent fo...GuidelineGuideline 3.1.2: SubscriptionsGuideline 3.1.2 sets the rules for auto-renewable subscriptions: ongoing value, at least 7 days per period, available on all the user's devices, and c...
App Store Connect messages and errors
Message or error"Your first in-app purchase must be submitted with a new app version"This message means App Store Connect will not review an app's first in-app purchase or subscription on its own. Attach it to an app version: on the ve...Message or error"Review the updated Paid Applications Schedule"The banner means Apple changed the Paid Applications agreement and the Account Holder must accept it in App Store Connect (Business, or Agreements, Ta...Message or errorApp Store Connect error 409 ("not in valid state")A 409 Conflict from the App Store Connect API means the thing you are changing is locked by its state: an item inside an open review submission, or a ...Message or errorApp Store Connect: Resubmit greyed out until "Update Review"After App Review rejects a version, the Resubmit button stays disabled until you open the version page and click Update Review, then Continue. That re...Message or errorCan the App Store Connect API create an app? (No: 403)No. The App Store Connect API can read and update apps, versions, metadata, builds, in-app purchases and submissions, but creating the app record itse...Message or errorApp Store Connect offer codes: the limits we hitOffer codes give free or discounted access to a subscription or in-app purchase. Two limits caught us in the API: a one-time-use batch rejected 100,00...Message or errorApp Review Board appeal: what we filed and what came backYou appeal a rejection through Apple's App Review appeal form (Contact Us, App Review, appeal). The form takes at most 5 apps and 2,000 characters per...
How long each round takes
Monthly numbers from the same emails: App Store review times. The long version with charts: 64 real decisions, median 73 hours. The spam saga: Apple's 4.3 check is a 30-second batch job.
Sources
- Apple App Review Guidelines: developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ (read Oct 24, 2026)
- Apple: App Review: developer.apple.com/distribute/app-review/
- Every decision as CSV: tensorust.com/reports/app-store-review-times/2026-10/decisions.csv
Up next
The one that cost us the mostGuideline 4.3: Spam22 rejections on 11 apps, each batch decided in 30 seconds, and what to do instead.Read it next →