Free tool
App Store rejection decoder
Paste the message from App Review. For every guideline it cites you get what Apple means, the usual cause, the fix in steps, the time it takes, whether to reply or resubmit, and wording for App Store Connect. 41 guidelines covered; nothing you paste leaves your browser.
Your result
Waiting for a message
Paste the rejection or pick a guideline. You will get, for each one: what Apple means in plain English, the usual cause, the fix in steps, how long it typically takes, whether to reply, appeal or resubmit, and wording for App Store Connect.
41 guidelines covered, including the two we have been through ourselves.
Guidelines covered
41 entries, each quoting Apple's own text and linking to its section. 2 are marked first-hand because we have been through them in our own submissions; the rest come from the guideline text and rejections described to us. Apple's page was checked on 27 October 2026.
Apple's App Review Guidelines- 1.1Objectionable content (Safety)Fix and resubmit
- 1.2User-generated content (Safety)Fix and resubmit
- 1.3Kids Category (Safety)Fix and resubmit
- 1.4.1Medical apps and accuracy claims (Safety)Fix and resubmit
- 1.5Developer information (Safety)Reply first
- 2.1App completeness (Performance)Reply first
- 2.2Beta testing (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.3Accurate metadata (Performance)Reply first
- 2.3.1Hidden features and misleading marketing (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.3.3Screenshots (Performance)Reply first
- 2.3.6Age rating (Performance)Reply first
- 2.3.7App name, subtitle and keywords (Performance)Reply first
- 2.3.8Metadata for all audiences and 'For Kids' wording (Performance)Reply first
- 2.3.10References to other platforms (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.4.1iPhone apps on iPad (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.5.1Public APIs only (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.5.2Downloading or executing code (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.5.4Background modes (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 2.5.14Recording with consent and an indicator (Performance)Fix and resubmit
- 3.1.1In-app purchase (Business)Fix and resubmit
- 3.1.2Subscriptions (Business)Fix and resubmit
- 3.1.3Other purchase methods (Business)Reply first
- 3.2.1Acceptable business models (Business)Rethink
- 3.2.2Unacceptable business models (Business)Fix and resubmit
- 4.0Design: minimum standards (Design)Reply first
- 4.1Copycats (Design)Fix and resubmit
- 4.2Minimum functionality (Design)Rethink
- 4.2.6Template and app-generation services (Design)Rethink
- 4.3(a)Spam: multiple apps from one codebase (Design)Rethink
- 4.3(b)Spam: indistinguishable from what is available (Design)Reply first
- 4.8Login services (Sign in with Apple) (Design)Fix and resubmit
- 5.1.1(i)Privacy policy (Legal)Reply first
- 5.1.1(ii)Permission and purpose strings (Legal)Fix and resubmit
- 5.1.1(iii)Data minimisation (Legal)Fix and resubmit
- 5.1.1(iv)Access: manipulating consent (Legal)Fix and resubmit
- 5.1.1(v)Account sign-in and account deletion (Legal)Fix and resubmit
- 5.1.2Data use and sharing, tracking and the privacy label (Legal)Reply first
- 5.1.5Location services (Legal)Fix and resubmit
- 5.2.1Intellectual property: third-party material (Legal)Reply first
- 5.3Gaming, gambling and lotteries (Legal)Reply first
- 5.6Developer Code of Conduct (Legal)Appeal
Why we built it
Our own apps have been through App Review, rejections included. Most rejections come down to one specific, fixable thing, and the hard part is working out which. This tool is the first step we take ourselves.
Questions we get asked
In App Store Connect, open the app, then the version, and read the message from App Review under App Review. The first line normally reads like 'Guideline 2.1 - Performance - App Completeness'. Paste the whole message into the decoder; it also reads the wording when a number is missing.
Reply when the fix is information or metadata (a demo account, a corrected screenshot, a privacy label). Fix and resubmit when the app itself has to change. Appeal only when the app already complies with the guideline as written; an appeal of a screen that really does break the rule costs days and ends in the same change. The decoder gives the usual route for each guideline.
Apple says it reviews most submissions within 24 to 48 hours. Apple does not promise a time, and repeated rejections for the same guideline take longer.
No. The decoder runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent to us or to anyone else, and the 'Copy link' button puts only the guideline numbers in the link, never your text.
Two from our own submissions: an 'Information Needed' message under 2.1 on a first submission, and a rejection under 5.1.1(iv) for the word 'Allow' on a pre-permission button, which we fixed by relabelling it 'Continue'. Those entries are marked first-hand. Every other entry is built from Apple's published guideline text and rejections described to us, and is marked second-hand.
The decoder shows every number it finds. For one we have no entry for, it links to the right section of Apple's guidelines so you can read the text, and you can send us the message: App Store rescue from £650 reads any rejection against the guideline it cites, and we reply the same working day before 2pm UK time.
Where to go next
Rather we read it?
Send the message and a link to the app. We read every rejection against the guideline it cites and come back with a fix plan, or make the fixes. Live app broken or rejected? Write before 2pm UK time, Monday to Friday, and we reply the same working day.
We reply within one working day. Or call 020 3540 5048