I just create an App with "Facebook Audience Integration", Everything works fine, I have create my placement ID and I can see "test ads" and "real ads" (if I remove my test device).
But there is a problem, my app is still not in "review" I have this message on the header "Ads Only Visible to Admins and Developers [...]Once your app or site serves 5 ads, we'll check that it complies with our policies.."
Current state of my app
My app is live on the store since more than 10 days and my app is stil not in review, but I have more than 5 request on my app
Screenshot here
Maybe I missed something?a button to press or just tell me you are in the same situation (maybe).
Do you have an idea?
Thank you
Got the answer by the facebook team support :
Our review process has some big problems, and we're changing it this week. In the future, your apps should be automatically reviewed within 24 hours, as soon as they start sending any requests to our network. It should be very fast.
Related
I have an application with banking domain (UPI) the very first step or screen the user is presented with a button titled "SEND SMS" to login/register when user clicks on it, a SMS is send from the device using the MFMessageComposeViewController, and based on the mobile number the server respond with weather the user already exists or its a new registration.
Since this is obvious that a valid phone number is required to send SMS or use the application, I am unable to provide a demo account to them.
This is second release of the version, for the first release we have submitted the video of production application and it was live on Appstore, not only this app but I have submitted few other without a demo account but using a video, this time too I have submitted the video, still they ask for the demo account, I have tried to explain them whole process using telephone conversation but no luck. Also did asked them to use there own mobile number on their testing device but they refused to do so.
How can I move forward with this release?
I went through some similar question but didn't find any help.
Apple rejects app because test account not given (as App login via OTP only)
Is demo account mandatory for apple submission?
App meta data rejected , requires demo account.
Note: I don't have OTP functionality in my application, the only way to register is by sending the SMS.
In this annoying situation.
The fact is, generally you have to:
change your app, so that it does have a demo mode, which Apple can use.
It's a total pain in the ass but that's how it is.
Some points,
For example, you could have a "special" number (666-777-8888) which is entered. When that one is entered, the app unlocks and you can see how it works.
It is really bad luck when this happens. It's just one of the reviewers being an idiot. Sometimes if you just submit again it will sail through.
Note that you CAN IN FACT email them and explain the situation, they will give you special handling and they will "actually test it" with a phone number. However, of course this can take time, it takes a long time to get special handling. (Unless your app is already popular / well-known, then they will help you instantly. It's not fair but that's life.)
An important point is this: for the demo mode, note that you do not have to go overboard showing every feature. Apple's review process is a joke anyway. In 99.9% of cases they just glance at your app. If you do have to make an 'Apple demo mode', it's normal that the demo mode only has a few of your features. They are really just checking that it does not crash-upon-launch and that it generally works ok.
{Regarding the last point - indeed they only carefully review your app for policy problems etc once it is popular. This leads to the infuriating situation where controversial apps are approved at first, but then once they "actually look at it" they say you're not allowed to collect donations or use that payment model or whatever the case may be.}
Regarding having a "special demo" mode. It's a nuisance but sometimes you have to do this:
Have a URL like "yourCompany.com/DemoCheck.txt".
When the app launches, see if that exists.
If it does, allow "pain in the ass Apple demo mode"
Now, after apple approves it, in fact remove the URL from your web server, so your app now knows to run in normal consumer mode.
(Note that if you are using any sort of backend, which you probably are, you can do the same thing just using your back end. So just have a value in Firebase or whatever that indicates "Apple demo mode". Once the app goes to production, turn it off.)
Once again, if you're truly doing something important like "a banking app" you, obviously can't have a security hole like an idiotic "apple test version". In that case you can actually contact them and carefully explain the situation and they will, in fact, test it "properly" using a phone etc. But that takes a really long time and is just not practical - consider, you'd have to do that every single time. In practice you need a "apple demo mode".
So I released my first game on the Apple App Store a couple of weeks ago. I've been keeping track on user ratings and review in iTunes Connect from the 'My Apps' -> 'Activity' --> 'Ratings and Reviews'. It has been working as it should since the release, up until yesterday. I can't choose the app store country or see any ratings or reviews. It says: No Ratings and Reviews Data. Is anyone getting this right now, or is this normal from time to time maybe? I haven't changed any settings or such. So that shouldn't be it.
So this is what it looks like on iTunes Connect.
So any help would be appreciated. Or tips. Hints. Anything. I know I can use platforms like Sensor Tower, but still, I like checking it out on iTunes Connect.
All the best,
/Sebastian
It's not you. When they changed the design of that part of iTunes connect a while ago, the ratings and reviews page stopped loading for at least one of my apps (rotating circle nothing else), then, about 2 weeks ago it started loading but it would show empty/broken like the image you posted. Then, a week ago the other apps that had been showing reviews up to that point started coming up the same way. I have sent a customer support message with a screenshot, but I haven't heard back from Apple.
I've had more problems since the last redesign, like long (or sometimes seemingly infinite) redirection loops when trying to login after I am logged-out (interestingly it mostly affects Safari), but the ratings/reviews issue that seems to get worse (spreading to more apps) is definitely the most severe issue.
I have been reading The Business of iPhone and iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed (http://www.amazon.com/Business-iPhone-iPad-Development-ebook/dp/B004TMNSJK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340317546&sr=8-2&keywords=marketing+iphone+apps). The book is a little old (about a year at this point, which is a long time considering how long the app store has been around).
The book claims the Apple's iPhone development guidelines/rules state that an app must be fully functional. The book says that because of this rule, a "free" or "lite" version of an app cannot display buttons that appear to be functional but, when clicked on, prompt the user to purchase the full version of the app. For example, imagine a GPS app that has a button labeled "Give me turn-by-turn directions as I drive". If you click on the button, it just pops up a dialogue that says "Buy the full version to unlock this feature". According to this book, that app would be rejected by the Apple review team.
I have an app that allows users to download extra content with an in-app purchase. I would like to display the content as "grayed out". If the user clicks on the locked content, I want to display a popup that tells them how they can get the additional content. According to the book, this behavior will be rejected.
However, since this design is so important to my app, I've spent some time reading through all of the iPhone app guidelines, including the In-App Purchases guidelines, and I have found NOTHING that leads me to the conclusion that this sort of behavior is not allowed.
Since the app review process is currently sitting at about a week, I don't want to lose a full week of app purchases because of a rejection for this. Has anyone ever heard of this rule, and if so, can you please point me to it?
Thank you.
I had a "Free" or "Lite" app recently submitted (and accepted) to the App Store, where some UITextFields were greyed out and when touched, a UIAlertView was displayed . I don't know if this would be acceptable with buttons but it seems like more or less the same thing.
I think the book is probably right. Please check this link or read below.
The two most common reasons for application rejection are issues with core functionality and crashing. Core functionality encompasses the belief that customers rightfully expect all the features described in the marketing text and release notes to work as described, and likewise that all the buttons and menu items within the application will be fully functional (i.e., no grayed out buttons or notifications that a feature will be implemented later). Before you submit your app for approval, make sure that every aspect of your application is fully functional and that the marketing text and release notes correspond to the end user experience.
My company is working on a dynamic mobile app that updates the look and appearance based on webcalls and we would like to be able to test that it would be able to get into the store okay. For the time being we have used the code to create an interal company app where the initial screen is a logon screen where the users log in with their company usernames and passwords. There are only about 20 people in the company that will be using this app for the beta release and the app logon is only available to members of the company.
We want to have this test release to first ensure that the app gets into the appstore and secondly to get a feel for the app review process. Would this type of app be allowed into the store? Or due to its limited user group, would they reject it? Also would apple need to be given a test username/pass to login to the company website itself to check how the app runs?
Any information regarding this issue would be very helpful!!
From the App Store Review Guidelines (developer account required):
If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or
you're trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress
your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of
serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded
by amateur hour.
and
2.9 Apps that are "beta", "demo", "trial", or "test" versions will be rejected
Finally, yes, you are required to provide a "demo account" if a login is required to use the entirety of your application.
Regarding your small user base, your application may not be accepted if it will only be used by 20 or so people (as stated in the comments). The iOS Enterprise Program is intended for in-house distribution (a small and limited user base).
2.22 Apps that arbitrarily restrict which users may use the app ... may be rejected
I have worked for a company that did release apps that were secured by a login screen. All you need to do to get it into the app store is provide Apple with a proper login so that they may test the functionality of the app themselves. When updating the metadata for your app in iTunes Connect, there is a section for testing notes, simply put your test username/password in there for apple to use.
One way they can reject an app is guideline 2.12: "We found that the features and/or content of your app were not useful or entertaining enough, or your app did not appeal to a broad enough audience, to be in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines." If you're concerned about whether or not your app can get to the store, then there is no real problem in just submitting it. Just don't call it a beta test version because they will reject it. If you want, you can always change the release date of the app to a future date once it passes, and then the app will still not be available to all until that future date is reached. And yes you should provide them with a user name
I have a website which offers (FREE) account based services. Iam working on a iphone app for the site. Can somebody help me with these questions?
1) Registration: In my case, the app is meaningless without an account/registration (all free). There is a lot of chatter in the internet that apps that do not offer a "registration-free" experience will be rejected. (example : http://readitlaterlist.com/blog/2010/08/version-2-2-rejected-new-rejection-reason-from-apple-may-have-major-implications/) Thoughts?
2) Email Verification: On my website, a user has to "Verify his email" before he can login.
Basically, can I do this one time only thing in my app: (a) ask email -> register (b) ask user to copy verification token in email & paste in the app (c) Hit verify & let them inside the app upon success. Is this alright?
3) Is it against Apple's rules if the iphone app only supports existing users(who already signed up via website & have a user name password)? This way I need not worry about 1 & 2 for now & still have a full fledged app.
Please note that I have read the guidelines but still cannot come to a conclusion.
I am aware that "will Apple reject my app" - is a question nobody can answer
All I am looking for is your opinion based on your prior experiance & your interpretation of guidelines. Thanks much.
UPDATE: To all users who land here: Apple approved my app few weeks ago. All I did is explain(in review notes) that my app is truly account based & would be meaningless without an email. On my home screen, I have 2 buttons, "I have an account" & "Create an account". There is no registration free experience other than a series of graphics focused on "what is " & indirectly emphasizes that it is an account based appln. Apple seem to be convinced & approved the app the first go. Hope it helps.
I made an app that sounds very similar to yours. I host some websites that are basically forums (they require registration). So my app is an app that allows the user (once they have logged in) to read, post, edit profile etc. Without logging in they get nothing, they see a login screen/Signup button. Which takes them to a form to sign up, it then sends out an email and they approve it via the link it then allows them to login. So as you pointed out No one can really tell you if your app will be rejected or by apple, but my app was very similar to yours and made it through just fine. Also think about a service like Spotify, gmail, or facebook. They require the user to login/register before the app works at all. I believe these rejections dont come from the fact that they are requiring users to login, but they are making it difficult for them to login in or they did not have a website that this was tied to, they just want the user to login to use the app. Its a very fine line, and again apple will be the judge of this in the end.
*Apple very well could have changed this since I submitted my app, but this is just my experience.
In general this sounds fine. The most important piece of advice I can give you is to make sure that you create an account for the reviewers to use - use the 'review notes' box to give them a login and password so they can type it straight into the app. You'll probably get rejected if you don't do this (reviewers dont' have time to check out your site, sign up, wait for the email, click .. etc).
EDIT: Also you should ensure there's a link to the registration page on the web from the front-page of your app (or at least somewhere very obvious).
If your submitted iOS app requires email verification from within the app for the app to function, this sounds it could very likely be a strong reason for a rejection by Apple (apps are not allowed to require personal identifying information.)
If your app requires a pre-existing login/password, and you give Apple a pre-existing fully functional working login for review purposes, what any user has to do to get this login outside and before running your app may be outside Apple's purview (for instance, joining some club or professional organization, opening a bank account, etc.).
But the only way to know for sure is to submit an app for review by Apple.
Our empirical knowledge is that we had submitted a fully featured app with more then one reasen to get rejected. One of them was, of course, that we enclose a way to get balnce in the app without using the IAP (https://developer.apple.com/in-app-purchase/) from apple. That thing was a killer. I think, because of this feature, the reviewers told us even more reasons to get rejected. One was the signup button in the login screen. After we disabled the topup and the signup feature, the review was fine and we're happy and online. Since that rejection, over a year ago, we had never tried to enable signup and upload it again. Now, we'll do that and I will report here what is happaning...
Update #Ravi Jul 31 at 16:18
It's like what I said! We're now online with a singup button at the start screen of the app. Apple does not disallow it. FYI