Welcome to Melltorp's official website!
Friends who are engaged in App development know that Apple's review is so strict that it is a headache. In fact, by first understanding Apple's technical, content, and design requirements before writing code, you can avoid most of the troublesome situations of rejection. Today we will discuss the top ten reasons for rejection in 2016 announced by Apple to help you save time on repeated revisions.
According to official data from Apple, as of October 10, 2016, 21% of developers were rejected due to lack of application integrity. So what is integrity? In short, your App cannot appear to be a semi-finished product, such as crashing when you click a certain button, or a function marked as "coming soon" but actually unavailable. Such situations will be rejected directly.
Apple's reviewers operate your app like ordinary users. They don't care whether you are pressed for time, but only focus on whether the final product is complete. You must run all the functions on your phone before submitting. Don't be lazy and just use the simulator to test. According to data from February 2015, the primary reason for rejection is "requesting more information," which means not being prepared properly.
Before submitting for review, your app is absolutely prohibited from crashing. Apple's review team has to look at thousands of apps every day, and they don't have the patience to help you find bugs. If you find yourself crashing during the test, then you basically don’t have any hope of passing it. In 2016, 16% of developers were rejected for this reason, ranking second.
The solution is extremely simple: find at least three real phones of different models for testing, including old models. For example, the compatibility of iPhone 6 and iPhone 12 is very different. In addition, extreme situations such as network abnormalities and insufficient memory also need to be simulated. Don't think that users will be as gentle as you. They may be switching networks while clicking buttons frantically.
If all links in your app must be clickable, then many developers often forget to update the privacy policy link, or it is common for the URL of the support page to be written incorrectly. Apple emphasizes that if your app requires users to register, you must provide a valid test account and password in the review information. In 2016, 8% of developers failed in this situation.
Moreover, Apple requires you to fill in all the information in the backend of App Store Connect. Don’t have the idea of “submit it first and then add it later.” For example, if your app requires special hardware to be tested, you must prepare a demonstration video in advance. If you are making a children's app, the privacy policy link is mandatory and cannot be missing.
The application screenshots and text descriptions you provide must truly and faithfully demonstrate the corresponding functions. A common error situation is that exquisite and beautiful illustrations are used in the screenshots, but in fact there are just ordinary system buttons in the App. Apple's reviewers will compare the screenshots with the real interface, and will reject it if any inconsistencies are found. In 2016, 4% of developers were rejected because their descriptions were not accurate enough.
What’s even more serious is misleading users. For example, your application introduction states that “4K videos can be edited for free.” However, after downloading, users find that they can only export 720P. This is deceptive behavior. Apple has a zero-tolerance attitude towards this kind of behavior. Remember, your promises must be truly fulfilled and do not play word games. Once users are deceived once, they will give negative reviews, and Apple will also record you.
Apple attaches great importance to the sophistication of the interface. If there are misaligned buttons, inconsistent font sizes, or eye-catching colors, the auditor will simply judge it as a "substandard UI." In 2016, 3% of developers were rejected for this reason. The solution is to carefully read Apple's official "Human Interface Guidelines", especially the "Dos and Don'ts" section.
There is a low-level bug. When performing a submission operation, there is still a "test text" or "picture placeholder" in the interface. It's like having a label that says "Place your avatar here", or a page that says "Lorem ipsum". Apple has clear regulations that applications in the development stage are not eligible for distribution. Before submitting, spend half an hour going through all the interfaces one by one, and delete any temporary expectations.
In 3% of cases, there are issues related to in-app purchases (IAP). If your app can provide paid functions, you must use Apple's payment system, but don't think about bypassing it. In addition, if your app requires registration before it can be used, you must provide a valid demo account. Some developers provide expired accounts, or the accounts require SMS verification, so the auditors cannot conduct testing.
There are also questions about data collection. If your application will obtain the user's location, address book, or photos, then a clear authorization prompt must pop up in the code, and the purpose of the data must be clearly stated in the privacy policy. In 2016, 3% of developers were rejected due to incomplete privacy terms. These details may seem trivial, but cumulatively they have an impact on nearly 70% of developers.
At the end of the day, let me ask you another question: That is, what is the most bizarre and bizarre reason for rejection that you have encountered when submitting an app for review? You are sincerely welcome to share your own experiences in the comment area, and click like so that more developers can see these guides to avoid getting into trouble.
