App Store
31 guides on app store for app store optimization, from the team behind AppRankr.
Apple's New Guidelines: No Hidden Features, and Real Rules for Creative Assets
Apple's October 16, 2026 guideline update adds two new rules worth knowing: 2.5.19 bans hidden or undocumented features, and 2.3.14 sets real content rules for creative assets. Here's the exact wording.
App Preview Videos Went Missing on iPhone. Here's What Developers Found
Starting around October 5, 2026, App Preview videos stopped showing on iPhone for some apps, and Apple confirmed it's investigating. Here's what developers documented, and how to check your own listing.
Apple's New App Replacement Entitlement: What It Actually Does
Apple's October 13, 2026 Developer Program License Agreement update adds a new App Replacement Entitlement. Here's the exact legal text, what it covers, and what it doesn't say about ratings or rank.
Apple's Win-Back Offers: The Real Limits and Setup Steps
Apple's own App Store Connect help page gives exact numbers for win-back offers: 350 per subscription, 5 active per storefront, a 3-day minimum run. Here's what the setup actually requires.
Apple's Bundles and Suites: Sell Five Developers' Subscriptions as One
Apple's own page confirms Bundles and Suites let you combine auto-renewable subscriptions, even across up to five different developers, into a single In-App Purchase. Here's exactly how it works and what it requires.
Apple's Guideline 4.3(b): Live Apps Can Now Be Removed for Not Attracting Customers
Apple's own App Store Review Guidelines confirm a real removal clause for specific saturated categories, dating, flashlight, wallpaper, and more. Here's the exact wording and who it actually applies to.
Apple's Creative Assets and Asset Library Are Now Live in App Store Connect
What Apple previewed as 'coming this fall' is now actually live. Apple's own October 5, 2026 release notes confirm the Creative Assets feature and Asset Library, with real detail on what each piece does.
iPhone Duo Screenshots Go From Optional to Required in April 2027
Apple's own timeline confirms a real deadline. Starting April 2027, every submission needs iPhone Duo screenshots, and needs to be built with the iOS 27 SDK or later. Here's what that actually means for your next release.
App Store Connect Now Lets You Submit Multiple Review Items as One Package
In-App Purchases, In-App Events, custom product pages, and product page tests used to mean separate submissions with separate statuses. Apple's own update lets you group them into one, with one status view.
Apple's Korea Age Ratings Just Got Stricter for Mild Content
Starting October 2026, infrequent profanity and mild mature themes push a Korea App Store listing from All to 12+. Here's what Apple's own update confirms, and the override option most developers miss.
What's Actually Getting Apps Rejected on the App Store, by the Numbers
A 2026 survey of 404 iOS developers found most rejections trace back to just two guidelines. Here's the actual breakdown, clearly labeled as survey data, not an Apple-confirmed stat.
Apple's Creative Assets Must Be Rated 4+, Even for a 17+ App
Your app's own age rating doesn't carry over to its Creative Assets. Apple's own guidance holds every asset to a 4+ standard, no matter who your app is actually rated for.
Apple Is Ending Its Per-Install EU Fee for a Flat 5% Commission Instead
The euro-per-install Core Technology Fee that only applied in the EU is going away October 1, 2026. Here's what replaces it, and why the fee model itself is changing, not just the number.
Apple Published Real Research on How It Ranks App Store Search Results
A peer-reviewed Apple paper names two actual relevance signals behind App Store search, and shows the biggest gains landed on long-tail, less common queries. Here's what it actually says.
Apple's New EU Tracking Prompt Comes With a Real Second Chance
Apple's own page confirms an alternative App Tracking Transparency prompt in the EU, mandatory in five countries, plus a real annual re-prompt. Here's what actually changed for attribution.
Apple's Personalized Collections: A Discovery Surface You Can't Directly Target
Apple's own page confirms Personalized Collections now surface apps based on usage and downloads, not search terms. Here's what's live, and what it means if you can't target it directly.
Apple's Brazil Changes: Alternative Stores, Alternative Payments, Real Fee Numbers
Following a CADE settlement, Apple's own page lists exact new fees for alternative marketplaces and payments in Brazil. Here's what's confirmed, not a rumor or a guess.
Apple's New Rule 4.5.3: Live Activities Can't Be Used to Spam Users
Apple's own App Store Review Guidelines now name Live Activities directly in its anti-spam rule. Here's the exact wording, and what still counts as a legitimate use.
Apple Search Ads' September 2026 Attribution Change: What It Means for Your Numbers
Reporting says Apple Ads dropped attribution for age and gender targeted ad groups starting September 1, 2026, and added a touchpoint timestamp. Here's what that likely does to your reported numbers.
iPhone Duo Screenshot Specs: Two Displays, Two Full Sets of Assets
Apple's own App Store Connect docs already list exact screenshot sizes for iPhone Duo's outer and inner displays. Here's what's confirmed, and why upload isn't live yet.
Apple's Low-Value App Rule: Which Categories Now Risk Rejection or Removal
Apple's own App Store guidelines name specific app categories that face rejection or removal unless they're meaningfully different. Here's the exact wording, and what it means if your app is one of them.
Apple's New App Store Creative Assets: A Discovery Surface Beyond Screenshots
Apple is adding rich image and video placements to product page headers and search results this fall. Here's what Apple's own page confirms, and what's still just a preview.
Apple's New Social Media Capability Disclosure: What It Actually Changes
Apple now requires apps to declare social media capabilities in the age rating questionnaire. Here's Apple's own definition, and what a wrong answer can do to your age rating.
Apple's AI-Generated App Store Tags: What They Are and What They Aren't Yet
Apple is using its own LLMs to generate descriptive tags for apps in App Store search. Here's what's confirmed, what's still beta-only, and what it means for ASO.
What Apple's App Intents Framework Means for Getting Found by Siri
Apple's App Intents framework lets Siri and Spotlight surface specific actions inside your app, not just the app itself. Here's what it actually does and why it matters for discovery.
Apple Added More Ad Slots to App Store Search: What It Means If You Don't Advertise
Starting March 2026, App Store search results carry more than one ad slot per query. Here's what's confirmed about the rollout, and what it means for organic-only apps.
Does Your App's Age Rating Affect Search Visibility?
Apple says age rating drives visibility and parental controls directly. Apple also just expanded its rating tiers, with a 2026 deadline attached. Here's what's confirmed.
Does Changing Your App's Category Reset Your Rankings?
Apple's own docs explain how to set a category. They stay quiet on what happens to your rank when you switch one. Here's what real developers have reported.
Do In-App Events Help Your App Get Discovered on the App Store?
Apple's In-App Events surface on search, Today, and product pages. Here's what they actually are, where they show up, and what they realistically do for discovery.
App Store Ranking Dropped After an Update: What to Check First
A rank dip right after you ship a new version has its own short list of causes, separate from the usual ones. Here's what to rule out first.
iOS vs Android ASO: Where The Rules Genuinely Diverge
The App Store and Google Play look similar on the surface but reward different tactics. Here's exactly where a copy-paste ASO strategy between platforms breaks down.