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Free fix page · Apple's rules checked 9 November 2026

Guideline 4.3 spam, 4.1 copycats and 4.2.6 template apps: what each one means

Several different rules share this kind of rejection. Read the exact guideline, with its letter, before you change anything.

Apple's words

“Don't create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app”

Guideline 4.3(a)

“Don't submit apps that are indistinguishable from what's already widely available.”

Guideline 4.3(b)

“You cannot use another developer's icon, brand, or product name in your app's icon or name, without approval from the developer.”

Guideline 4.1(c)

“Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected unless they are submitted directly by the provider of the app's content.”

Guideline 4.2.6

What it means

4.3(a) means you sent near-copies of one app under separate Bundle IDs (the unique ID Apple gives each app). Apple suggests a single app, with the variations offered “using in-app purchase”.

4.3(b) is a crowded category. Apple names “dating, flashlight, sound effects, wallpaper, simple timers, and fortune telling”, and wants “a meaningfully different or improved experience”.

4.1 is copying another app's name, icon, look or features.

4.2.6 targets template services that submit apps for their clients. Apple hasn't said whether an AI app builder counts as an “app generation service”. On a plain reading, submitting your own app from your own account makes you the provider of its content, but Apple hasn't confirmed that.

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

  1. Note which guideline, and which letter, the message names.
  2. 4.3(a): have you sent Apple another app that does nearly the same thing?
  3. 4.3(b): what does your app do that the many similar apps don't? Put it in one sentence.
  4. 4.1: does any other app or brand show up in your name, icon, design or listing text?
  5. 4.2.6: whose developer account sent the app, and is anything left from a template, such as sample text or a default icon?

Kept for the paid guide

These three parts are in the paid guide only:

  • The exact App Store Connect clicks. Which edits are listing-only and can be answered with a reply, and which need a new build.
  • The prompt to paste into your AI builder. A prompt that looks for template leftovers and borrowed branding in the build.
  • The reply to Apple. A reply for each guideline, including one that says you made the content and submit it from your own account.