Ensure your app is ready for the approval process
Read the App Store Review Guidelines
Before you submit your app for approval, ensure that it
follows the technical, design, and content specifications detailed in
the App Store Review Guidelines and Human Interface Guidelines. Apps
that do not follow these guidelines will be returned for modification
before they can be posted to the App Store.
Read the Guidelines View additional app review resources
Test on Devices
Test your app thoroughly on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
before uploading it to iTunes Connect. The iPhone Simulator is ideal for
prototyping your ideas, debugging memory leaks, simulating memory
warnings, and getting a good feel for how your app is going to work.
However, since the iPhone Simulator simulates iOS, not hardware, it is
not a replacement for testing on an actual device.
What to expect during the review of your app
iOS submissions reviewed in the last 5 business days:
94%
New Apps
96%
App Updates
The App Review Team checks every app submission in order to
protect consumer privacy, safeguard children from inappropriate content,
and avoid applications that degrade the core experience of iPad,
iPhone, and iPod touch. All aspects of your app must comply with the
criteria outlined in the
App Store Review Guidelines and should conform to the
iOS Human Interface Guidelines.
After your app has been reviewed and approved, it will be set to
the Ready for Sale state (or Pending Contract if your contracts are not
yet in effect).
If an issue is discovered during the review of your app, you
will be notified via email. You will find details regarding your app
rejection in the Resolution Center, which can be accessed from both the
App Summary page and the Version Details page in iTunes Connect.
From the Resolution Center, you will be able to see any specific
App Review Guidelines that caused your app to be rejected, in addition
to any further information provided by App Review. In addition, you can
use the Resolution Center to ask App Review for clarification on your
app rejection and continue to correspond about your rejected binary
until you resubmit it for review, including any attachments such as
screenshots. Once you resubmit your binary for review, you will be
unable to communicate further with App Review via the Resolution Center.
If you feel your app was incorrectly rejected, you may submit an appeal to the
App Review Board.
Should you need code-level assistance in making modifications to your
app, you can contact Apple Developer Technical Support. Visit the
Support Center for details about requesting technical support.
Check the status of your app in iTunes Connect
Once youʼve reviewed and submitted your app, you will be taken
back to the Manage Your Applications page. Here youʼll find the
application name, version, date submitted, Apple ID, as well as the
status of your application. There are 16 colored status indicators that
can appear on the Manage Your Applications page after submitting an app.
Log in to iTunes Connect
Prepare for Upload (Yellow)
Appears
as the first status for your app. This status means that you should
enter or edit metadata, screenshots, pricing, In-App Purchases, Game
Center, iAd network settings, etc., to prepare your app for upload to
the App Store.
Waiting for Upload (Yellow)
Appears
when you’ve completed entering your metadata and indicated you are
ready to submit your binary, however, you have not finished uploading
your binary through Application Loader. Your app must be Waiting For
Upload for you to be able to deliver your binary through Application
Loader.
Waiting for Review (Yellow)
Appears
after you submit a new app or update and prior to the app being
reviewed by Apple. This status means that your app has been added to the
app review queue, but has not yet started the review process. It takes
time to review binaries and this state does not indicate that your app
is currently being reviewed.
While your app is Waiting For
Review, you can reject your binary to remove it from the Apple review
queue and edit certain app information.
In Review
(Yellow)
Appears when Apple is currently reviewing your app
prior to the app being rejected or approved. Note that it takes time to
review binaries. We appreciate your patience and ask that you allow
sufficient time for the processing of your app.
Pending Contract (Yellow)
Appears when your application has been reviewed and is Ready for Sale
but your contracts are not yet in effect. You may check the progress of
your contracts in iTunes Connect by clicking on the Contracts, Tax &
Banking information module.
Waiting For Export Compliance (Yellow)
Appears when your CCATS is in review with Export Compliance.
Upload Received (Yellow)
Appears
when your binary has been received through Application Loader, but has
not yet completed processing into the iTunes Connect system. If your app
has been in the Upload Received state for more than 24 hours, you
should contact iTunes Connect Support through the iTunes Connect Contact
Us module.
Pending Developer Release (Yellow)
Appears
when your app version has been approved by Apple and you have chosen to
set your Version Release Control. Release it to the App Store when you
are ready. To release your app to the App Store, click Release This
Version button on the app’s Version Details page within Manage Your
Applications.
Processing for App Store (Yellow)
Appears when your binary is being processed and will be Ready For Sale within 24 hours.
Pending Apple Release (Yellow)
Appears when your app version will be held by Apple until the corresponding Apple iOS or OS version is released to the public.
Ready for Sale (Green)
Appears
once your application been approved and posted to the App Store. When
your application is in this status, you have the option to remove it
from the store by going to the Rights and Pricing page and removing all
App Store territories.
Rejected (Red)
Appears
when the binary has not passed review. You will receive a communication
from App Review in the Resolution Center regarding the reason for the
rejection.
Metadata Rejected (Red)
Appears
when specific metadata items aside from your binary have not passed
review. To resolve the issue, you can simply edit the metadata in iTunes
Connect and your existing binary will be re-used for the review
process. You will receive a communication from App Review in the
Resolution Center regarding the reason for the metadata rejection.
Removed from Sale (Red)
Appears when your app has been removed from the App Store.
Developer Rejected (Red)
Appears
when you’ve rejected the binary from the review process. Existing
versions of your application on the App Store will not be affected by
self-rejecting binaries in review.
Important: When you
self-reject your binary, you lose your place in the review queue. Your
binary will be placed at the end of the queue when you resubmit.
Developer Removed from Sale (Red)
Appears when you’ve removed your application from the App Store.
Invalid Binary (Red)
Appears
when your binary has been received through Application Loader but did
not meet all requirements for upload. You will receive an email
detailing the issue with your binary and how to resolve. Go into iTunes
Connect and click Ready to Upload Binary again to set your app back to
the Waiting For Upload state in order to resend through Application
Loader with resolved binary.
Missing Screenshot (Red)
Available
for iOS apps only. Appears when your app is missing a required
screenshot for iPhone and iPod touch or iPad for your default language
app or for your added localizations. At least one screenshot is required
for both iPhone and iPod touch and for iPad if you are submitting a
universal app.
Status Update notification email
You can opt-in to receive email notifications alerting you to a change in the status of your applications. Visit the
Manage Users section of iTunes Connect, click Edit Profile, select the Notifications tab and click the Status Update box(es).
App Status History
You can view a log with the status history of your app within
iTunes Connect. Once a change has been made to your app, a link titled
"Status History" will appear with your app details in the Manage Your
Applications section. Click the link to view a history of the status
changes your app has gone through. You will also be able to see which
user on your iTunes Connect account made the change, if the change was
initiated by Apple, and the date and time the change was made.
Determine the availability date of your app
You can set the date your application will be available for
purchase on the App Store when you submit your binary. If your
application has not been approved by Apple prior to this date, your
application will go live as soon as it has been approved. This is a
global date, and applies to all territories selected. If you change this
date, it will apply to all versions of your application, not just the
version where you are making the change. In addition, if you set this
date in the future for the release of an update that is in review, you
will remove any existing versions of this app from the App Store.
With the Version Release Control, you can control when an updated
version of your app goes live, rather than have the version go live as
soon as it is approved by App Review. You will be presented with the
Version Release Control option as part of your Ready to Upload Binary
questions. If you choose to use the Version Release Control, your app
status will change to Pending Developer Release once it is approved by
App Review, indicating that you can release it to the App Store whenever
you are ready. When you're ready for your app update to go live on the
App Store, you can do so by clicking Release This Version from the new
app version's details page in iTunes Connect.