iOS App Store Review Guidelines.pdf

Introduction

We're thrilled that you want to invest your talents and time to develop applications for iOS. It has been

a rewarding experience - both professionally and financially - for tens of thousands of developers and

we want to help you join this successful group. This is the first time we have published our App Store

Review Guidelines. We hope they will help you steer clear of issues as you develop your app, so that it

speeds through the approval process when you submit it.

We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion,

write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app. It can get

complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store. It may help to

keep some of our broader themes in mind:

We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps, and parental controls don't work unless the parents

set them up (many don't). So know that we're keeping an eye out for the kids.

We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps. If your app doesn't

do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted.

If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first

practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots

of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour.

We will reject Apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask?

Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, "I'll know it when I see it". And we think that you will also

know it when you cross it.

If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and

trash us, it never helps.

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This is a living document, and new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any

time. Perhaps your app will trigger this.

Lastly, we love this stuff too, and honor what you do. We're really trying our best to create the best

platform in the world for you to express your talents and make a living too. If it sounds like we're

control freaks, well, maybe it's because we're so committed to our users and making sure they have a

quality experience with our products. Just like almost all of you are too.

Table of Contents

1. Terms and conditions

2. Functionality

3. Metadata, ratings and rankings

4. Location

5. Push notifications

6. Game Center

7. iAds

8. Trademarks and trade dress

9. Media content

10. User interface

11. Purchasing and currencies

12. Scraping and aggregation

13. Damage to device

14. Personal attacks

15. Violence

16. Objectionable content

17. Privacy

18. Pornography

19. Religion, culture, and ethnicity

20. Contests, sweepstakes, lotteries, and raffles

21. Charities and contributions

22. Legal requirements

1. Terms and conditions

1.1

As a developer of applications for the App Store you are bound by the terms of the Program

License Agreement (PLA), Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), and any other licenses or contracts

between you and Apple. The following rules and examples are intended to assist you in gaining

acceptance for your app in the App Store, not to amend or remove provisions from any other

agreement.

2. Functionality

2.1

2.2

2.3

Apps that crash will be rejected

Apps that exhibit bugs will be rejected

Apps that do not perform as advertised by the developer will be rejected

Apps that include undocumented or hidden features inconsistent with the description of the app

will be rejected

Apps that use non-public APIs will be rejected

Apps that read or write data outside its designated container area will be rejected

Apps that download code in any way or form will be rejected

Apps that install or launch other executable code will be rejected

Apps that are "beta", "demo", "trial", or "test" versions will be rejected

iPhone apps must also run on iPad without modification, at iPhone resolution, and at 2X iPhone

3GS resolution

Apps that duplicate apps already in the App Store may be rejected, particularly if there are many

of them

Apps that are not very useful or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected

Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected

Apps that are intended to provide trick or fake functionality that are not clearly marked as such

will be rejected

Apps larger than 20MB in size will not download over cellular networks (this is automatically

prohibited by the App Store)

Multitasking apps may only use background services for their intended purposes: VoIP, audio

playback, location, task completion, local notifications, etc

Apps that browse the web must use the iOS WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript

Apps that encourage excessive consumption of alcohol or illegal substances, or encourage

minors to consume alcohol or smoke cigarettes, will be rejected

Apps that provide incorrect diagnostic or other inaccurate device data will be rejected

Developers "spamming" the App Store with many versions of similar apps will be removed from

the iOS Developer Program

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.10

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2.11

2.12

2.13

2.14

2.15

2.16

2.17

2.18

2.19

2.20

3. Metadata (name, descriptions, ratings, rankings, etc)

3.1

3.2

3.3

Apps with metadata that mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected

Apps with placeholder text will be rejected

Apps with descriptions not relevant to the application content and functionality will be rejected

3.4

App names in iTunes Connect and as displayed on a device should be similar, so as not to cause

confusion

Small and large app icons should be similar, so as to not to cause confusion

Apps with app icons and screenshots that do not adhere to the 4+ age rating will be rejected

Apps with Category and Genre selections that are not appropriate for the app content will be

rejected

Developers are responsible for assigning appropriate ratings to their apps. Inappropriate ratings

may be changed by Apple

Developers are responsible for assigning appropriate keywords for their apps. Inappropriate

keywords may be changed/deleted by Apple

Developers who attempt to manipulate or cheat the user reviews or chart ranking in the App

Store with fake or paid reviews, or any other inappropriate methods will be removed from the

iOS Developer Program

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

3.10

4. Location

4.1

Apps that do not notify and obtain user consent before collecting, transmitting, or using

location data will be rejected

Apps that use location-based APIs for automatic or autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or

other devices will be rejected

Apps that use location-based APIs for dispatch, fleet management, or emergency services will

be rejected

4.2

4.3

5. Push notifications

5.1

Apps that provide Push Notifications without using the Apple Push Notification (APN) API will be

rejected

Apps that use the APN service without obtaining a Push Application ID from Apple will be

rejected

Apps that send Push Notifications without first obtaining user consent will be rejected

Apps that send sensitive personal or confidential information using Push Notifications will be

rejected

Apps that use Push Notifications to send unsolicited messages, or for the purpose of phishing

or spamming will be rejected

Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any

kind

Apps cannot charge users for use of Push Notifications

Apps that excessively use the network capacity or bandwidth of the APN service or unduly

burden a device with Push Notifications will be rejected

Apps that transmit viruses, files, computer code, or programs that may harm or disrupt the

normal operation of the APN service will be rejected

5.2

5.3

5.4

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5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.9

6. Game Center

6.1

Apps that display any Player ID to end users or any third party will be rejected

Apps that use Player IDs for any use other than as approved by the Game Center terms will be

rejected

Developers that attempt to reverse lookup, trace, relate, associate, mine, harvest, or otherwise

exploit Player IDs, alias, or other information obtained through the Game Center will be

removed from the iOS Developer Program

Game Center information, such as Leaderboard scores, may only be used in apps approved for

use with the Game Center

Apps that use Game Center service to send unsolicited messages, or for the purpose of phishing

or spamming will be rejected

Apps that excessively use the network capacity or bandwidth of the Game Center will be rejected

6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5

6.6

6.7

Apps that transmit viruses, files, computer code, or programs that may harm or disrupt the

normal operation of the Game Center service will be rejected

7. iAds

7.1

Apps that artificially increase the number of impressions or click-throughs of ads will be

rejected

Apps that contain empty iAd banners will be rejected

Apps that are designed predominantly for the display of ads will be rejected

7.2

7.3

8. Trademarks and trade dress

8.1

Apps must comply with all terms and conditions explained in the Guidelines for using Apple

Trademark and Copyrights and the Apple Trademark List

Apps that suggest or infer that Apple is a source or supplier of the app, or that Apple endorses

any particular representation regarding quality or functionality will be rejected

Apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product or advertising theme will be

rejected

Apps that misspell Apple product names in their app name (i.e., GPS for Iphone, iTunz) will be

rejected

Use of protected 3rd party material (trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, otherwise proprietary

content) requires a documented rights check which must be provided upon request

Google Maps and Google Earth images obtained via the Google Maps API can be used within an

application if all brand features of the original content remain unaltered and fully visible. Apps

that cover up or modify the Google logo or copyright holders identification will be rejected

8.2

8.3

8.4

8.5

8.6

9. Media content

9.1

Apps that do not use the MediaPlayer framework to access media in the Music Library will be

rejected

App user interfaces that mimic any iPod interface will be rejected

Audio streaming content over a cellular network may not use more than 5MB over 5 minutes

Video streaming content over a cellular network longer than 10 minutes must use HTTP Live

Streaming and include a baseline 64 kbps audio-only HTTP Live stream

9.2

9.3

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9.4

10. User interface

10.1

Apps must comply with all terms and conditions explained in the Apple iPhone Human Interface

Guidelines and the Apple iPad Human Interface Guidelines

Apps that look similar to apps bundled on the iPhone, including the App Store, iTunes Store,

and iBookstore, will be rejected

Apps that do not use system provided items, such as buttons and icons, correctly and as

described in the Apple iPhone Human Interface Guidelines and the Apple iPad Human Interface

Guidelines may be rejected

Apps that create alternate desktop/home screen environments or simulate multi-app widget

experiences will be rejected

Apps that alter the functions of standard switches, such as the Volume Up/Down and

Ring/Silent switches, will be rejected

Apple and our customers place a high value on simple, refined, creative, well thought through

interfaces. They take more work but are worth it. Apple sets a high bar. If your user interface is

complex or less than very good it may be rejected

10.2

10.3

10.4

10.5

10.6

11. Purchasing and currencies

11.1

Apps that unlock or enable additional features or functionality with mechanisms other than the

App Store will be rejected

Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content,

functionality, or services in an app will be rejected

Apps using IAP to purchase physical goods or goods and services used outside of the

application will be rejected

Apps that use IAP to purchase credits or other currencies must consume those credits within the

application

Apps that use IAP to purchase credits or other currencies that expire will be rejected

Content subscriptions using IAP must last a minimum of 30 days and be available to the user

from all of their iOS devices

Apps that use IAP to purchase items must assign the correct Purchasability type

Apps that use IAP to purchase access to built-in capabilities provided by iOS, such as the

camera or the gyroscope, will be rejected

Apps containing "rental" content or services that expire after a limited time will be rejected

Insurance applications must be free, in legal-compliance in the regions distributed, and cannot

use IAP

In general, the more expensive your app, the more thoroughly we will review it

11.2

11.3

11.4

11.5

11.6

11.7

11.8

11.9

11.10

11.11

12. Scraping and aggregation

12.1

Applications that scrape any information from Apple sites (for example from apple.com, iTunes

Store, App Store, iTunes Connect, Apple Developer Programs, etc) or create rankings using

content from Apple sites and services will be rejected

Applications may use approved Apple RSS feeds such as the iTunes Store RSS feed

Apps that are simply web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links, may be

rejected

12.2

12.3

13. Damage to device

13.1

Apps that encourage users to use an Apple Device in a way that may cause damage to the device

will be rejected

Apps that rapidly drain the device's battery or generate excessive heat will be rejected

13.2

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14. Personal attacks

14.1

Any app that is defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited, or likely to place the targeted individual

or group in harms way will be rejected

Professional political satirists and humorists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-

spirited commentary

14.2

15. Violence

15.1

Apps portraying realistic images of people or animals being killed or maimed, shot, stabbed,

tortured or injured will be rejected

Apps that depict violence or abuse of children will be rejected

"Enemies" within the context of a game cannot solely target a specific race, culture, a real

government or corporation, or any other real entity

Apps involving realistic depictions of weapons in such a way as to encourage illegal or reckless

use of such weapons will be rejected

Apps that include games of Russian roulette will be rejected

15.2

15.3

15.4

15.5

16. Objectionable content

16.1

Apps that present excessively objectionable or crude content will be rejected

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