App Store rejection reasons and how to fix each one

A rejection email feels personal. It is not. Apple's review is a checklist applied at scale, and the reasons repeat. Once you know the pattern, most rejections are a one day fix.

Start with the message

Apple tells you which App Review Guideline your submission did not follow. Open the App Review section of your app in App Store Connect and read the exact wording. Save the guideline number, the message, any screenshots Apple attached and the build version. Then work out which kind of problem it is:

• A product defect, like a crash.
• Missing review information, like no demo login.
• Wrong metadata, like a screenshot that does not match the app.
• A policy disagreement, where you think Apple read your app wrong.

Each one needs a different fix, and guessing wastes a review cycle.

The common reasons and the fix

1. Crashes and bugs (guideline 2.1)

Apple says that over 40% of unresolved issues relate to guideline 2.1, App Completeness. Crashes lead that list. The guideline says apps should be tested on-device for bugs and stability before you submit.

Fix: reproduce the crash on a real phone on the latest iOS, fix it, and run the full flow again. Apple also links crash report guides for Xcode if you need to read the logs.

2. No way to log in (guideline 2.1)

If your app has accounts, the reviewer has to get in. Guideline 2.1 asks for demo account info, and for your back-end service to be turned on.

Fix: create a demo account, put the username and password in App Review Information, and check the server is up. If you cannot provide one for legal or security reasons, Apple allows a built-in demo mode with prior approval.

3. Placeholder content and broken links

Apple states that items with placeholder content are not ready and cannot be approved. All links must work, and a support link plus a privacy policy link are required.

Fix: click every link in the app and on the listing. Replace test text and stock images.

4. Privacy policy and data requests (guideline 5.1)

Your policy has to say what data you collect, how you collect it, and what you use it for. It has to explain retention and deletion. If your app asks for camera, location or contacts, the purpose string must clearly say why.

Fix: rewrite the policy to match what the app really does, and rewrite each purpose string in plain words.

5. No account deletion (guideline 5.1.1)

If your app lets people create an account, it must also let them delete it inside the app. AI-scaffolded sign-in often leaves this out.

Fix: add a visible delete account option that actually removes the account, and mention it in your review notes.

6. Inaccurate screenshots or misleading metadata (guideline 2.3)

Screenshots should show the app in use. Your app must do what the listing says.

Fix: retake screenshots from the current build. Cut claims the app does not meet yet.

7. Thin apps and copycats (guideline 4.1, 4.2)

Apple warns against apps that are a website in a wrapper, limited web interactions, apps with little lasting value, and apps that copy others. Submitting several near identical apps can also hurt you (guideline 4.3).

Fix: add something native and useful that a reader of your listing would care about. Look at the top apps in your category and be honest about how yours is better.

8. Wrong submitting entity

Apps in regulated fields like banking, crypto, healthcare, gambling and air travel must be submitted by the legal entity providing the service, per the same Apple page.

Fix: submit from the right organization account and attach any authorization in App Store Connect.

Reply, appeal or resubmit?

For most issues, fix and resubmit. You can correspond with App Review in App Store Connect to settle the issue first. Appeals are for when you think Apple misunderstood your app or treated you unfairly. Give specific reasons, send one appeal per rejected submission, and answer any information requests before you file.

If you are submitting a bug fix update and Apple finds extra issues, you may be offered the option to handle them in your next submission, as long as there is no legal or safety concern.

How we do it at SupaKid Studios

Tomi's experience is that the rejection loop, not the review, is what eats weeks. Apple would reply, the team would fix it, and then there was a long quiet gap of around ten days before the next message. So he built a routine where an AI browser agent checks for Apple's reply every day and works through the fix list, instead of waiting for a human to notice.

We use the same approach on client work. We got JetQuest Travel's group travel club app approved and live on the App Store. Before any resubmission, a QA pass runs through the flows that were cited, see how to QA test an AI built app. The client approves what goes out.

For the full path from build to approval, read how to get your app approved faster and our iOS app team page.

Before you resubmit

1. Does the new build fix the exact guideline cited?
2. Did you retest the whole login and purchase flow on a device?
3. Are your review notes updated, with a valid demo login?
4. Do screenshots and links match this build?

Stuck on a rejection?

Book a 30-minute call with SupaKid Studios. Bring the rejection message and we will tell you what to fix first.