App Store submission checklist
Tell it what your app has (iPhone or Mac, purchases, a sign-in, universal links, previews) and tick your way through what to check before Submit for Review. Each step says why it matters and links to the tool or guide that checks it. Copy the list as Markdown for your release notes; your ticks stay in this browser.
Your app
Build0 / 10
A development-signed build can upload and then turn into Invalid Binary. The embedded profile should be an App Store profile with no get-task-allow.
Check: Provisioning profile viewer →If you cannot explain an entitlement in one sentence, remove it.
Check: Entitlements checker →Since May 1, 2024, App Store Connect does not accept apps that use a required reason API without declaring the reason in PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy.
Check: Privacy manifest generator →Declare what you and every SDK collect. A new SDK usually means new answers in App Store Connect.
Check: App privacy label builder →Say what the access is for; never pressure ("allow this or the app won't work"), which reads as coercion under Guideline 5.1.1.
Check: Info.plist permission strings →Without ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption in Info.plist, App Store Connect asks the export questions on every upload. Set it to NO only if the app uses no encryption or only exempt encryption.
Check: Plist converter →A switch that unlocks paid features or shows a stand-in price belongs inside #if DEBUG. Guideline 2.5.19 forbids hidden features.
Make every size from one file so none is stale or transparent.
Check: App icon generator →A language at 70% shows English in the middle of the interface.
Check: String Catalog translation progress →Install on a clean device, deny every permission and walk the first path with no data. Guideline 2.4.1 says iPhone apps should run on iPad whenever possible, and reviewers may use one.
Check: Guideline 2.1 guide →
Listing0 / 7
Name 30 characters, subtitle 30, promotional text 170, description 4000, What's New 4000, keywords 100.
Check: App Store metadata checker →Words already in the name or subtitle, and plurals of words you have, are wasted.
Check: Keyword field guide →"Free", "50% off" or a price in the name, subtitle or screenshots draws Guideline 2.3.7.
Check: Guideline 2.3.7 guide →A competitor's name in the subtitle or keywords is a 4.1(c) or 5.2.5 problem, and so is an Apple trademark used as part of your app's identity.
Check: Brand names guide →In every language. Guideline 2.3.8 asks for names that do not confuse.
Check: Guideline 2.3.8 guide →Guideline 2.3.12 allows a generic note only for bug fixes and small improvements.
Apple lists broken links among the most common review issues.
Screenshots and previews0 / 2
App Store Connect requires an iPhone with Dynamic Island (medium display) screenshot, iPad 13-inch if the app runs on iPad, and 16:10 for Mac (1280 × 800 up to 2880 × 1800). No transparency anywhere.
Check: Screenshot sizes →Not a splash screen, and not a feature this build does not have (Guideline 2.3.3).
Check: Screenshot generator →
Review notes0 / 3
Where the paid features are, why each background mode is used, and anything a reviewer could miss, such as a menu bar item. Up to 4000 bytes.
Check: Background modes guide →The app has no login, so the reviewer should not look for one.
The field does not accept a number without the country code.
After you submit0 / 2
Manual, on approval or on a date. Apple says most submissions are reviewed within 24 to 48 hours.
Paste the message into the decoder to see each cited guideline and what it asks.
Check: Rejection decoder →
How it works
- •The steps come from our two checklist guides, the App Store pre-submit checklist and the Mac App Store submission checklist, which draw on rejections our own apps have received and on Apple's App Review Guidelines and App Store Connect Help.
- •The list follows a practical order: build first, because a new build means re-checking everything that reads it; then the listing and media, which lock once a version is waiting for review; then purchases and review notes, the things most often forgotten at the end.
- •Options change what you see: Mac adds sandbox, update and window checks; purchases add the same-submission and paywall checks; a sign-in adds the demo account.
- •Ticks are saved in your browser's local storage, so the page remembers where you were. Nothing is sent anywhere.
What it does not do
- •It does not look at your build or your App Store Connect record. It is a list for you to work through by hand.
- •It cannot promise approval. App Review looks at the whole app, and the guidelines change; check the current text when in doubt.
- •It covers iOS, iPadOS and macOS apps. tvOS, watchOS and visionOS have extra requirements not listed here.
Questions
- What should I check before submitting an app to the App Store?
- The build (distribution signing, entitlements, privacy manifest, purpose strings, a cold start on iPhone and iPad), the listing and media against Apple's limits and rules, every in-app purchase added to the same submission, and review notes with a working demo account if the app has a sign-in.
- What extra checks does a Mac App Store app need?
- App Sandbox turned on with user files saved where the user chose, no update checks or license keys of your own, a main window that can be reopened from the menu bar after closing it, 16:10 screenshots, and a name in Finder and the Dock that matches the store name.
- Do in-app purchases have to be submitted with the app version?
- Apple's help says the version, the subscription group and every purchase you want reviewed together must be added to the same draft submission before you click Submit for Review, and the first purchase of each type must go with a new app version.
- Where are my ticks saved?
- In your browser's local storage on this device. Clearing site data, or a private window, starts the list fresh. Use Copy as Markdown to keep a copy in your notes or an issue.