App Store review / Guidelines / 1.4.1
App Review Guideline · first-hand cases · checked Oct 24, 2026
Guideline 1.4.1: Medical and health accuracy claims
Short answerGuideline 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: our endurance-race fueling app, Race Fuel, was rejected for giving carbohydrate, fluid and sodium targets without citations. The fix was a Sources screen with seven DOI-linked papers and a link under every number block.
“Apps must clearly disclose data and methodology to support accuracy claims relating to health measurements.” Guideline 1.4.1
What it means
Anything that tells a person how much to eat, drink or take, or what a body measurement means, is "health" for review purposes. Apple wants the method visible in the app, plus a reminder to check with a doctor before medical decisions.
What happened to us
Race Fuel was rejected on September 25, 67.6 hours after its second submission. We added Citations.swift with seven peer-reviewed sources (each DOI checked), a SOURCES link under every figure block, and a reply that listed which number came from which paper.
Every case on our account (1)
| App | Type | Submitted | Decided | Wait | Outcome | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Fuel | New app | Sep 22, 2026 | Sep 25, 2026 | 67.6 h | Not approved | Carb, fluid and sodium targets without citations |
Wait = from the "Submitted" time in the Apple email to the decision email. Source: our App Review decision emails.
What worked
- Citations inside the app, next to the numbers, not only in the reply.
- A plain "not medical advice, ask your doctor" line.
If you got Guideline 1.4.1: do this
- Link a source next to every health number the app shows.
- Prefer peer-reviewed papers with DOIs or official health bodies.
- Add a doctor reminder.
- Paste the source list into your reply so the reviewer does not have to hunt.
Related
- Guideline 2.5.1: Public APIs, used for their intended purpose (HealthKit)
- Guideline 5.1.1: Data Collection and Storage (privacy policy)
- Guideline 2.1: App Completeness (and "Information Needed")
- App Store review times, monthly report
- Every guideline and message we hit
Sources
- Apple App Review Guidelines, 1.4.1: developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#1.4.1 (read Oct 24, 2026)
- Our decision data (every App Review email, CSV): tensorust.com/reports/app-store-review-times/2026-10/decisions.csv (through Oct 23, 2026)
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Up next
Often comes with this oneGuideline 2.5.1: Public APIs, used for their intended purpose (HealthKit)The next rule our apps ran into, with the cases and the fix.Read it next →Did this answer your question?