App Store review / Guidelines / 2.3.2
App Review Guideline · first-hand cases · checked Oct 24, 2026
Guideline 2.3.2: In-app purchases in metadata and promoted purchases
Short answerGuideline 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 fit for the public. In practice each promoted item must be distinguishable: we were rejected twice in one night because a monthly and a yearly subscription shared the same description (Chain) or near-identical promo images (Fairway Ledger). Unique copy and art for each item got Fairway approved 5.2 hours later.
“If you decide to promote in-app purchases on the App Store, ensure that the in-app purchase Display Name, Screenshot and Description are appropriate for a public audience.” Guideline 2.3.2
What it means
Promoted in-app purchases appear on your App Store page and in search as their own tiles. If two tiles look the same, a buyer cannot tell what they are buying, so the reviewer rejects the version. Limits we worked with: promoted display name 30 characters, description 45 characters, and a promo image per item.
What happened to us
On October 20 we submitted subscription updates for several apps. Chain 1.3 came back in 1.3 hours: its promoted monthly and yearly plans had different names but the same description. Fairway Ledger 1.2 came back in 2.5 hours: its Plus Monthly and Plus Yearly promo images were near-identical.
Every case on our account (3)
| App | Type | Submitted | Decided | Wait | Outcome | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain | Update | Oct 19, 2026 | Oct 20, 2026 | 1.3 h | Not approved | Promoted monthly and yearly subscriptions had the same description |
| Fairway Ledger | Update | Oct 19, 2026 | Oct 20, 2026 | 2.5 h | Not approved | Promoted Plus Monthly and Plus Yearly had near-identical promo images |
| Fairway Ledger | Update | Oct 20, 2026 | Oct 20, 2026 | 5.2 h | Approved | Approved 5.2 hours after new, distinct promo images |
Wait = from the "Submitted" time in the Apple email to the decision email. Source: our App Review decision emails.
What worked
- Rewrote each promoted item with its own name and a description that says the period and the benefit ("Every feature, billed yearly").
- Made each promo image visibly different (color and the period in large type).
- Trap: items inside an open submission are locked (App Store Connect returns HTTP 409), so we cancelled the submission, replaced the images, re-added the items and submitted again. See error 409.
If you got Guideline 2.3.2: do this
- Give every promoted item a unique display name and description.
- Make every promo image visibly different from the others.
- State in the description and screenshots which features need a purchase.
- If a submission is open, cancel it before editing items, then resubmit.
Related
- Guideline 2.3.7: Accurate Metadata: names, keywords, prices
- Guideline 3.1.2: Subscriptions
- App Store Connect error 409 ("not in valid state")
- App Store review times, monthly report
- Every guideline and message we hit
Sources
- Apple App Review Guidelines, 2.3.2: developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#2.3.2 (read Oct 24, 2026)
- Apple: Promoting your in-app purchases: developer.apple.com/app-store/promoting-in-app-purchases/
- 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 2.3.7: Accurate Metadata: names, keywords, pricesThe next rule our apps ran into, with the cases and the fix.Read it next →Did this answer your question?