How to Get Your App Approved on the App Store and Google Play: Common Rejections and Fixes

We publish apps to both stores regularly, including launches like the Make My Look salon app. The pattern is consistent: apps that are tested properly and described honestly get through. Here is what reviewers check.

Common rejection reasons

• Crashes and bugs: anything that breaks during review.
• No demo access: the reviewer cannot log in to test.
• Incomplete information: placeholder text, broken links, missing contact details.
• Privacy gaps: no privacy policy, or data use not declared accurately.
• Too little functionality: an app that is just a website in a wrapper.
• Misleading listing: screenshots or descriptions that do not match the app.
• Payments: digital content sold outside the store's rules.

Pre-submission checklist

1. Test on real devices and on slow networks.
2. Remove test data, placeholder screens and debug menus.
3. Add a working demo account and notes for the reviewer.
4. Publish a privacy policy and declare data collection accurately.
5. Provide a way to delete an account if users can create one.
6. Use screenshots taken from the real app.
7. Check every link, including support and terms.

Security and data handling

Reviewers and users both care about how data is handled. Our mobile app security checklist covers storage, network security and permissions, and the DPDP Act guide explains Indian data protection basics.

If your app is rejected

Do not panic and do not argue. Read the guideline cited, fix the issue, explain the change in the reply and resubmit. If the reviewer misunderstood a feature, a short screen recording usually resolves it.

Preparing the store listing

• App name and subtitle: clear and accurate, without keyword stuffing.
• Screenshots: from the real app, in the sizes each store asks for.
• Description: what the app does and who it is for, matching what reviewers will see.
• Privacy policy URL: live, specific to the app, and consistent with what the app collects.
• Support contact: a working email or page.
• Age rating questionnaire: answered honestly for both stores.

Updates get reviewed too

Every update goes through review, not only the first release. Keep the same discipline for each version: test on real devices, update the release notes, and check that new permissions or data collection are declared. Store policies change during the year, so read the current App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play policies before each major release.

Use staged rollouts on Google Play and phased releases on the App Store, so a problem in a new version reaches a small group of users first.

Plan review into your timeline

Leave time for at least one review round in your launch plan. Our guide on how long it takes to build an app shows where review fits. At Creuto store submission is part of every mobile project, and our QA and testing service covers the device testing reviewers expect.