rejection for 4.3 spam

[joeboy_uk]

Anyone else finding Apple is getting really strict with their reviews? I've had 3 apps rejected over the last month all for 4.3 design, spam.

under the premise there are already similar apps on the app store. Two of them are completely original and there aren't any apps like them, one has a few apps that do a similar thing but in a different way with different features. Having no luck with appeals.

My latest took me 6 months to develop and was rejected in 2 minutes - which isn't even enough time to open it and really understand what it does tbh.

[rewb0rn]

If it was rejected in 2 minutes it sounds like an algorithm analyzing keywords. Might be worth trying to iterate over title and description and try again.. Our last release was in August, so I can't really share experiences with current review policies.

[joeboy_uk]

Same framework? Well they are all built with air but they are totally different. One was a fighting fantasy dice app, another was a 3rd player for cluedo app and my latest was a hashtag template generator and online gallery uploader for instagram so totally different to each other and completely different to whats in the app store currently.

I've sent it on to the appeal team, you cant get any sense out of the replies you get in the rejection thread.

I ask for links for similar apps so i can compare them and never get any

[Frédéric C.]

Hmm, indeed that doesn't make any sense. IIRC, when your app is rejected, you have a link to ask for an Apple representative to call you. For me, it has been the only solution to get this sorted out (even if I always fear my next project will get rejected for any stupid reason, now). The guy from Apple was helpful, and assisted with situations that seemed totally stuck with the review team.

I wish you the best of luck with that, I know how frustrating it can be.

[joeboy_uk]

thanks, i've requested that so hopefully i get somewhere with them

[kheftel]

ugh, that's so frustrating. I got no helpful info, just sympathy. I've seen more than my fair share of ridiculous app store rejections where I work.

[joeboy_uk]

Made some headway with this last night on a call from apple. So the guy said my cluedo app shouldn't be penalised for design 4.3 spam as theres nothing else in my app collection like it. So he is removing that, hopefully the same will happen to my other 2 apps. But he did say I have some apps in my collection that should be consolidated and that seems to be the reason for the ban - almost like they are punishing my new apps because of old apps. Which seems ridiculous - kind of like a blanket shadow ban.

It seems like this 4.3 design spam clause is to do with people submitting multiple apps that would work better consolidated. The thing is though those apps in question are special need apps for kids with autism and need to be separate to be simple enough for them to use, so i've explained that to them and hopefully they listen.

why the hell previous app approvals that have now changed because of new requirements are affecting new submissions i don't know

[joechump]

I'm having the same issues. I only have one app so it's not self spamming. Took a lot of effort to get it through review and after two weeks it was taken off sale. It's original and not made from any template or copying anything that I'm aware of. I don't even know of any similar apps. If any exist then they are not likely to be made in the same way. I wonder if Apple is quietly cracking down on anything developed outside of Xcode etc? Air is a good/easy platform for development though. I'm really disappointed with this and appeals have had zero luck. I might try requesting a phone call if I can find where that button is. I feel unable to put trust into the Developer Programme as it's expensive in time and money and the rules are so arbitrarily enforced.

[Colin Holgate]

I read up on 4.3, and it's not specific to the development tool. Plenty of people using Xcode are getting the same issue.

If you read the previous reply, joeboy_uk managed to get through to someone who then changed it, hopefully you will too.

[joechump]

Thanks Colin. Will give it a try. So far it's been a no but if I can speak to a human then at lest I might get some clarity.

[Frédéric C.]

I think this is getting ridiculous. I had to face a lot of issues with those "guidelines". Frankly, I think they are very vague in the first place, which leads to a lot of false positives and confusion within the review team. Many apps are rejected "just in case". I know they are using some automatic tools to check the code for similarities with other apps. Do you use the same framework for all of your apps?