Apple Rejected Your App for 4.3? Here’s How to Fix It — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00If you're watching this, there is a good
2. 0:02chance you just got the message from
3. 0:04Apple guideline 4.3 and your first
4. 0:07reaction was probably how is my app spam
5. 0:11when there are literally hundreds of
6. 0:13similar apps on the app store. In this
7. 0:15video, I'll explain what guideline 4.3
8. 0:17[music]
9. 0:18actually means, why arguing with Apple
10. 0:21never works, and what can get apps
11. 0:23[music] approved.
12. 0:26First, let's look at one interesting
13. 0:28public document from Apple. Every year,
14. 0:31Apple release an app store transparency
15. 0:33report. It shows [music] how many apps
16. 0:36they review and how many they reject. In
17. 0:38the recent report, one number stands
18. 0:40out. App submissions rejected over 2
19. 0:43million times. That's not a typo. Nearly
20. 0:462 million rejections in a single year.
21. 0:49This isn't about your app being bad.
22. 0:51This isn't about Apple being unfair to
23. 0:53your personality. This is Apple running
24. 0:56a massive filtering machine and design
25. 0:59spam guideline 4.3 is one of their
26. 1:02strongest [music] filters. This is
27. 1:03happening to real developers every
28. 1:05single week. Different people, different
29. 1:07apps, same outcome. And if you read
30. 1:10enough of these threads, a pattern
31. 1:12becomes obvious. [music] UI changes
32. 1:14didn't help. Appeals without real
33. 1:17changes didn't help. Explaining why it's
34. 1:19better [music] didn't help. What did
35. 1:22help when people eventually got approved
36. 1:24was changing what the app actually is,
37. 1:27not how it looks.
38. 1:29First, let's clear something up.
39. 1:31Guideline 4.3 is not about bugs. It's
40. 1:35not about UI quality. It's not even
41. 1:37about where your app is useful. It's
42. 1:39about saturation. Apple is looking at
43. 1:42your app and thinking, we already have
44. 1:44thousand of apps that do this exact
45. 1:46thing. Even if yours is better, even
46. 1:48it's beautiful design, even if users
47. 1:51would genuinely love it, [music] Apple
48. 1:53doesn't care. What they care about is
49. 1:56market clutter. This problem has
50. 1:57exploded recently because of one major
51. 2:00factor, AI, and no good [music] jokes.
52. 2:03From Apple's perspective, the app store
53. 2:05is now flooded with GPD rappers, Y label
54. 2:08apps, some app new clones, 10 apps
55. 2:12shipped from one shared code base.
56. 2:14Apple's reasoning is simple. These apps
57. 2:17clutter the marketplace, make discovery
58. 2:19harder for users, and lower the overall
59. 2:22quality of the app store. You may
60. 2:24disagree, but Apple controls the
61. 2:26ecosystem. [music] Here is the K insane
62. 2:29most developer miss. Apps that pass
63. 2:31guideline 4.3 are never just the
64. 2:34category itself. Let's say you are
65. 2:36building an astrology app. App that get
66. 2:38rejected are usually just an astrology
67. 2:41app. But app [music] that survive look
68. 2:43more like a therapy app that use
69. 2:46astrology as a tool. A journal app
70. 2:48guided by astrological prompts. [music]
71. 2:51A kids learning app built around zodiac
72. 2:53stories. A dated app powered by
73. 2:56astrology or even a gimified astrology
74. 2:58RPG. Astrology becomes the engine
75. 3:00[music] not the product. The same
76. 3:02pattern applies everywhere. For example,
77. 3:04a GPT app can't just be a chat anymore.
78. 3:07A VPN can't just be a VPN. A journal
79. 3:10[music] can't just be a journal. Apple
80. 3:12wants a point of view, not the feature
81. 3:15set. This is where many founders go
82. 3:18wrong after their first rejection.
83. 3:19[music]
84. 3:21The most common mistake is trying to
85. 3:23repaint the app. New color, new
86. 3:26screenshots, minor UI tweaks, but that
87. 3:28never fixes a rejection. If your app
88. 3:31still only differs by colors, languages,
89. 3:34small content changes and other
90. 3:36rejection, it's almost guaranteed.
91. 3:38Cosmetic updates waste time, energy, and
92. 3:41morale. What actually works requires
93. 3:43patience. [music]
94. 3:44You need to change how the app is
95. 3:46positioned. Explain clearly why it's non
96. 3:49generic and why does it exist beyond a
97. 3:52saturated category. [music] And here is
98. 3:54important warnings. Never resubmit a
99. 3:56spam flated app from another developer
100. 3:58account. That shortcut can turn a
101. 4:00temporary seat back [music] into a
102. 4:02permanent bun. Be careful with appeals
103. 4:04cuz submitting one without real changes
104. 4:07usually just burns your chance. Don't
105. 4:09fight a viewer cuz losing your temper,
106. 4:12especially with Apple has never helped
107. 4:14anyone. Sometimes the right move is more
108. 4:17radical. Rethinking a concept, reshaping
109. 4:19the product or adding functionality that
110. 4:22creates real tangible value. No more
111. 4:24attack, not an AI chat. Originality is
112. 4:27the only thing that consistently works.
113. 4:30[music] If you are building a mobile app
114. 4:32in 2026, keep in mind that some
115. 4:35categories are not considered high risk.
116. 4:37If your app falls into one of these,
117. 4:39expect excess [music] credit. Apple is
118. 4:42rejecting these categories at record
119. 4:44rates. And if you are building in one of
120. 4:46these spaces, you need to be extremely
121. 4:49intentional.
122. 4:51A design spam rejection feels personal,
123. 4:54but it isn't. It's Apple telling you one
124. 4:56thing. We have seen this idea too many
125. 4:59times. You can fight it or you can
126. 5:02respond creatively. Sometimes the right
127. 5:04move is refining your concept. [music]
128. 5:06Sometimes it's letting go and building
129. 5:09something stronger. Either way, a full
130. 5:11points for rejection is in the end. Keep
131. 5:13focusing on making something great.
132. 5:15[music] Good luck. Thanks for watching.
133. 5:18If you found this helpful, don't forget
134. 5:20to hit the subscribe and like button.
135. 5:22Check the links below and follow us on
136. 5:24social media for more tips and updates.
137. 5:27And if you're ready to take your startup
138. 5:29to the next level, visit Mulfario. We
139. 5:31will help you build fast and [music]
140. 5:33smart. Catch you next time.