Will Apple reject your app?
Most rejections of AI-built apps come from the same short list. Answer a few yes or no questions and see which ones apply to you, with the fix for each.
- About 10 questions, follow-ups only when they apply
- Each problem names the App Review Guideline and the fix
- Runs in your browser, answers saved on this device only
Answer the questions below.
0 of 10 answered
Is your app mostly your website inside an app shell?
For example a Capacitor app, or a WebView that loads your site.
Can people create an account in your app?
Do you sell anything digital: a subscription, credits, or premium features?
Physical goods and real-world services, like a meal or a ride, don't count. Those can use any payment method.
Is there a privacy policy link both inside the app and in App Store Connect?
Does the app use analytics, crash reporting, ads or an AI service?
For example PostHog, Firebase, Sentry, RevenueCat, OpenAI or Claude.
Does the app ask for the camera, photos, location, microphone or contacts?
Can people post things other users see: posts, comments, photos, chat, or shared AI creations?
Is anything still unfinished: placeholder text, 'coming soon' screens, test data or buttons that do nothing?
Have you installed this exact build on a real iPhone with the latest iOS, and used it away from your Wi-Fi?
For example through TestFlight, Apple's app for testing builds before release.
Is a secret key, like an OpenAI or Stripe secret key, inside the app's code?
Anything in Expo's EXPO_PUBLIC_ values or your app's JavaScript counts.
What to fix
Your results appear here as you answer.
Based on Apple's App Review Guidelines, checked November 2026. Reviewers decide case by case, so treat this as a checklist, not a promise. Your answers are saved in this browser only.
Why AI-built apps get rejected
Lovable, Bolt, Rork and Cursor build the app you describe. They don't know what Apple's reviewer checks, so the same gaps show up again and again.
It's just a website. A site wrapped in Capacitor or a WebView, with nothing a phone app adds, fails Guideline 4.2.
The reviewer can't get in. Sign-in by emailed code, no demo account, or a backend that points at your laptop. The reviewer sees a sign-in screen or a blank page and stops.
Missing account rules. Apps with accounts must let people delete them inside the app. Apps with Google sign-in need an equal private option, such as Sign in with Apple.
Payments and privacy. A Stripe checkout for a subscription, a privacy label that skips your analytics, or personal data sent to an AI service without asking first.
Before you press Submit
- Install the exact build from TestFlight on a real iPhone with the latest iOS, and use it on mobile data.
- Create a review account with a fixed password and put it in the review notes, with one line on what the app does.
- Check that Delete account works inside the app and removes the data on your server.
- Add your privacy policy link in the app and in App Store Connect, and fill in App Privacy to cover every SDK.
- Tap every screen as a new user. Remove placeholder text and buttons that do nothing.
- If you sell digital features, make sure every in-app purchase shows up for the reviewer.
Questions
- How long does App Review take?
- Apple says it reviews at least half of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours. A rejection means another round, so leave a few days before any launch date.
- What do I do after a rejection?
- Read the message in App Store Connect: it names the guideline you missed. Fix it and resubmit, or reply in the App Review section if you need to explain something. If you think the reviewer misunderstood your app, you can appeal to the App Review Board, once per rejected submission.
- Does this cover Google Play?
- Partly. Many checks carry over, like a working demo login and a privacy policy, but Google has its own rules. One difference: Google Play needs account deletion inside the app and also a web link where people can request deletion, which you enter in the Data safety form in Play Console.