App Store rejection
Guideline 2.1 - Information Needed
Apple paused your review until it gets answers and a screen recording. We write the answers point by point and plan the recording, so one reply covers everything the message asks for. Fixed price.
Free triage within 12 business hours.
Paste the rejection, get a straight answer
Free first read. We reply within 12 business hours with what's behind it and a fixed price.
What Apple's message says
Lines from a real 2.1 Information Needed message, word for word, and what each one means in practice.
We need additional information to continue the review of this new app. To help us fully understand the app and conduct a complete review, app submissions should include relevant details in the App Review Information section in App Store Connect.
Your review is paused, not finished. It continues once App Review has the details it asked for.
A screen recording captured on a physical device, running the latest operating system, demonstrating the app's functionality. The recording must begin with launching the app and show the typical user flow through its core features.
Record on an iPhone or iPad, not in the Simulator, on the latest iOS. Start by launching the app, then go through the main features the way a new user would.
Include this information in the Notes field of the App Review Information section in App Store Connect for future submissions.
Answer in your reply now, and also put the same details in the Notes field, so the next submission already carries them.
What it actually means
Apple asked for information; it hasn't judged the app yet. The full request lists eight things:
- Screen recording: from a physical device on the latest OS, starting with launching the app and showing the core features.
- Devices and OS versions: which devices and operating system versions you tested the app on.
- Features and audience: what the app does, what problem it solves and who it's for.
- Sign-in: how to get into the app: a demo account that works, and anything else needed to reach every feature.
- External services: the third-party services, tools or platforms the app relies on.
- Regional differences: anything that works differently depending on the country or region.
- Regulated areas: documents for regulated fields, such as licences or permissions, if the app works in one.
- In-App Purchase: what is sold through In-App Purchase and where in the app to find it.
Two details matter most. The recording has to come from a physical device: a Simulator recording isn't what the message asks for. And if nothing in the app has to change, there's no new build: you reply in the same thread in App Store Connect, on the build that's already there.
If Apple already tested the app and something failed, that's a different 2.1 rejection: App Completeness.
What to do
- Read the whole message and list every point it asks for. Answer all of them, in Apple's order.
- Record the app on a physical iPhone or iPad running the latest iOS: start by launching the app, then go through the core features.
- Sign in with the demo account on a fresh install right before you reply, so it works when App Review uses it.
- Reply in the same thread in App Store Connect, with the recording and every answer in writing. If nothing in the app changed, don't upload a new build.
- Copy the same information into the Notes field of the App Review Information section, so future submissions carry it.
What not to do
- Don't send a Simulator recording, or one that starts in the middle of the app. The message asks for a physical device and a recording that begins with launching the app.
- Don't skip a point because it seems obvious. Each one is something Apple asked for, and a reply without it leaves the request unanswered.
- Don't upload a new build just to restart the review when nothing in the app has to change. A build doesn't answer the questions.
- Don't send a demo account that expires, needs a code sent to your phone, or has nothing in it to show.
When it's worth getting help
When you're not sure how to describe the app's audience, its external services or what it sells, or the app works in a regulated area, answers tend to get vague. We write them point by point and give you a shot list for the recording, so it shows exactly what the message asks for.
Reviewer Reply
$99
Regular price: $190Answers to every point, the screen recording plan and your reply in App Store Connect, followed until Apple decides. No code changes.
Rejection Fix
$249
Regular price: from $490Everything in Reviewer Reply, plus fixes if something in the app has to change, for example a demo account or a feature that can't be reached, the new build and every round for the same issue.
Several apps paused at once? Send them all, we'll quote per app.
50% to start, 50% after Apple approves the submission. If Apple does not approve the submission for the guidelines we fixed, we keep working on those guidelines at no extra cost for up to 3 resubmissions within 60 days. If it still is not approved, you do not pay the second half.
Proof
2.5.1 · 5.2.5
In this AI era we focus so much on speed and shipping to the point we don't take the time to understand parts of the process. Even though I think the Apple Review team can speak in a more human and clear way, I still think they have a hard and necessary job. You've helped me go through this in a smooth way, you reduced this bottleneck to one message, and I can't be more thankful to you!
An app we worked on went through 7 rejections and was approved on round 8.
Questions
What does "We need additional information to continue the review" mean?
The review is paused until App Review gets the details in its list. It's a request for information, not a verdict on the app.
Can I record the screen in the Simulator?
No. The message asks for a recording captured on a physical device running the latest operating system.
Do I need to upload a new build?
Not if nothing in the app has to change: you reply in the same thread in App Store Connect. If something has to change, it needs a new build, and the answers still have to be sent.
Where do the answers go?
In your reply in App Store Connect now, and in the Notes field of the App Review Information section for future submissions, as the message asks.
How fast do you answer?
Free triage within 12 business hours.
Do you need my Apple ID password?
No, never. Access goes through an App Store Connect user with the App Manager role.
Send us your rejection
Paste Apple's message, questions included. We'll tell you what they're asking for and give you a fixed price.
Prefer X? DM us at @verdict_studio
Got it. Free triage within 12 business hours.
Sources
The quotes above are from Apple's message. These are Apple's pages behind it:
- App Review Guidelines, 2.1 App Completeness
- Provide information for a complete review — App Review Help
- App Review — including replying to App Review before you resubmit
Written by Ivan Bilousov, founder of Verdict Studio · Updated