Summary of App Store review of financial apps 3.2.1 rejection and 23 other reasons

In recent years, the financial industry has been flourishing and lacking supervision. As a result, with the arrival of new policies and regulations, it has become extremely difficult to list financial applications (loans, financial management) since September 2017. Among them, lottery applications are also affected by the policy;

For the App Store, there are only two factors to consider when selecting apps: user experience and local policies and laws. The difficulty in listing most of the vest packages is undoubtedly due to the first factor. The listing of loan, financial management, and lottery apps is mainly due to policy reasons.

[[243436]]

This article will focus on financial products (loans, financial management) and other rejection situations.

1. Reasons for rejection of financial management and loan products

First, let’s look at the rejection clause:

If you don't receive these three messages, please submit the above pictures when you submit your materials next time, and we should reply to you with these messages next time;

If you reply to these three items and Apple gives you feedback very quickly, it is very likely that you have encountered machine review or Apple is not satisfied with your responses. Because everyone has replied to 3.2.1 many times, Apple usually responds within 4 to 5 days, so don't worry.

Also attached:

• National Enterprise Credit Information Query Link: http://www.gsxt.gov.cn/index.html
• Value-added telecommunications business license query link: https://tsm.miit.gov.cn/pages/home.aspx

From the content of the terms, we can see that if you want to put a financial app on the shelves without making major changes, you either have to use a qualified account or take your chances. After all, Apple reviewers are sometimes so capricious in their reviews.

A qualified account must have a business scope (business license), financial license and ICP certificate, and upload them in the attachment when listing for reviewers to review.

Many companies do not have a qualified account. For these friends, they can only find a qualified account from a friend or company that has this condition, ask the other party to help them put the product on the shelves, or ask the other party to add their own developer account to their developer account, submit it for review, and then transfer it to their own developer account after the product is successfully put on the shelves.

However, the difficulty of using the qualified account method is gradually increasing, because Apple's review is very strict on the transferred apps after they are successfully put on the shelves. Once discovered, such apps will be immediately removed from the shelves, and the Apple account may be blocked at the same time. Therefore, most qualified accounts have become a one-day trip. In addition, Apple's review is currently very strict on such qualified accounts, and it is very difficult to pass the review, and it takes a very long time.

To sum up, for current financial apps that do not have formal qualifications, if they want to be listed on the App Store, using a shell would be the safest way to do so.

The so-called shell is to disguise an app as another app. When it is approved, the content of the disguised app is shown to Apple for review. After the review, the real app content is switched back. This method is applicable to both native and H5 type apps.

At present, financial app shells mainly disguise apps as weather or news apps. Of course, this method of app disguise has many disadvantages. For example, the classification of apps is a problem, which will affect the subsequent ASO optimization of apps. This is one of the main disadvantages of app shells. Of course, if the app can be disguised as a financial application, the impact of such problems will be greatly reduced.

Summary of financial management products:

• To put the product on the shelves, you need to meet Apple's requirements and provide the corresponding materials for review. If you have confirmed the information, you can consult me. You can also ask me for the reply template.
• Shell covering is a stable method. I have also tried the shell covering method, and the pros and cons are mentioned above.
• Financial intermediary accounts are now available. The logic is the same as that of bank accounts, and the success rate is relatively higher than that of bank accounts, but currently only financial management is supported.
• The success rate of listing a bank account is low and it takes a lot of effort.

2. Other rejected clauses and solutions

Here we have collected and sorted out 23 common reasons for App Store review rejection, and attached the original official rejection reasons for you to check when uploading your application.

There are two types of application rejections: Binary Rejected and Metadata Rejected. The former requires you to re-upload the application and re-queue, while the latter only requires you to modify the information and does not require you to re-upload the application.

1. The app contains a check update function

iOS app version updates must be done through the App Store, and the app itself cannot include an update prompt function. From March 2015, all apps that include a check for updates function will be rejected from the App Store.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• Your app includes an update button oralerts the user to update the app. To avoid user confusion, app version updates must utilize the iOS built-in update mechanism. We've attached screenshot(s) for your reference.
• Next Steps
• Please remove the update feature from your app. To distribute a new version of your app, upload the new app binary version into the same iTunes Connect record you created for the app's previous version. Updated versions keep the same Apple ID, iTunes Connect ID (SKU), and bundle ID as the original version, and are available free to customers who purchased aprevious version.

2. No installation detection when using third-party login

To access third-party login, you need to check whether the third-party client is installed. If it is not installed, do not display the corresponding button. Before September 2015, you could usually hide the login button if it was not installed. However, the current method of hiding the button may also be rejected by the review. QQ and Weibo provide web login methods. If it is not installed, users need to be allowed to use the webview login method. Apple has stated in its terms that it does not allow the normal use of iOS applications to rely on another App.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We noticed that third-party app QQ/WeChatis required to use third-party authentication method. The user should be able to login without installing additional applications.
• Next Steps
• If you choose to support third-party authentication, please use methods that can authenticate users from within your app, such as a native web-view.

3. Collect device IDFA but the app has no advertising function

Since February 2014, Apple has refused to allow apps that collect IDFA (identifier for advertising) but do not integrate any advertising services to enter the AppStore. If the app itself does not have ads, ASO100.com recommends that you display a banner ad during the review and place it in a more prominent position, and then turn it off after the review is passed.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app uses the iOSAdvertising Identifier but does not include ad functionality. This does notcomply with the terms of the iOS Developer Program License Agreement, asrequired by the App Store Review Guidelines.
• Specifically, section 3.3.12 of the iOSDeveloper Program License Agreement states:
• "You and Your Applications (and any third party with whom you have contracted to serve advertising) may us theAdvertising Identifier, and any information obtained through the use of theAdvertising Identifier, only for the purpose of serving advertising. If a userresets the Advertising Identifier, then You agree not to combine, correlate, link or otherwise associate, either directly or indirectly, the priorAdvertising Identifier and any derived information with the reset AdvertisingIdentifier."
• Please remove the iOS AdvertisingIdentifier from your app or add ad functionality to your app.

4. Contains UGC but does not provide a user agreement or reporting function

If your App has UGC (user-generated content) functions such as posting, you must provide a user agreement and leave a content reporting function, otherwise it will be rejected during review.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found your app enables the display of user-generated content which may become sexually explicit. Therefore we askthat you put the following precautions in place, to ensure your app remains incompliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
• Use Moderators to flag and remove appropriate content
• Require that your users agree to terms(EULA) and these terms must be clear that there's no tolerance for objectionable content
• Users need a way to flag or reportobjectionable content and users generating this content
• Developer must act on objectionable contentreports within 24 hours by removing the content and ejecting the user whoprovided the offending content
• Developer needs a method for ejecting users who violate the terms of the EULA
• Please keep in mind that it is not
• sufficient for the user to report an issue through a general user feedback / feedback orlike/dislike feature of the app. Please ensure that the contents that maybecome objectionable have a reporting or flagging mechanism readily accessible by the user to allow the user to promptly report or flag the issue and clearly identify the offending content.

5. Not using real app screenshots when uploading

App names, descriptions, screenshots or previews that are not relevant to the app's content and functionality will be rejected. Some apps were rejected because their screenshots used self-designed illustrations.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We noticed that your marketing screenshot(s)do not sufficiently reflect your app in use.We've attached screenshot(s) for your reference.
• Next Steps
• Please revise your screenshots to demonstrate the app functionality in use.

6. The application must use an invitation code to register and use

Apple requires that apps cannot be restricted to certain users.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• Your app arbitrarily restricts users by requiring invitation code to register, which is not allowed on the App Store. We've attached screenshot(s) for your reference.
• Next Steps
• Please revise your app to remove any functionality that limits who can use the app.

7. The names or icons of third-party mobile platforms appear in the app

Apple has always prohibited iOS developers from mentioning the Android version when describing their software. Since April 2015, any mention of Android, Android text, icons, or system interface in the app, screenshots, or anywhere else will be rejected. There was once an e-commerce app that was rejected because it sold Samsung Android phones. . .

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app and/or its metadatacontains inappropriate or irrelevant platform information, which is not incompliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
• Specifically, your app mentioned other platforms, such as Android.
• Providing future platform compatibility plans, or other general platform references, is not appropriate in the context of the App Store. It would be appropriate to remove this information.

8. The app contains rewards but does not state that it has nothing to do with Apple

If there are physical rewards in the App, Apple products (such as iPhone, iPad, etc.) cannot be used as prizes. In addition, it must be stated that "the rewards are provided by our company and have nothing to do with Apple officials."

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• Your app includes a contest or sweepstakesbut it does not:
• Indicate that Apple is not involved in anyway with the contest or sweepstakes.
• Next Steps
• It is necessary to:
• Include official rules of the contest orsweepstakes in the app
• Include an explicit statement in the contest or sweepstakes rules specifying that > ​​Apple is not a sponsor
• Ensure that the contest or sweepstakeprizes are not Apple products

9. No method is provided to restore in-app purchases

Just add a "Restore Purchase History" button.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app offers In-App Purchase/s that can be restored but it does not include a “Restore” feature to allow users to restore the previously purchased In-App Purchase/s.
• To restore previously purchased In-AppPurchase products, it would be appropriate to provide a “Restore” button andinitiate the restore process when the “Restore” button is tapped.

10. You cannot use functions not related to your account when you are not registered

For apps such as information, if you force users to log in when no operations related to user information are performed, or even if users cannot see any content without logging in, they may be rejected.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We noticed that your app requires users to register with personal information to access non account-based features. Appscannot require user registration prior to allowing access to app content andfeatures that are not associated specifically to the user.
• Specifically, your app forces users to log in before they can read the news.
• We features that your app requires users to register or log in, prior to accessing non account-based features. Apps cannot require user registration or login prior to allowing access to app content and features that are not associated specifically to the user.
• Next Steps
• User registration that requires the sharing of personal information must be optional or tied to account-specific functionality. Additionally, the requested information must be relevant to the features.

11. iPhone apps cannot be displayed properly on iPad

iPhone programs must run on iPad without modification at iPhone resolution and 2x iPhone 3GS resolution. Even if your app is only for iPhone users, it must be displayed normally on iPad, otherwise the review will be rejected.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We noticed that your app did not run at iPhone resolution when reviewed on iPad running iOS 9.1, which is a violation of the App Store Review Guidelines. We've attached screenshot(s) for yourreference.
• Specifically, the buttons at the bottom of the app are inaccessible when running on iPad.
• Next Steps
• Please revise your app to ensure it runs atiPhone resolution on iPad.

12. Infringement of third party copyright

Video, music, and book apps are easily rejected because of this rule. In addition, ASO100.com recommends that third-party trademarks, such as operator logos, film and television company logos, etc., should not appear in the app.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app allows users to download music without authorization from the relevant third-party sources.
• We've attached screenshot(s) for yourreference.
• Next Steps
• Please provide documentary evidence of yourrights to allow music or video content download from third-party sources. If you do not have the requested permissions, please remove the music or videodownload functionality from your app.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• Your app includes content or features thatresemble a well-known, third-party mark, Fox . We've attached screenshot for your reference.
• Pursuant to your agreement with Apple, you represent and warrant that your application does not infringe the rights ofanother party, and that you are responsible for any liability to Apple because of a claim that your application infringes another party's rights. Moreover, wemay reject or remove your application for any reason, at our sole discretion.
• Accordingly, please provide documentaryevidence of rights to use this content. Once Legal has reviewed yourdocumentation and confirms its validity, we will proceed with the review ofyour app.

13. Obscene words appear in app screenshots, names, descriptions, etc.

If words such as awesome, green tea bitch, shameless, and funny appear anywhere in the app screenshots, names, descriptions, etc., it will be rejected by Apple.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app contains content that many audiences would find objectionable, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.
• Specifically, we noticed your app name 打飞机-简单粗暴 is objectionable.
• We encourage you to review your app content and evaluate whether you can modify the content to bring it into compliancewith the Guidelines.

14. The words "beta version" and "test version" appear in the application

Don't be too modest and add the word "beta" to the startup screen or app name. Apple does not allow beta products to be put on the shelves.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• Your app appears to be a pre-release, test, or trial version with a limited feature set. Apps that are created fordemonstration or trial purposes are not appropriate for the App Store and donot comply with the App Store Review Guidelines.
• To ensure compliance with the App StoreReview Guidelines, it would be appropriate to revise your app to complete,remove, or fully configure any partially implemented feature(s).
• If you would like to conduct beta trial for your app, you may wish to review the TestFlight Beta Testing Guide.

15. Lack of privacy policy during registration

If the app contains a registration function, the registration page must provide a privacy statement agreement button or link. In addition, when submitting a new version in iTunes connect, the Privacy Policy URL must be filled in.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We noticed that your app includes accountregistration or access to users' existing accounts but does not include aprivacy policy, which does not comply with the App Store Review Guidelines.
• Please update your app metadata to includea privacy policy and ensure that the privacy policy URL you provide directs theuser to the intended destination.

16. Application crashes, loading failures, and other bugs

A crash during the audit will result in a rejection. ASO100.com recommends that you ensure that the server is stable during the audit to avoid content loading failures during the audit, which may result in rejection.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We discovered one or more bugs in your app when reviewed on iPhone running iOS 8.1.2 on both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Specifically, no content is fetched when users launch the app. Please see the attached screenshot/s for more information. It would be appropriate to revise such issue(s) in your application.
• Next Steps
• Please run your app on a device to identify the issue(s), then revise and resubmit your app for review.

17. The app description, screenshots, and app functions do not match

If the features introduced in the app description or screenshots are not reflected during the review period, it will be rejected. If the description is not detailed enough, there is a certain probability that it will be rejected.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app did not achieve thecore functionality described in your marketing materials or release notes, as required by the App Store Review Guidelines.Specifically, your app does not include the feature of WeChat Moments Sharing that is written in your release note. It would be appropriate to revise your app to ensure this feature is fully implemented or to revise your ApplicationDescription, Release Notes, and/or screenshots to remove this content.

18. The app includes an app recommendation function

Except in special circumstances, Apple expressly prohibits recommending other apps within an app.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• The App Recommendation feature in yourapp displays or promotes third-party apps, which violates the App Store Review
• Guidelines. We've attached screenshot(s) for your reference.
• Next Steps
• Please remove the App Recommendations feature from your app.

19. The app contains incorrect diagnostic functionality

If your app contains false system detection or optimization functions, Apple will consider this function to be misleading to users and it will be rejected during the review.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We noticed that your app providespotentially inaccurate diagnostic functionality for iOS devices to the user.
• We've attached screenshot(s) for yourreference.
• Next Steps
• Currently, there is no publicly available infrastructure to support iOS diagnostic analysis. Therefore your app may report inaccurate information which could mislead or confuse your users. Weencourage you to review your app concept and incorporate different content and features that are in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.

20. The new version submitted by the application is too different from the previous version

If the new version of the app you submit has too many functional changes compared to the previous version, such as upgrading a game to a tool app, or completely changing the functions of the previous version of the product in the new version, it will be rejected by Apple.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app did not achieve thecore functionality described in your marketing materials or release notes, as required by the App Store Review Guidelines.Specifically, the app has a whole contentswap from a Game app to a Mobile Data Tracking app, which does not provide a good user experience when updating the app.It would be appropriate to revise your app to ensure this feature is fully implemented or to revise your ApplicationDescription, Release Notes, and/or screenshots to remove this content.If your iTunes Connect Application State isRejected, a new binary will be required. Make the desired metadata changes when you upload the new binary.

21. The application violates local laws and regulations

Applications must comply with the laws and regulations of the regions where they are launched, and are prohibited from containing content that violates the law, such as gambling, pornography, and paid companionship. In particular, apps that provide paid social services to users, such as online live streaming apps, must strictly abide by relevant regulations.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• Your app contains content - or facilitates,enables, and encourages an activity - that is not legal in all of the locations where the app is available. Specifically, your app is advertised as a platform to provide paid companionship services.We've attached screenshot(s) for yourreference.
• Next Steps
• We encourage you to review your app concept and incorporate different content and features that are in compliance with theApp Store Review Guidelines.

22. The name of the application author is inconsistent with the name of the financial institution

For financial products such as wealth management and P2P, Apple has added a requirement that the developer's name must be consistent with the name of the financial institution within the APP, otherwise it will be rejected.

Apps provided by the same brand of financial institutions must be published under the same developer account and name. If you have published these apps on behalf of a client or company, your client or company should register an iOS developer account and add you to their developer account so that you can submit and publish the app under their account.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that the Seller and/or Artistnames associated with your app do not reflect the name of the financial institution in the app and/or its name and metadata. To be appropriate for the App Store, yourapp must be published under a Seller name and Artist name that reflects the financial institution brand, as required by the iOS Developer Program LicenseAgreement.
• Section 1.2:
• "You" and "Your" means and refers to the person(s) or legal entity (whether the company, organization, educational institution, or governmental agency, instrumentality, ordepartment) using the Apple Software or otherwise exercising rights under thisAgreement. For the sake of clarity, You may authorize contractors to developApplications on Your behalf, but any such Applications must be submitted underYour developer account.
• If you have published these apps on behalf of a client, it would be appropriate for your client to enroll in the iOSDeveloper Program, then add you to their development team so you can develop anapp for them to submit under their developer account.

23. The functions provided by the application are too simple

The functions within the app cannot be too simple. Although Apple advocates "simplicity" in its philosophy, it does not mean that it will accept apps with incomplete functions. Their core requirement for apps is to give users a more valuable experience. Of course, if your product is too creative, Apple's reviewers may not understand its uniqueness. In this case, you can appeal to describe the product's advantages in more detail so that it can pass the review.

Attached is the original reason for rejection:

• We found that your app only provides a verylimited set of features. It only provides an augmented reality reader mechanism with no other functionality. While we value simplicity, we consider simplicity to be uncomplicated - not limited in features and functionality.
• We understand that there are no hard and fast rules to define useful or entertaining, but Apple and Apple customers expect apps to provide a really great user experience. Apps should providevaluable utility or entertainment, draw people in by offering compellingcapabilities or content, or enable people to do something they couldn't do before or in a way they couldn't do it before.
• We encourage you to review your app concept and evaluate whether you can incorporate additional content and features to bein compliance with the Guidelines. For information on the basics of creating great apps, watch the video The Ingredients of Great Apps. If you feel we didn'tunderstand the features of your app, or that we missed key functionality, and your app was incorrectly rejected, you may appeal to the App Review Board.