I don't know where to answer these questions. I uploaded the answers in app review information note section but didn't work. What should I do?
The review message is attached below.
Guideline 2.1 - Information Needed
We’re looking forward to continuing our review, but we need a bit more information about your business model and your users to help find the best distribution option for your app. Our preliminary review of your app suggests that your app may be a good fit for our Apple Business Manager program, which is designed specifically for business apps.
Next Steps
Please review the following questions and provide as much detailed information as you can for each question.
Please describe which kinds of users you expect will use your app. Some common kinds of users are:
Users who are part of a single company (including its partners, employees and contractors)
A limited number of companies which are clients of the developer
The general public
Identify the specific countries or regions where you plan to distribute your app.
What features in the app are intended for use by general App Store users?
How do users obtain an account?
If there are any paid aspects of the app, such as for opening an account or using certain features in the app, please explain how users access the paid content.
Who pays for the paid content?
Since your App Store Connect status is Metadata Rejected, we do NOT require a new binary. To revise the metadata, visit App Store Connect to select your app and revise the desired metadata values. Once you’ve completed all changes, reply to this message in Resolution Center and we will continue the review.
You need to navigate to the app in Appstore Connect, click on "Version History" and then click on "Resolution Center". On that screen is a form where you can reply to the inquiry from Apple. It took me longer than expected to find it.
Related
My app was rejected by the appstore review board, and they are requesting some additional information:
Who is the target audience?
Is the app to be used by users within one single company?
Identify the countries or regions where you plan to distribute your app.
What features in the app are intended for use by general App Store users?
How do users obtain an account?
But the problem is that I've searched everywhere on appstore connect, but couldn't find anywhere to fill in the requested information.
Has anyone had to deal with this, your input would be greatly appreciated.
hope you are doing great!
I had a similar situation where the Apple review team asked me for some details about the app. Just provide them as detailed answers as possible and make sure to include some links to your app metadata like the website so that it is easy for them to review/verify your claims.
Apple rejected my app with an :
Guideline 2.1 - Information Needed
We have started the review of your app, but we are not able to continue because we need an expired demo account to fully assess the subscription feature.
Next Steps
To help us proceed with the review of your app, please provide us with a link to a demo account in the App Review Information section of App Store Connect and reply to this message in Resolution Center.
I really don’t understand what kind of demo account they want from me. There are no any login screens in the application. Active subscription needed to access pdf share function.
Should I give them a test sandbox account with which we tested the subscriptions or something else?
TL;DR
You have your premium feature (features that can be accessed only with your subscription) available for non subscripted users, so they are asking you for expired account to check what happens if they don't have subscription.
Long story
We had subscription which was giving access to training videos for our users inside app. Someday we realized that we want to make this feature free and did it through our backend without releasing the app. So, the next review we've got the same reject:
Guideline 2.1 - Information Needed
We have started the review of your app, but we are not able to
continue because we need an expired demo account to fully assess the
subscription feature.
Next Steps
To help us proceed with the review of your app, please provide us with
a link to a demo account in the App Review Information section of App
Store Connect and reply to this message in Resolution Center.
After struggling around we've revealed that the problem is that Apple App Review team couldn't test the case where a user DOESN'T have subscription and CAN'T access our premium online training videos. I guess they get confused and asked as to share with them an expired demo account, so they can test this case.
At the end of the day, we've removed our subscription properly from App Store Connect and got our app passed through review. Therefore, I think you have your premium feature (features that can be accessed only with your subscription) available for non subscripted users, so they are asking you for an expired account to check what happens if they don't have subscription.
I submitted a Real Estate App (Category: Business, secondary: Shopping)
My app include:
Sign up/Sign in to be a user.
Create product and post it to the server. (I use CloudKit)
Save products that user like.
Call to another (seller, requester ...), share to FaceBook (or Twitter ... - UIActivityController)
But Apple rejects it cause Minimum Functions:
"We noticed that your app’s main functionality is to market your
service, with limited or no user-facing interactive features or
functionality. Apps that are primarily marketing materials or
advertisements are not appropriate for the App Store. We encourage you
to review your app concept and incorporate different content and
features that are in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
We understand that there are no hard and fast rules to define useful
or entertaining, but Apple and Apple customers expect apps to provide
a really great user experience. Apps should provide valuable utility
or entertainment, draw people in by offering compelling capabilities
or content, or enable people to do something they couldn't do before
or in a way they couldn't do it before."
I read App Store Review Guidelines but I think that my App has the user experience, cause I free for everyone to post their topic to my app server. So anyone can access to their topic and call or share or email or send the message to each other.
But it's rejected.
What can I do now?
Login to your iTunes account. Where you are viewing the error or apple rejection message there is an option "Reply Submit an appeal to the App Review Board", after selecting that option you will have some more option, selects the one which you find suitable and contact the apple review team. Schedule a call with apple review team and you can explain them on call about you application functionality, if they find it OK they will approve else they will explain you lackings.
Your app provides a limited user experience as it is not sufficiently different from a mobile browsing experience. As such, the experience it provides is similar to the general experience of using Safari. Including iOS features such as push notifications, Core Location, and sharing do not provide a robust enough experience to be appropriate for the App Store.
We are an university department for further education courses and we are planning to publish our cd based courses as an additional iOS/Android App. As we have almost finished the development process we are now facing some questions regarding the distribution. The basic idea is to publish the app in a lite version for free (including chapter one of the course). After you have completed this chapter you will be asked to enter your login data. Our students will be able to enter thier data to activate (download missing content from our server) the app. If you are not an enrolled student there will be a link to our course page. On this page you can enroll for the courses and of course there is a charge for this.
But Apple only allows purchases via the App Store or as so called "in app buys".
Will we violate this rule with our idea?
I have found some newspaper apps with basically the same concept: download for free. If you have a print subscription for this newspaper you enter your data and can use the app. If not you can subscribe for the online offer via an in app buy.
After days of research we have no clear answer to this scenario.
Any comment appreciated.
There are two possible solution for your situation:
Without In-App Purchase: You can create an app which can have a eBook (in your case, dummy eBook with chapter 1 content) bundled with the App.
By doing this anyone who can download will have access to the dummy eBook as well.
For downloading of additional-contents user can do login and access the eBooks available with their account.
Kindly note as you are not using In-App purchase there shall be no links for user registration, buy inside your app.
All these you can handle at your web-site.
Your app can check for valid user credential using a web-service call, and user can see the contents available for download.
Advantages: 1) You shall not be paying 30 % to Apple as No-purchases are done using your app.
2) This is total compliance with Apple guidelines, this link and part 11 specially will be of interest.
Disadvantage: Users cannot directly buy/register via app and you need to maintain additional services for user login validation/content mapping/download content etc.
Using in-App Purchase:
You can use Apple provided in-App purchase for selling content/ registration of users etc.
Please note Apple shall charge 30 % on your selling price.
Advantages: Users can register and buy directly using your app. In-App purchase guidelines will help more in this.
Disadvantage: Apple will charge 30% on Selling price.
Given what you are trying to do, there really is no clear answer for your question that this community can provide, I'm afraid.
The true answer is entirely up to Apple's current app review policies. You should probably submit the app, explain clearly what you are doing, and if it gets rejected/denied, you can follow up with an appeal to the app review board.
As far as I know, physical items that are purchased are not subject to Apple's 30% cut. However, since you're offering courses / content over the 'net, Apple may want some percentage (between 0 & 30%) of the the profits you're making. Maybe they have a different arrangement with newspaper publishers. Ultimately, you'd need to submit the app and find out what the reviewers and app review board say.
We are a startup that provides cloud storage (www.zapdrive.com). Our iOS app was rejected, and the reason given was the clauses 11.12 of the App Store Review Guidelines, which specifically says:
"Apps offering subscriptions must do so using IAP, Apple will share the
same 70/30 revenue split with developers for these purchases, as set
forth in the Developer Program License Agreement."
Please note that we are not offering any subscription from within the App. We do not have any links or buttons in the App that take the user to any external website, whatsoever. It is a very basic app, that lets the users view their files stored in "ZapDrive". To see what the app looks like, you can see it in the Google Play Store
One thing that we see could be close to a violation of the above rule is, on the first page of the App (which is the login screen), we have a text that says:
"Don't have a ZapDrive Account? Go to www.zapdrive.com to sign up for a FREE account"
However, the above-mentioned line is just plain text, and does not "link" to the actuak website.
Also, the rejection notice says:
While your app maybe be intended to enhance the experience of your
existing subscribers, with the exception of the content specified in
Guideline 11.14, if the subscribed product is used within the app, the
subscription must be offered in the app using IAP.
Please not that we are not selling any content, or offering a subscription to any content. The users already own the content, and they copy it into their "ZapDrive". The app lets them view/stream the said content.
Although, Apple says that just because other apps are doing this, doesn't mean you can do it too. Still, a lot of other apps (DropBox, Google Drive, Box etc) offer subscriptions, but do not offer IAP.
Can someone please tell us, how are we violating the App Store Guidelines? And what can we do to make it compatible? Is it the text on the login screen that's causing this violation?
My guess is the link. Does the kindle app have a link in their app? Does Dropbox? I don't think so... Take out the link and resubmit and see what happens. Or you can ask apple for more details.
Your question is not a programming one; there's no better place to ask this than Apple themselves. All iTunesConnect rejections have a corresponding textbox you can communicate with them specifically about that rejection ticket.