Apple revised its App Review Guidelines three times between November 2025 and June 2026, and changed the SDK and age rating requirements in between. Some of the changes clarified what reviewers were already doing. Others are new: Apple can now remove existing apps from crowded categories if they are not being improved or used. This is what changed, in date order, and who needs to act.
The timeline
| Date | Change | Most affected |
|---|---|---|
| 13 November 2025 | Guideline 5.1.2(i): personal data shared with third parties, explicitly including third-party AI, needs clear disclosure and explicit permission. New guideline 4.1(c): no use of another developer's icon, brand or product name in your app's icon or name without approval. | Apps with AI features; apps named after other products |
| 31 January 2026 | Deadline for the updated age rating questionnaire; new ratings of 13+, 16+ and 18+ replace 12+ and 17+ alongside 4+ and 9+ | Every app |
| 6 February 2026 | Guideline 1.2 clarified: random and anonymous chat apps fall under the user-generated content rules; apps used primarily for anonymous or "chatroulette-style" experiences may be removed without notice | Social and chat apps |
| 28 April 2026 | Uploads must be built with Xcode 26 and the 26 SDKs | Every app that ships an update |
| 8 June 2026 | Guideline 4.3 on spam rewritten; new guideline 4.5.3 on Live Activities; artificial intelligence terms reorganised; developer identity requirements clarified | Apps in crowded categories; apps using Live Activities or on-device AI frameworks |
Personal data and third-party AI (5.1.2(i))
If your app sends personal data to an external AI service, for example a chat feature that passes a user's messages, documents or photos to a hosted model, you must tell users clearly where the data goes and obtain their explicit permission before it is sent. A line buried in the terms of service is not enough. In practice this means:
- A consent screen before the first use of the feature, naming the kind of service the data goes to and what it is used for
- A way to use the rest of the app without agreeing
- App Privacy details and the privacy policy that match what the feature actually sends
Google Play made the same point in its July 2026 policy update, so a consent design that satisfies one store usually satisfies both. If you are planning AI features, our guide to adding AI to an existing app covers the product side.
Other developers' names and icons (4.1(c))
Apps that borrow another company's brand, icon style or product name, such as "companion" apps named after a popular game or tools styled to look like an established service, need the owner's approval. Rename and redesign before submission rather than after a rejection.
Age ratings
The rating system now has five levels: 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ and 18+. The questionnaire added questions about in-app controls, app capabilities, medical and wellness content and violent themes, and developers can set a higher rating than the questionnaire produces to reflect a minimum age. Apps that did not answer the new questions by 31 January 2026 could not submit updates until they did. If an app has not shipped an update since then, check the questionnaire before the next release.
Random and anonymous chat (1.2)
Apps that connect strangers must have the full set of user-generated content protections: content filtering, a way to report offensive content with timely responses, the ability to block abusive users, and published contact information. Apps whose main purpose is anonymous or random chat can be removed without notice. Google Play introduced parallel restrictions in July 2026, including a ban on such apps targeting children, so a chat product needs its moderation design settled before either store sees it.
Spam and crowded categories (4.3)
This is the change with the widest impact. The rewritten guideline lets Apple reject, and now also remove, apps that are indistinguishable from what is already widely available. It names categories that must offer a meaningfully different or improved experience, including dating, wallpapers, fortune telling, flashlights, sound effects and simple timers, and says Apple may remove apps in well-established categories if they are not updated, improved or attracting customers. Repeated submissions of low-effort apps can put the developer's membership at risk.
Who should worry:
- Template apps. Businesses that bought a white-label app with only the logo and content changed. Reviewers compare apps, and near-identical submissions are the core of guideline 4.3.
- Agencies publishing variants. Many similar apps from one account are a pattern review looks for. Where clients need similar functionality, the usual answer is one app with configurable content, or each client publishing distinct apps from its own account.
- Neglected apps in crowded categories. An app that has not been updated for years and has few users is now at risk of removal, not just of poor ranking.
Live Activities (4.5.3)
Live Activities are for time-sensitive events the user chose to follow, such as a delivery, a ride or a match score. Using them for marketing messages, spam or phishing is now explicitly prohibited.
What to do this quarter
- List every feature that sends personal data to a third party, AI or otherwise, and add consent where it is missing.
- Check app names and icons for other companies' brands.
- Confirm the updated age rating questionnaire is answered for every app you maintain.
- Review chat and user content features against guideline 1.2.
- For template-based apps, document what makes each one meaningfully different, or consolidate.
- Schedule regular updates for apps in crowded categories; an app that is never updated is now a removal risk.
- Rebuild with Xcode 26 if you have not shipped an update since April.
The full submission sequence is in how to submit an app to the App Store in 2026, and the rejection reasons that have not changed in years are in the predictable rejections.
Related Manboo Services
- Android App Development, including Play Console set-up, release tracks and policy declarations.
- iOS App Development, including App Store Connect, TestFlight and App Review preparation.
- Flutter App Development when one codebase must pass both stores' reviews.
- Software Maintenance for existing apps that need target API, SDK or policy updates.
- Request a scope review and estimate for a store launch or a rejected submission.