I recently got a phone call from Apple saying they would reject our app since there's a problem with the metadata. I asked whether there's a problem with the app itself and she said she doesn't know because she's not part of the review team. She said it should be ok.
So I changed my metadata and resubmit the app, and the status now is in review. According to itunesconnect programmer guide, they will reuse the binary. Does that mean the binary is good? Is it possible that they will take a look at the app again and reject me for some reasons other than they specified in the resolution centre?
I know this is a question that probably only apple can answer, but this is our first app so i don't really know how it works. I asked apple but they didn't tell me anything.
You do not need to upload new binary. They will review it again and approve it (or reject for other reason). It took only few hours in my case. But you can't be sure the binary has already been checked. Maybe they only did the metadata so far and will check the binary after your metadata correction. Anyway, no need to upload anything now.
Usually reviewers stop their review process as soon as they find an issue. This means that the metadata rejection can be the first of a longer list (hopefully no!) or that they reviewed your whole app and found the only issue at metadata level only: in such case fixing your metadata should be enough.
Recently I saw one of my apps rejected due to a mistake in adding an In App Purchase (basically the app was referring to an IAP still not in iTunes). After fixing it (no binary change, just adding the "in app") they found an issue in the app this time and then the binary was submitted. It would have been quite easier for me to know of the two issues together and fix them once, instead the triple-trip delayed my final app submission by 10 extra days (consider 5 days between two consecutive reviews)
From my experience, it doesn't always mean the binary is good. They may have very well reached the point of checking metadata and found an issue without testing the binary itself. Expect the Unexpected with Apple.
This is due to metadata information, no need to upload new binary. They will review it again and approve it (or reject for other reason). In my case, I was using location in background mode but in my Application description did not include the required "battery use" disclaimer, I changed the meta data (Application description only) according to apple message. It took only few hours (hardly 4 hours) and application was live. I was socked :) because some people was saying, It will take upto 7 days(as apple normal process).
Following was reason for app reject in my case(Below was the mail, I received from Apple)
From Apple
* 2.16 - Multitasking Apps may only use background services for their
intended purposes: VoIP, audio playback, location, task completion,
local notifications, etc.
2.16 Details
Your app uses the Location Background mode but does not include the
required "battery use" disclaimer in your Application Description.
Next Steps
Please add the following disclaimer to your Application Description:
"Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically
decrease battery life."
Please see the app store screenshot for confirm.
In my experience, they reject the app as soon as they find a reason and they won't review it any further until next submission. So if the metadata is rejected it does not mean that they have approved the binary.
Related
I got rejected by the apple review team. The reason was:
2.3 - Apps that do not perform as advertised by the developer will be rejected
We were unable to locate some of the features described in your marketing >materials or release notes. Specifically, your app informs the user to allow >background location, however, there is no setting within your app.
If I go to the device settings and find my apps settings, I see the following:
I've got the following background modes in my plist file:
Apple sends me this screenshot along with the review:
Also if someone could be helpful with telling me the best way to get in touch with Apple. I've tried writing comments to the rejection in the Resolution Center, but I don't hear back.
We cannot tell you why Apple may have rejected your app; we can only guess (at best).
Apple's testers do not always see the same things that you see, as you've submitted an app for production, whereas you're testing it in a development environment. This is why it's important to do Ad-Hoc and/or TestFlight beta testing.
You have to be sure that your app (and all of its functionality) works not only for you in a development environment, but also for others in a sample production environment (ideally on a wide range of devices).
The only way to know what the testers saw is to ask for clarification from them via the Resolution Center, which you say you have already done. The best thing to do is to wait, but if you don't get a response in a reasonable amount of time (say, a week or two), you may want to contact the team.
If you truly believe that this rejection was in error, you can appeal it.
I have an app in the App Store with a number of different soundboards. I release updates every once in a while with new content. Some content however is forbidden by Apple (foul language) resulting in updates being rejected. To make updating faster and easier, I'm building an update which automatically downloads new content from a server. So my question is; what will happen when content in an update is found inappropriate by Apple? Will my app be removed from the App Store? Will they ban my developer account? Will they even find out? The app is in Dutch and therefore it's quite hard te determine what is permissible by App Store policy and what is not. I had some explicit content accepted in updates, while other seemingly less explicit content got rejected.
Your app is never reviewed by the same person and so much depends on the reviewer. There is a Dutch review team so regarding not noticing due to language, I wouldn't rely on it.
Now I have released apps that breach API terms with youtube and the apps existed on the appstore for a long time. Once it was brought to Apple's attention, they removed the app but did not suspend my developer account (I imagine that you have to break policy repeatedly for this and do something much worse than simply having foul language in your app). In my opinion, If Apple notices that your app has foul language on it, they will simply remove it from sale and ask you to submit an update which addresses the issue as they did in my case.
Currently an update to my iPhone application has been in review for over 10 days!!!
In that period of time I've been able to work out a few bugs and even add some small new features to my application. I know that it is possible to reject your binary, but I would rather go a head a publish my application then send apple a better version 1.1.1...
So basically my question would be if I rejected my apps binary and submitted one right after would my app get pushed to the bottom of the review pile or would I keep my spot in line (since I've already been waiting for 10 days)?
No, rejecting a binary and immediately resubmitting a new one will not maintain your place in line: you would be knocked back to the start of the queue. I base this on my own experience, having rejected and resubmitted binaries a few times in the past.
Now, you might be thinking: "OK, what about the expedited review process?"
I can share some experience with that: With my latest app, I was in the same position you were in but I decided to go ahead and release 1.0 and then submit 1.0.1 soon afterwards. When 1.0 was approved and released, Apple chose it for the "New & Noteworthy" section. All of a sudden the app was getting a lot of exposure—and complaints about a bug that I had fixed in 1.0.1. I submitted 1.0.1—and as well as a request for expedited review—which was approved. 1.0.1 was released about 24 hours later.
So, you'll have to weigh the pros and cons for your own app, but I hope this info helps. :)
Yes it would, rejecting and resubmitting the binary will place you at the bottom of the review queue. It's unfortunate, but there is no work around.
If Apple allowed that then many devs would start uploading their beta version while trying to fix those last few bugs.
I had the same issue. I had submitted my app and it was in review. I was asked to change some metadata and resubmit the app. While doing that, I discovered a UI issue and fixed it. I was in a dilemma as to keep the current binary and release a version 1.01 or upload the new version. I did not want to send my first app with an issue so, I went ahead and rejected the binary and uploaded the new one. I immediately contacted Apple developer technical support. They claim that "The review time will not be affected and that our internal systems do have process your build before it can be reviewed (verifying it’s general correctness and resigning your app for the store), which can add some delay. However, that delay is fairly small and is only a minor factor in review time. More to that point, any delay here is much smaller than the delay of a new submission." I hope that is true and hope my app is not stuck in the "waiting for review or in review" limbo :(.
My application is in the Apple App Store but when downloaded it crashes after the splash screen.
I thought the week long approval process was to ensure the quality of the app.
Version 1.0 of my app does run but I hear there is no way to roll it back. For now I have changed the availability date to the future so that people do not download it. When will it be taken out of the search results?
Thanks.
The approval process is not for QA testing. (Of course, they will reject an app if it crashes while testing they are other for things, such as violation of various SDK rules, HIG guidelines, etc.) A developer has to test and QA your apps themselves on the OS versions and the iOS device types for which they submit the app as appropriate for, and under stress conditions as well. A developer also needs to make very certain that the build they submit is identical (except for certificate signing) to the builds they have tested. (It is a common mistake to have different Build Settings or source files selected between the Release and Distribution builds.)
Check to see if a bad preference setting is the culprit.
Or if it worked only for you, then it may be the lack of a preference setting. You may have created a good preference before the bug was introduced.
Was taken out of search results by the end of the day.
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Can anybody help me out to know the possible reasons for which Apple store can reject or raise objection to submit any iPhone application.
Here are possible reasons (unofficial, from here):
Vibration. It is not permitted to use continuous vibration in your apps - short bursts as warnings is all that is allowed. Don’t bother trying to set up a timer to keep the vibration going, it will cause your app to be rejected.
Linking to private frameworks. This is obvious, but somehow in playing around with stuff we had linked to the MoviePlayer.framework. That’s a no-no, and cost us about ten days while we unlinked that framework, recompiled, and then resubmitted.
Improper handling of editing in tableview cells. Also obvious, but be aware that if you enable table cell editing, you’ll have to manually specify which cells should respond to editing controls and which should not. We had some random prefs cells in one of our early apps that were able to be swiped to bring up a ‘delete’ badge. Of course it didn’t do anything, but Apple justly considered this poor design and rejected our app.
Icons. Make sure the 57 pixel icon is identical to the 512 pixel version. Also, use a different icon if you are creating ‘lite’ and ‘pro’ versions of your app (i.e., free and paid). Using the same icon for both sends your app straight to … you guessed it … the bin.
Copying existing functionality. This one is much more subtle and insidious, and has probably affected the great percentage of developers. In addition to the widely publicized Podcaster debacle, reports from user comments indicate that Apple is casting a wide net when looking for duplicated functionality. Mini web browsers, or apps that essentially show web pages, seem particularly vulnerable, even if they add new and/or useful functionality. Stay away from email clients as well.
Using appropriate keyboard type. If your app asks for a phone number or other numeral-only input and you present a keyboard that also includes the possibility of entering standard alpha-numeric input … yep. (Thanks Jeremy1026)
Version numbers. If your app is currently at version 0.99 or below, you’d better consider giving it a promotion as Apple seems to prefer 1.0 and above. One of ours was recently rejected for being .016, with a message suggesting that our version number wasn’t even numeric. When we resubmitted the same app from scratch as version 1.0, it went through.
Network Reachability. If your app requires any type of network access you need to make sure it works when that access isn't available. If it doesn't it will be rejected. Apple provides sample code to test this which you can use as-is in most cases: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/samplecode/Reachability/Introduction/Intro.html
And last, but not least:
Flatulence Don’t even try. ;-) UPDATE: sorry, this seems to be outdated by now. Apple makes a lot of money now with "fart apps": see this article.
Edit:
Here is a link to a recent article about ten iPhone Apps That Didn't Make Apple's App Store.
And a tip: Apple has a Mac app called Application Loader that you could install. Once you install it, it analyzes your app's zip file. It verifies all the certificates, icons, and other things are correct before submitting to Apple. Using the Application Loader minimizes your chances of app rejection.
Another interesting resource: App Store Roundtable: Transparency and the Approval System (appleblog.com)
Yet another edit:
New rules by February 2010: "No Swimsuits, No Skin, And No Innuendo" (source: TechCrunch article, Wobble author's blog)
By the way: during the iPhone 3.0 preview event (march 2009), an Apple spokesman told that 96% of all submitted application were approved.
Apple have now (as of 9th September 2010) published their official list of app store review guidelines:
appstore approval guidelines
(apple developer login required)
or a mirror here:
app store guidelines
Will apple want to create an app like that in the future? If (yes) reject.
Do you have a really awesome idea that apple may want to use in the future if(yes) reject
Here's the video of the SDK announcement that describes Apple published list of rejection criteria:
SDK Announcement
As others have noted, Apple also seem to have a bunch of other conditions that they don't publicise. Note that rejection notices are now covered by the NDA.
I can't confirm this but it makes sense, but people are reporting their apps being rejected for being too simple or too trivial.
Just got a bounce for handling network outages badly. If you connect to the network, be prepared to handle any error conditions that may come up.
My paid version of app was rejected by appstore.
After Purchasing and downloading app first screen was "User Agreement" and when user taps on " I agree" only then he is able to continue using app.
Apple described the reason of rejection "when user purchased app from appstore and download in phone then you must not restrict user to Agree with Agreement" instead display your agreement before downloading app in iTunes.
Amazingly, apps can get rejected for trying to keep their interface consistent with Apple's own apps. (ie, using pinch zoom/expand gestures)
There is a site I know which can help you generate great advertising ideas with iPhone. see this site:
http://itunes.apple.com/app/adpack/id359562015?mt=8
I submitted a paid app to app store but get rejected and i learned another possibility of app rejection
My app was Game Center enabled. When app starts first screen was login screen that prompt user to login through GameCenter to continue.
They rejected the app giving reason- As user will not be able to get services of your app unless he is not logged in with Game Center although he paid you to download app. You cannot restrict user to login through Game Center each time before app starts.
From 1st May,2013 onwards if we don't support iPhone 5, your app will be rejected.So iPhone 5 support is must.