Guideline 4.2 Minimum Functionality: “a repackaged website” or too little app
The reviewer felt a website could do the same job, or that there is too little in the app to be worth installing.
Apple's words
“If your app is not particularly useful, unique, or "app-like," it doesn't belong on the App Store.”
“Other than catalogs, apps shouldn't primarily be marketing materials, advertisements, web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links.”
“Websites served in an iOS app, web content that is not formatted for iOS, and limited web interactions do not make a quality app.”
What it means
Guideline 4.2 wants features, content and screens that take the app beyond “a repackaged website”.
Apple publishes no minimum number of features. Its App Review page says: “If your app doesn't offer much functionality or content, or only applies to a small niche market, it may not be approved.”
How to respond depends on why. If the reviewer missed what the app does, because a sign-in, a paywall or an empty start screen hid it, reply first with steps and evidence. If the app really is thin, improve it and send a new build.
Start from what the app is for, not from a list of features to bolt on.
What caused it for us
We haven't had this rejection ourselves. This page follows Apple's current rules, checked 9 November 2026.
What to check first
- Was the main feature hidden from the reviewer by a sign-in, a paywall or an empty start screen?
- List the screens that are web pages loaded inside the app.
- Does it look like a desktop site squeezed onto a phone, with small text, menus across the top and links out to web pages?
- Is the app mostly links, a menu or marketing for your business?
- Would someone who only saw your screenshots and review notes know what the app is for?
Kept for the paid guide
These three parts are in the paid guide only:
- The exact App Store Connect clicks. The click path for each case: a reply when Apple missed the feature, or a new build with updated notes and screenshots.
- The prompt to paste into your AI builder. A prompt that diagnoses the build you sent before anything is added.
- The reply to Apple. A reply for each case: steps to the main feature, or what the new build adds.