App Store rejection
Guideline 4.3(b) - Design - Spam
Apple says your category already has enough apps like yours. We'll build the case for what makes yours different and take it through the reply or the appeal. Fixed price, half paid only after approval.
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 the message is about
The wording varies. The core of it: your app sits in a category that already has a lot of similar apps, and Apple doesn't see what makes yours different.
Guideline 4.3(b) names examples like flashlight, fortune telling, dating and drinking game apps, and says Apple will reject apps in saturated categories unless they provide a unique, high-quality experience.
What it actually means
Unlike 4.3(a), nobody says you copied anything. Built from scratch, your own engine, original code: none of it is the question here.
The question is what a user gets from your app that the top apps in the category don't give them. And it has to be visible to the reviewer: in the first screens, the screenshots, the description and your reply.
Why guessing is expensive
- A new icon, name or color scheme doesn't change the category, so the answer stays the same.
- "Similar apps got approved" argues that the category is crowded, which is exactly the rule.
- "Our code is original" answers a question Apple didn't ask.
- The guideline warns that spamming the store may lead to removal from the Apple Developer Program. Every round without a new argument costs days and adds to the account's history.
What we do
- Put your app next to the top apps in its category and find what's actually different.
- Tell you honestly if that difference is strong enough to make the case, before you pay for anything else.
- Rework what the reviewer sees first: the first screenshots, subtitle and review notes, so the difference shows in seconds.
- Write the reply to App Review or the App Review Board appeal, and stay on it through every round.
You keep your code and your account. We never ask for your Apple ID password. If we need access, it goes through an App Store Connect user with the App Manager role.
Fixed price
Reviewer Reply
$99
Regular price: $190The case for your app: the reply to App Review or the appeal, plus review notes, followed until Apple decides. No code changes.
Rejection Fix
$249
Regular price: from $490Everything in Reviewer Reply, plus changes to the app or the listing so the difference shows, the resubmission and every round for the same issue.
Several apps rejected 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. If we think your app can't make the case, we'll tell you upfront that the guarantee doesn't cover it.
Proof
4.3(a) Design Spam · App concept review
So I was facing this issue where one of my app got design spam twice. And seeing other on X also getting it more frequently now I got real demotivated and there was this fear in me that my next app will probably get design spam too because already there are other similar apps. In my case I was not having an issue with binary or metadata as I create things from ground up the main issue was app concept.
After talking to team I got to know that we can do consultation call with apple review team even before submitting build. The team also emphasized that first screenshot should highlights your unique features that no one have.
Going forward I will now try consultation calls with the apple team and also will highlight my unique features instead of the most popular and famous one.
An app we worked on went through 7 rejections and was approved on round 8.
Questions
What's the difference between 4.3(a) and 4.3(b)?
4.3(a) is about your app being too close to specific apps, yours or other developers'. 4.3(b) is about the whole category being crowded. Different rule, different reply.
My app is built from scratch. Doesn't that count?
Not for 4.3(b). The rule isn't about copying. It's about what your app gives users that the others in the category don't.
Should I appeal or change the app?
If the difference is already in the app and just not visible, a better reply or an appeal can be enough. If the app really is like the others, something has to change first. We tell you which one it is after the triage.
Which categories count as saturated?
The guideline gives examples like flashlight, fortune telling, dating and drinking game apps, and the list isn't complete.
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 and one line on what your app does that the top apps in your category don't. We'll tell you if there's a case and give you a fixed price.
Prefer X? DM us at @verdict_studio
Got it. Free triage within 12 business hours.
Written by Ivan Bilousov, founder of Verdict Studio · Updated