Preparing Documentation for App Store Review
App Store Review Guidelines are not just a list of rules but a practical tool for reviewers. Most rejections happen not because of technical issues in the app itself, but because the reviewer didn't understand what's happening on screen and why it's legitimate. Proper documentation is an explanation for a real person seeing an unfamiliar app for the first time.
What a Complete Documentation Package Includes
App Review Information in App Store Connect is the first thing reviewers see. It requires:
- Test credentials with real access to features. If the app requires phone number verification, a working number that receives SMS is needed. Sandbox Apple accounts for in-app purchases must be configured and tested in advance.
- Notes for reviewer — a section most developers overlook. This is where to describe non-trivial flows: why the app requests background geolocation, how to activate features behind a paywall, how custom camera works.
- Demo video — for apps using CoreBluetooth, HealthKit, HomeKit, or NFC where reviewers physically cannot verify functionality without specific hardware, video is mandatory.
Privacy Nutrition Label in App Store Connect must accurately reflect the actual behavior of the app and all used SDKs. Mismatch between declared data and actual traffic is a reason for rejection under Privacy guidelines. Auditing each connected framework is essential: Firebase Analytics, Amplitude, AppsFlyer and others collect data by default.
Age Rating is calculated through a questionnaire — incorrectly set rating leads to rejection if app content doesn't match it.
Typical Documentation Failures
Most commonly, test accounts don't work during review. The account expired, token became stale, backend returned an error. The reviewer sees a login screen and cannot proceed further — rejection under 2.1 (App Completeness).
Second most common — the app requires external hardware (BLE device, NFC tag, specific QR code) with no video or explanation. The reviewer is not obligated to guess.
Third — undocumented use of camera or microphone outside obvious context. If the app is not a messenger or video editor but has audio recording buried deep for analytics — this must be explained in Notes.
How We Prepare Documentation
Audit the app against current App Store Review Guidelines (they are updated regularly, the latest significant version is 6.0 with stricter privacy requirements). Verify all entitlements in Entitlements.plist and match declared capabilities in App Store Connect. Prepare Notes for reviewer describing each non-standard behavior.
Separately, verify NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes in PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy, which became mandatory with iOS 17 for using certain system APIs including UserDefaults, FileTimestamp, SystemBootTime.
Documentation preparation timeline: one to two business days.