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Before you submit your app: a checklist for avoiding rejection
Most App Store and Google Play rejections come from missing definitions and wrong declarations, not code. The list we built while publishing our own apps.
The app is done, all that is left is the submit button — and then a rejection arrives from the review team and two weeks are gone. Most rejections are not technical. The list below comes from what we ran into while taking our own apps to the stores.
Account and identifiers
Was the developer account opened in the company’s name? Moving from an individual account later is painful.
Are the bundle ID and extension IDs (widget, notifications) right from the start? They cannot be changed later.
Signing and profiles: automatic signing is enough for most teams; no need to manage them by hand.
In-app purchases
Is every product defined in the store console, with localised name and description entered and a review screenshot uploaded?
Do the subscription group and trial period match the definitions in the app exactly? A single character off breaks purchasing.
Prices come from the store’s tiers; do not hard-code prices in the app.
Privacy declarations
Is the privacy policy page live and its URL entered in the store? It is required even if the app collects no data.
If there is an ad SDK, are device identifier and advertising data declared, and does the app show the tracking permission prompt?
Are user-generated items such as public profiles, nicknames and leaderboards covered in the declaration?
Review notes and testing
If the review team needs to sign in, provide a test account; if not, say so explicitly.
Do the screens scroll on small devices and with large font settings? A frequent rejection reason.
Run a closed test round (TestFlight / internal testing); issues that appear on the first real device also appear in review.
If you get rejected
Read the rejection message as written; it usually points at the exact guideline. Do not resubmit the same build: make the fix and add one sentence to the notes saying what changed. Review guidelines change several times a year; especially for apps with user content or chat, reread the current rules before submitting.