Does Apple reject Leaking iPhone apps?

Question

Info on this can be found here and there, but is there a definite answer? Does anyone know from experience that his leaking app has approved or that his app was rejected "because it was leaking"?

I am close to submitting a game that leaks a very small amount of data (32 bytes at a time), about once or twice a minute. Since the play cycle of the game ranges from 3 to 10 minutes, I know this is not going to be a big deal. So shall I invest time in tracking and tackling the leak?

(Don't tell me "you should always fix leaks" I know that and I agree, but sometimes we have to compromise some quality)

Answer 1

the leak could be a pointer towards a bigger problem within your code, thats not entirely obvious. If you're leaking, its possible you're also overwriting bits of memory you shouldn't be as well.

Answer 2

In general small leaks don't tend to cause any problems with app submission. In past OSes there were some pretty prominent leaks caused by system frameworks that were unavoidable.

If you leak so much you run out of memory and crash then you might have an issue, but the reason they reject you will be because you are frequently crashing while they test the app, not that a leak is causing it. Of course, they can reject things for any reason they want, and the process is not consistent.

Having said that, you should fix the leaks ;-)

Answer 3

It would be hypocritical of Apple to reject leaking apps.

mediaserverd leaks like a sieve, and worse, unlike your app, it never exits.

Answer 4

I agree with Rhythmic Fistman. I have some leaks from NSURLConnection... and has been approved.

Answer 5

My first app had a considerable leak in certain situations that I had not noticed, and it was not rejected. However, they do test the apps quite well, but it seems they mainly test for usability issues and contractual compliances. You should still fix any known leaks :)

Answer 6

I have found a few (very small) leaks in my iPhone app after it was approved/sold on the App Store.

I've since fixed said leaks.

I think for small leaks, Apple is going to be pretty forgiving - especially considering a good portion of Apple's SDK leaks itself.

For big leaks - well, you shouldn't submit an app if you know it's in that bad of a shape. Remember, Apple has assumed you've already put your app through your own QA cycle. If Apple lets it through, the responsible thing to do is pull it or put up a fix as soon as possible, for the sake of your users.

Your leaks seem small enough that it will probably get through - but it's my opinion that leaks of any kind in code that you wrote (not from Apple's code) are a red alert, and if it were me, I would do everything I can to plug the leaks before I submit.

Answer 7

so wats the line b/w Big Leaks n small leaks?