Your app sucks, that’s why Apple rejected it

Apple has for the first time revealed the main reasons why it rejects apps for its App Store for iOS and Mac, with buggy and poor designed apps often to blame. The company pointed out that more than half of all rejected apps were turned down for one of its ‘top 10 reasons’.

The biggest single reason for an app being rejected by Apple was insufficient information, closely followed by buggy apps and apps that breached Apple guidelines. It warned developers to ensure apps are “complete and ready to be published” before submitting them for review.

Unlike Google which operates a more open-door policy for apps in the Play store, Apple has a strict app approval process for everything in both the iOS and Mac App Stores.

The fourth biggest reason for being kicked out the door by Apple was poor design. The company said that its emphasis on “clean, refined, and user-friendly interfaces” meant that around six per cent of apps failed to meet its user interface requirements.

Apps with misleading names or that contained “false, fraudulent or misleading” uses of names and icons were the cause of 10 per cent of all rejections.

“Your app must perform as advertised and should not give users the impression the app is something it is not. If your app appears to promise certain features and functionalities, it needs to deliver,” Apple explained.

Apple also revealed that around four per cent of rejected apps contained placeholder text and images, while a further two per cent were denied because they appeared to be demo, trial or test versions of applications.

The in-depth report on reasons for applications being rejected forms part of Apple’s app review guidelines for both the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store.