App Store Review

The check Apple and Google run on every app and every update before it is allowed into their store.

Also known as app review store approval app submission

Definition

App store review is the check Apple and Google run on an app before it is allowed into their store. Every new app goes through it, and so does every update. A person and a set of automatic tests open the app, tap around it, read what you wrote about it, and decide yes or no.

Apple checks by hand more often, and it is the stricter of the two. Most apps get an answer within a day or two, sometimes within hours. Google leans on automatic checks and usually replies quickly, though a first release from a brand new developer account can take a week or more. Neither company promises a date. Plan for a week and be pleased when it is faster.

The common rejections are boring and repeatable, which is good news. The first is a missing test account. If your app has a login, the reviewer needs a working username and password, plus a way to receive the code if you send one. Without that they cannot see your app at all, and they will refuse it in an hour.

The second is the privacy text. Both stores ask you to list what the app collects, such as name, location, contacts or purchases, and to publish a privacy page at a real web address. If that list does not match what the app really does, it comes back. The third is a login wall on an app that does not need one. If a person can browse your shop without an account, do not force them to sign up before they see anything. The fourth catches many small businesses. An app that only opens your website inside a frame, with nothing added, is refused for offering nothing an ordinary browser already does.

So put the review inside the calendar rather than around it. Linkysoft submits a first version at least three weeks before any launch date, because a rejection costs a day to fix and another day to be looked at again. Linkysoft also keeps the test account alive for the whole life of an app, and writes the privacy answers while the mobile app is being built, not the night before. Being straight about the data an app touches is ordinary security work, and reviewers can tell the difference. The one mistake that costs real money is announcing a launch date to customers before the app has passed.

Questions about App Store Review

How long does app store review usually take?
Most answers arrive within one or two days at Apple and often within hours at Google. A first app from a new developer account can take a week or more, so leave room.
Why do the stores ask for a test account?
Because the reviewer has to see the app from the inside. Give a username, a password and a way to receive any code, and keep that account working after launch as well.
Can I ask for a faster review?
Apple lets you ask for a speeded-up review for a real reason, such as a fault that is hurting users. Use it rarely. Asking because a date slipped is usually turned down.
Will an app that only shows my website be accepted?
No. If the app adds nothing beyond what a browser already does, both stores refuse it. It needs something of its own, such as alerts, use without internet, or the camera.
Does every update go through review again?
Yes, though updates usually pass faster than a first release. Keep the test login and the privacy answers current, because an old test password stops many small updates.

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