Why Do Apps Get Rejected? Apple Shares Top 10 Reasons

Apple keeps a tight grip on its App Store, sometimes to the point of being obscure and secretive. That is why it is such a big deal when the company does shed some light into its review process. Giving "listicle" lovers something to devour, Cupertino is letting the public in on the top 10 causes for apps to get rejected, most of which boil down to developer oversight.

The most common reason, at 14%, is "Incomplete Information". This includes developers not filling up forms, not providing necessary demo accounts, and sometimes not even providing updated contact information. Though common, they are fortunately not so "fatal" to the app. One can also add leftover placeholder text ("Lorem Ipsum" anyone?) at 4% and apps with broken links to the category that can probably be filed under carelessness or absent-mindedness rather than malicious intent.

Apple does safeguard against those by using a different set of criteria, like requiring apps to have meaningful descriptions, screenshots related to the app, and names and icons that aren't designed to mislead users. To some extent, apps that are in beta, trial, or demo mode are also rejected to ensure that users will be getting the full experience (except for in-app purchases).

The App Store review process also safeguards the quality of the user experience as well, and perhaps here things can go from technical to subjective. That of course includes bugs that developers should have squashed before submitting the app for review. But it also mentions "substandard user interfaces". Fortunately, Apple also provides clear and strict design guidelines for developers to follow.

For developers more used to Google's "free flowing" process that eschews app reviews and only catches problems after the fact, Apple's process might be a bit suffocating. It does, however, have the benefit of stopping problems before they even start, though some would perhaps prefer a more open review process than what is currently in place. Though that may never come, at least developers now have a shorter checklist to refer to, in case their app gets mysteriously rejected from the App Store.

SOURCE: Apple