Reasons for rejecting iPhone application by Apple store

Question

Can anybody help me out to know the possible reasons for which Apple store can reject or raise objection to submit any iPhone application.

Answer 1

Here are possible reasons (unofficial, from here):

• Vibration. It is not permitted to use continuous vibration in your apps - short bursts as warnings is all that is allowed. Don’t bother trying to set up a timer to keep the vibration going, it will cause your app to be rejected.

• Linking to private frameworks. This is obvious, but somehow in playing around with stuff we had linked to the MoviePlayer.framework. That’s a no-no, and cost us about ten days while we unlinked that framework, recompiled, and then resubmitted.

• Improper handling of editing in tableview cells. Also obvious, but be aware that if you enable table cell editing, you’ll have to manually specify which cells should respond to editing controls and which should not. We had some random prefs cells in one of our early apps that were able to be swiped to bring up a ‘delete’ badge. Of course it didn’t do anything, but Apple justly considered this poor design and rejected our app.

• Icons. Make sure the 57 pixel icon is identical to the 512 pixel version. Also, use a different icon if you are creating ‘lite’ and ‘pro’ versions of your app (i.e., free and paid). Using the same icon for both sends your app straight to … you guessed it … the bin.

• Copying existing functionality. This one is much more subtle and insidious, and has probably affected the great percentage of developers. In addition to the widely publicized Podcaster debacle, reports from user comments indicate that Apple is casting a wide net when looking for duplicated functionality. Mini web browsers, or apps that essentially show web pages, seem particularly vulnerable, even if they add new and/or useful functionality. Stay away from email clients as well.

• Using appropriate keyboard type. If your app asks for a phone number or other numeral-only input and you present a keyboard that also includes the possibility of entering standard alpha-numeric input … yep. (Thanks Jeremy1026)

• Version numbers. If your app is currently at version 0.99 or below, you’d better consider giving it a promotion as Apple seems to prefer 1.0 and above. One of ours was recently rejected for being .016, with a message suggesting that our version number wasn’t even numeric. When we resubmitted the same app from scratch as version 1.0, it went through.

And last, but not least:

• Flatulence Don’t even try. ;-) UPDATE: sorry, this seems to be outdated by now. Apple makes a lot of money now with "fart apps": see this article.

Edit:

Here is a link to a recent article about ten iPhone Apps That Didn't Make Apple's App Store.

And a tip: Apple has a Mac app called Application Loader that you could install. Once you install it, it analyzes your app's zip file. It verifies all the certificates, icons, and other things are correct before submitting to Apple. Using the Application Loader minimizes your chances of app rejection.

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Another interesting resource: App Store Roundtable: Transparency and the Approval System (appleblog.com)

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Yet another edit:

New rules by February 2010: "No Swimsuits, No Skin, And No Innuendo" (source: TechCrunch article, Wobble author's blog)

By the way: during the iPhone 3.0 preview event (march 2009), an Apple spokesman told that 96% of all submitted application were approved.

Answer 2

Here's the video of the SDK announcement that describes Apple published list of rejection criteria:

SDK Announcement

As others have noted, Apple also seem to have a bunch of other conditions that they don't publicise. Note that rejection notices are now covered by the NDA.

Answer 3

Just got a bounce for handling network outages badly. If you connect to the network, be prepared to handle any error conditions that may come up.

Answer 4

I can't confirm this but it makes sense, but people are reporting their apps being rejected for being too simple or too trivial.

Answer 5

Amazingly, apps can get rejected for trying to keep their interface consistent with Apple's own apps. (ie, using pinch zoom/expand gestures)

Answer 6

Will apple want to create an app like that in the future? If (yes) reject.

Do you have a really awesome idea that apple may want to use in the future if(yes) reject

Answer 7

Apple have now (as of 9th September 2010) published their official list of app store review guidelines:

http://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html

(apple developer login required)

or a mirror here:

http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/app-store-guidelines.pdf