Every application store has certain criteria on the basis of which they approve or reject apps that want to be listed on their app store. Apple is known to employ slightly more stringent norms as compared to its other counterparts as far as approving apps is concerned. As of January 2016, a total of 69,973 apps were submitted to the Apple App Store with an average of 2,413 apps per day. Before you develop your app, it’s important to become familiar with the technical, content, and design criteria that is required by Apple as part of the review process of all apps. Here are the top 10 most common issues that cause apps to get rejected to help you better prepare your apps before submitting them for review.

1. 10 Reasons Why Apple Rejects
Apps From The App Store

2. Contents
Introduction........................................................................1
An overview of reasons why Apple rejects apps...........2
Reason #1: Insufficient information provided.............4
Reason #2: Presence of bugs and crashes..................5
Reason #3: Substandard user interface.......................6
Reason #4: Non-relevant content.................................7
Reason #5: Inappropriate naming of the App............8
Reason #6: Non-compliant legal requirements..........9
Reason #7: Unauthorised mention of competitors....10
Reason #8: Non-compliant to privacy policies..........11
Reason #9: Inappropriate rating of the app..............12
Reason #10: Violation of Intellectual Property Rights. 14
Conclusion

3. INTRODUCTION
1
Every application store has certain criteria on the basis
of which they approve or reject apps that want to be
listed on their app store. Apple is known to employ
slightly more stringent norms as compared to its other
counterparts as far as approving apps is concerned.
Before you develop your app, it’s important to become
familiar with the technical, content, and design criteria
that is required by Apple as part of the review process
of all apps. In this ebook we’ve highlighted 10 most
common issues that cause apps to get rejected to help
you better prepare your apps before submitting them
for review.
Enterprise Grade Mobile Security

4. 2Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
16%
12%
6%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
44%
AN OVERVIEW OF REASONS WHY APPLE REJECTS APPS
Total Percent of App Rejections
56%
Top 10 Reasons
44%
Other Reasons (<3% each)

5. 3Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
More information needed
Guideline 2.2: Apps that exhibit bugs will be rejected
Guideline 10.6: Apple and our customers place a high value on
simple, refined, creative, well thought through interfaces. They
take more work but are worth it. Apple sets a high bar. If your user
interface is complex or less than very good, it may be rejected
Guideline 3.3: Apps with names, descriptions, screenshots, or
previews not relevant to the content and functionality of the App
will be rejected
Guideline 2.1: Apps that crash will be rejected
Guideline 3.4: App names in iTunes Connect and as displayed on a
device should be similar, so as not to cause confusion
Guideline 22.2: Apps that contain false, fraudulent or misleading
representations or use names or icons similar to other Apps will be
rejected
Guideline 3.1: Apps or metadata that mentions the name of any
other mobile platform will be rejected
Guideline 17.2: Apps that require users to share personal
information, such as email address and date of birth, in order to
function will be rejected
Guideline 3.8: Developers are responsible for assigning appropriate
ratings to their Apps. Inappropriate ratings may be changed/deleted
by Apple
16%
12%
6%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%

6. 4Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#1:
INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION PROVIDED
According to Apple, 16% of all App Store rejections are
for “more information needed.” Apple requires developers
to be able to fully explain their apps or fill in missing bits
of information and context. For instance, if a feature
requires a sign-in registration, provide Apple with valid
demo registration credentials so the reviewer can see what
is behind the sign-in page. Other items under the
list include providing up-to-date contact information.
This reason is highly ambiguous and the best way to resolve
this is to provide as much information as possible when you
submit your application to iTunes.
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?

7. 5Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#2:
PRESENCE OF BUGS AND CRASHES
12% of the apps are rejected by Apple because they crash
and have bugs. You should submit your app for review only
when it is complete and ready to be published. Apple
suggests that developers should make sure to thoroughly
test the app on devices and fix all bugs before submitting.
This reason of rejection is classified under the Section 2.2 of
Apple Developer Guidelines that stats - “Apps that exhibit
bugs will be rejected.”
It is obvious that Apple will directly reject your application if it
crashes during testing. Hence, you should test your app
thoroughly before you submit it. While you test it, ensure you
test it across multiple devices, different OS versions and also
under varying network conditions. You could probably write
unit test code for your regression testing.
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?

8. 6Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#3:
SUBSTANDARD USER INTERFACE
Guideline 10.6 of Apple Developer Guidelines outlines that
Apple and its customers place a high value on simple,
refined, creative, well thought through interfaces. They take
more work but are worth it. Apple sets a high bar. If your
user interface is complex or less than very good, it may be
rejected. Apps that look similar to Apps bundled on iOS
or Watch OS devices, including the App Store, iTunes Store,
and iBooks Store, will be rejected.
Another thing to note here is that apps that alter the
functions of standard switches, such as the Volume
Up/Down and Ring/Silent switches, will be rejected.
Apps must comply with all terms and conditions explained in
the applicable Apple Human Interface Guidelines:
- iOS Human Interface Guidelines
- OS X Human Interface Guidelines
- Apple TV Human Interface Guidelines
- Apple Watch Human Interface Guidelines
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?

9. 7Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#4:
NON-RELEVANT CONTENT
4% of the apps submitted to Apple are rejected because
they do not have relevance when compared to the
content or functionality offered. Guideline 3.3 of the
Apple Developer Guidelines states that apps with names,
descriptions, screenshots, or previews not relevant to the
content and functionality of the App will be rejected.
These also include functionality based issues like - Apps
that recommend that users restart their iOS device prior to
installation or launch may be rejected.
Make sure you use relevant and licensed content when you
describe or explain your app in detail. This includes
screenshots, music, etc. that go in the description and
explanation.
Make sure all URLs, such as support and privacy policy URLs,
submitted are fully functional.
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?

10. 8Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#5:
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?
INAPPROPRIATE NAMING OF THE APP
While uploading your App on the App Store be extra
cautious in naming the app. Ensure that the name of the
app while uploading on iTunes Connect is same as that on
the end user side.
The app name listed in the App Store should be same as
the app name when it gets installed in the device. It avoids
any confusion to the users in identifying the app.
Guideline 3.4 of the Apple Developer Guidelines
mentions that “app names in iTunes Connect and as
displayed on a device should be similar, so as not to cause
confusion”. 4% of the apps get rejected due to
inappropriate naming of the app.
IMPROPER
NAMING
OF APP

11. 9Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#6:
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?
NON-COMPLIANT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
Take a closer look at the App Store and official Apple apps
like iTunes and make sure your designs are different and
unique from the entire Apple family to be a part of the family.
Apple requires apps to be unique with their names, icons or
interface and discourages imitation of any other apps.
Guideline 22.2 of the Apple Developer Guidelines states
that “apps that contain false, fraudulent or misleading
representations or use names or icons similar to other Apps
will be rejected.” 5% of the apps that seek permission are
dismissed because they appear confusingly similar to an
existing Apple product.

12. 10Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#7:
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?
UNAUTHORISED MENTION OF COMPETITORS
Remove all the instances of any of the Apple’s direct
competition. It’s that simple.
Any reference to a rival platform will be rejected by Apple.
For example, if you use terms like Samsung, Lenovo etc. it
would reject your app. Apple is very particular about this
point to the extent that even if you simply upload a
screenshot showing an Android device, it would banish your
app. Here’s the exact Guideline 3.1, “Apps or metadata that
mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be
rejected.”

13. 11Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#8:
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?
NON-COMPLIANT TO PRIVACY POLICIES
App developers should enumerate the reason why is it
important for them to seek personal information from users
and how will it be helpful in providing their service. All these
details should be distinctly mentioned in the app privacy
policy so that users know how their personal information is
being used before they give away their details.
Apps cannot transmit data about a user without obtaining
the user's prior permission and providing the user with
access to information about how and where the data will be
used.
Apps that include account registration or access a user’s
existing account must include a privacy policy or they will be
rejected.

14. 12Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#9:
INAPPROPRIATE RATING OF THE APP
Apple requires you to rate your own app genuinely against
some pre-defined parameters (based on the domain your
app falls into). As per the Guideline 3.8 of the Apple
Developer Guidelines, “the Developers are responsible for
assigning appropriate ratings to their Apps. Inappropriate
ratings may be changed/deleted by Apple.” In an instance, a
game developer had to fill out the following form for the
rating of his app:
App Rating Detail form for gaming apps

15. 13Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?
Try to be as realistic as possible while rating your app on the
pre-defined parameters. For a double check, you can revise
your ratings in iTunes Connect, Manage Your Applications.
View the details of the appropriate app, then edit the Version
Information to access the Ratings tab and select the settings.
If your iTunes Connect Application State is Rejected, a new
binary will be required. Make the desired metadata changes
when you upload the new binary.
If your iTunes Connect Application State is Metadata
Rejected, we do NOT require a new binary.
In iTunes Connect > Manage Your Applications, select your
app and click View Details.
- Click Edit in the Metadata section
- Revise the desired metadata values
- Click "Save" at the bottom of the screen
- Once you click Save, you will see the "Submit NewMetadata"
button in the top right. Click "Submit New Metadata"
The app got rejected in the App Store and the reason was
cited as, “We found that the rating you selected for your app
was not consistent with the content of your app, as required
by the App Store Review Guidelines. Since your app includes
content or features that pertain to guns or gun-related
activities, your ratings must reflect a "Frequent/Intense"
setting for "Realistic Violence" in iTunes Connect.”

16. 14Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
Reason
#10:
VIOLATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Guideline 8 of the Apple Developer Guidelines outlines the
Content and Intellectual Property Rights accepted by Apple
to get accepted in the App Store.
- Apps that suggest or infer that Apple is a source or
supplier of the App, or that Apple endorses any particular
representation regarding quality or functionality will be
rejected.
- Apps that appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple
product, interface, or advertising theme will be rejected.
- Apps that misspell Apple product names in their App name
(i.e., GPS for Iphone, iTunz) will be rejected.
- Apps that include the ability to download music or video
content from third party sources (e.g. YouTube,
SoundCloud, Vimeo, etc) without explicit authorization
from those sources will be rejected.

17. 15Enterprise Grade Mobile Security
HOW TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?
We hope reading this ebook has inspired you to develop
and launch flawless apps that would be readily accepted
by the App Store. Being unique in your approach and
adhering to these essential guidelines is all that you
have to do to get your apps listed in the
iOS App Store.
These are some of the minor things that can be taken care
of with a little more attention to detail. Keep your designs
and interface unique, do not misspell Apple product names
in your App name, avoid giving permissions to users to
download music or video content from 3rd party apps.
That’s all folks! Here you go with the 10 Reasons Why
Apple Rejects Apps From The App Store.
Thanks for reading!

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