App Review Guideline · first-hand cases · checked Oct 24, 2026

Guideline 2.1: App Completeness (and "Information Needed")

Short answerGuideline 2.1 covers apps that crash, have placeholder content, or that the reviewer cannot fully test. On a new developer account it usually arrives as "2.1 Information Needed": a list of questions plus a request for a screen recording. We got it on 12 submissions across 10 apps, median 23 hours after submitting. A reply with a device recording and review notes written like a test script got Chain, Quiver and Ironbook approved 51 to 67 hours later.

12times our account hit it

10apps affected

23 hmedian wait, submit to decision

59 hmedian wait for the approval after the fix

“If you offer in-app purchases in your app, make sure they are complete, up-to-date, visible to the reviewer and functional.” Guideline 2.1(b)

What it means

2.1(a) asks for final builds: working URLs, a demo account if there is a login, no placeholder text, tested on a device. 2.1(b) asks that every in-app purchase be visible and working for the reviewer, or explained in the review notes. "Information Needed" is the same guideline used as a question: the reviewer stops and asks before deciding.

The typical questions we got: send a screen recording of the app running on a physical device, explain the main features and where the paid items are, say whether there is a login, and list any external services or data collection.

What happened to us

Every new app on our account was returned on its first submission: ten of the first-round emails were 2.1 Information Needed (the other 11 were the 4.3 batch). Clear the Strait, a tap game, also got a 2.1 question on an update: how does a round end? We answered with the full rules (how timing is graded, the escape meter, and a 150-second hard stop so no round runs forever) and it was approved 8.5 days later.

Every case on our account (16)

App	Type	Submitted	Decided	Wait	Outcome	What happened
Clear the Strait	New app	Sep 10, 2026	Sep 11, 2026	15.7 h	Not approved	New account, first submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Glyphstorm	New app	Sep 10, 2026	Sep 11, 2026	18.7 h	Not approved	New account, first submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Glyphstorm	New app	Sep 13, 2026	Sep 16, 2026	56.2 h	Not approved	Second round, still not approved
Pocket Beings	New app	Sep 16, 2026	Sep 16, 2026	3.1 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 questions, back in 3.1 hours
Baseline Ledger	New app	Sep 18, 2026	Sep 19, 2026	13.1 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Fairway Ledger	New app	Sep 18, 2026	Sep 19, 2026	13.1 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Minder	New app	Sep 18, 2026	Sep 19, 2026	12.8 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Chain	New app	Sep 20, 2026	Sep 22, 2026	27.9 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Quiver	New app	Sep 20, 2026	Sep 22, 2026	27.8 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Race Fuel	New app	Sep 20, 2026	Sep 22, 2026	27.8 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Ironbook	New app	Sep 20, 2026	Sep 22, 2026	27.9 h	Not approved	First submission: 2.1 Information Needed
Quiver	New app	Sep 22, 2026	Sep 24, 2026	51.2 h	Approved	Approved after a reply plus a screen recording
Ironbook	New app	Sep 22, 2026	Sep 24, 2026	51.2 h	Approved	Approved after a reply plus a screen recording
Chain	New app	Sep 22, 2026	Sep 25, 2026	67.4 h	Approved	Approved after a reply plus a screen recording
Clear the Strait	Update	Sep 26, 2026	Sep 29, 2026	67.0 h	Not approved	Update: reviewer asked how a round ends; we replied with the full game rules
Clear the Strait	Update	Sep 29, 2026	Oct 8, 2026	203.6 h	Approved	Approved after the written rules, 8.5 days later

Wait = from the "Submitted" time in the Apple email to the decision email. Source: our App Review decision emails.

What worked

A screen recording on the first submission. Our CI records a walkthrough video for every app (a debug build launched with a demo flag), so the reviewer has nothing to ask.
Review notes like a test script. Each repo now has a Store/review-notes.md pushed into App Store Connect: login or "no login", where every paid screen is, how to trigger edge cases ("add a habit, tick the two days before yesterday, relaunch"), and what data is collected.
One concrete fix at a time. After a 2.1 reply, approvals came in 51 to 74 hours.

If you got Guideline 2.1: do this

Attach a screen recording on a real device to the first submission.
Fill App Review Information: sign-in required (demo account or "no login"), contact, and notes that walk through every paid feature.
Explain any in-app purchase the reviewer cannot reach in one tap.
Check every URL in the metadata loads (privacy policy, support, terms).
Reply in App Store Connect; you do not need a new build unless the reviewer found a bug.

Questions

Is 2.1 Information Needed a rejection?

It counts as "not approved" and stops the clock, but it is a question. Answer it in App Store Connect and the same build can be approved.

How fast does 2.1 Information Needed come back?

Ours came back in a median of 23 hours. Fast replies from App Review on a new app usually mean a question, not an approval.

Sources

Apple App Review Guidelines, 2.1: developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#2.1 (read Oct 24, 2026)
64 decisions, timed: tensorust.com/articles/app-store-review-time/
Our decision data (every App Review email, CSV): tensorust.com/reports/app-store-review-times/2026-10/decisions.csv (through Oct 23, 2026)

Need the whole pipeline (signing, screenshots, review notes, fastlane submission from Windows)? Fixed-price iPhone app builds.

Up next

Often comes with this oneGuideline 4.3: SpamThe next rule our apps ran into, with the cases and the fix.Read it next →

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