Apple and Google reject apps for a long list of reasons: it doesn't look good, it doesn't function flawlessly, it crashes, it asks users to log in for non-secure information, it does no more than a website could, or it duplicates lots of other apps already on the platform.
Provisioning profiles, signing keys, and distribution certificates all have to be created correctly before an app can even be compiled and signed, and Android and iOS follow completely different processes.
Ask for a permission your app doesn't actually use or need, and that alone is enough to get an app rejected.
Every app now needs a privacy policy compliant with rules such as GDPR or POPIA before a store will approve it.
Screenshots and icons at specific dimensions, keywords, pricing policy, and age certification are all mandatory fields. Get them wrong and the app can be rejected outright, or simply rank lower in in-app search once it's live.
Because we’ve been through the approval process so many times, we design, build, sign, and submit apps for approval as quickly and painlessly as we can.
One habit that saves clients real time: we often submit an app for review before it’s quite complete, on purpose, so we can identify potential rejection reasons early, while there’s still time to fix them before the deadline is on the line.
No. Most of our clients use our own developer accounts instead. There's normally no cost to do it this way, and it saves the cost, time, and effort of setting up your own.
The most common reasons: the app doesn't look finished, doesn't function flawlessly, crashes, asks for a login where there's no secure information to protect, does nothing a website couldn't already do, or looks too similar to lots of other apps already on the platform.
Provisioning profiles, signing keys, and distribution certificates (Android and iOS each follow their own process) plus permission manifests that ask for access the app doesn't actually use, which is an easy way to get rejected.
Yes. Both stores require a privacy policy compliant with rules like GDPR or POPIA before they'll approve an app. We have templates our clients regularly use rather than starting from scratch.
A set of mandatory fields, screenshots and icons at specific dimensions, keywords, a pricing policy, and age certification. Getting these wrong risks rejection, or an app that ranks lower in in-app search once it's live.
We've been through the approval process enough times to know its pitfalls, and we often submit an app for review before it's quite complete (on purpose) so we can surface any rejection reasons early, while there's still time to fix them before launch.
Tell us what you're building and we'll handle the submission, review, and approval process on Google Play and the App Store, so your launch date doesn't slip on paperwork.
