Is there currently a bug with uploading app screenshots? Currently? What you're describing is normal behaviour for the past 15 years or so. they just disappear when I go to upload them in my new version. Do you need new screenshots? If not, keep the old ones. Screenshots are a Big Deal and huge time sink. If you don't really need new ones, don't do them. If you do need new screenshots, then you just have to live with App Store Connect. It's always been very fragile. Clear your caches. Close all browser tabs. Close all browsers. Restart. Try a different time of the day. Try a different day. Try a different browser. Try a different computer.

It's now "Device controls and data access".

I gave it a try, and—as expected—it didn't work. I have seen recent reports here in the developer forums where certain enrolment problems were fixed by restarting and/or private browsing. Apple really likes Javascript-heavy websites. But Apple isn't as skilled as others in handling cache problems after updates. it won't accept my passport/ID simply because it's not from the same region my Apple account is set to. Americans apparently can't imagine a situation where one could live abroad. The developer ecosystem is more sensitive to scams and frauds than other, more consumer-type activity. Americans are definitely aware of living abroad. But they're aware of it being an extraordinarily difficult, multi-year process for most regular people. The expectation is that you would have some kind of documentation from your host country regarding your right to live and work there. And if not, well, let's just say it's not a developer's market right now.

Apple has all these stats about how fast they are to respond but if its just a quick fast initial generic response thats not really a response and its just a way for them to claim a high efficiency. It's an average across over 9 million submissions every year. That's 15,000 every day. Obviously it's only the people who have delays that complain about it. Has anyone else encountered this? Obviously yes. They've taken over the developer forums for the past few months since the start of AI slop. How long and how much back and forth should I expect publishing a basic app? Probably less than you fear. From what I see here in the forums, Apple seems to have found a way to avoid lots of "back and forth". If an app looks like it's going to generate lots of rejections, then they may give you a few weeks to work on it next time. It seems that some developers feel that a quick turnaround and resubmission after a rejection should result in an equally quick re-review. But no such correlation has ever existed. And lately, it seems like the opposite is more likely.

You've asked what!? Which app of yours? You've said it's your only app. I think the OP was expecting app review to list the other apps from other developers that are similar to the OP's (singular) app. Has anyone successfully resolved a 4.3(a) flag in a similar situation? I just saw someone post that they had successfully challenged a similar rejection. So it is possible. But every situation is unique.

Are others seeing this? I see no change. It doesn't seem to work very well. But it works as well as it did in Sequoia. It works better than it did in Ventura. However, I only tested using a Mail attachment as you describe. I seem to recall drag and drop of app-level objects like this going through at least a couple of re-architectures over the years. It's possible you're using some 3rd party app that failed to properly implement the design du jour. Can't say that I blame them. The last time I tried it was quite difficult.

Clearing the font cache using atsutil has been a thing for decades. So there is clearly some sort of font cache. I never said there wasn't. I said it was an implementation detail. atsutil does have a "databases" command that will remove font database "along with any cache files". It seems to be a universal behaviour that any app will load the fonts it needs from the disk, and then keep them in memory. TextEdit does it, Affinity Designer does, Word does it. If apps are doing it wrong, they all are. I was just referencing something I noticed in the documentation during my search for information about font caches. I'm not going to use font descriptors like that. Apparently no one else does either. And there's no guarantee that it would change anything anyway. That's why something that's an "implementation detail" is such a big deal and shouldn't be touched. Even the things that Apple documents and recommends are often impractical and frequently flat-out wrong. If I change the font file on disk, that new version will be used by any app that launches. Apps already running will continue to use their old copy in memory. Now that's behaviour that has been around for decades. I'm just curious how it's supposed to work. Apple never documents system behaviour to this level of detail. Modifying fonts is real 1990s kind of behaviour. I can't see it undergoing any significant change in expected user behaviour at this point. If Apple is comfy with every app loading their own copy of all the font resources that they might need, rather than pointing to a single instance, then there we are. You're talking about two different Apple apps, and possibly 3rd party apps. How Apple choses to implement its apps is Apple's decision to make and they aren't going to explain it in any way. But this is a developer forum for people writing their own apps. Personally, I wouldn't be concerned with users changing fonts while my app is running. If any complain, I'll tell them not to do that. I'm also not going to use font descriptors everywhere. The only time I use them now is to get around limitations and partial implementations in other font APIs like NSFont. There's no way I would ever try to support fonts changing at runtime. No way - no how.

Two weeks and counting, the macOS In Reviews have been going into blackhole while iOS and visionOS submissions are approved in less than 24 hours. You realize that 99.983% of complaints on this forum are the opposite?

Has anyone observed the intermittent issues with the AppStore Connect site? Only people who have used the site at any point over the last 15 years or so. “Please accept these terms and conditions” That's something difficult. Apple regularly updates the terms and conditions. In most cases, you can clear that from the developer site. I wouldn't recommend trying to clear it from App Store Connect as that site is always so flaky anyway. Could this explain why some apps remain in review or seem to wait indefinitely Nope. suppressed technical bugs or errors in the site’s processing of changes, where end-to-end flows fail to complete what would otherwise yield a finished review? No. It's AI slop. The only way Apple can manage it is to setup two systems, one for real submissions, and one for slop.

Don't use the comments. People will miss your replies. Honestly, the videos aren't very good. They're sometimes dated and wrong. Plus, they're exclusively focused on how to use Apple APIs. While those APIs are often challenging, they're the least important part of a great app. In many cases, they'll lead you down a dead-end path. People spend so much time coding the APIs they forget to actually write code for the app to do something. Think of what you want to do. Even if it's a simple demo app for learning - a "hello world" app, think of the core functionality of the app. Write a command-line version. Don't spend too much time on the I/O. It's just an exercise. Then write an app to do that. Add a little more. Repeat 10,000 times. If you're just starting out, pretty much any API you learn at this point is wasted. By the time you're knowledgeable and skilled enough to make a decent app, all the APIs will be radically different by then. What you want to focus on is learning how to learn.

Has anyone experienced a silent hold this long recently? Many people have experienced delays far longer. Any advice on getting a response from App Review would be appreciated. There doesn't seem to be any lack of App Review responses. Those responses easily account for complaints #2 and #3.

you’re implying that my app might be a scam I am not. I recommend you review the App Store Transparency Report for context. I submitted as soon as Apple began accepting apps built with the tools required to support macOS 27. I’m not sure what more preparation would have changed here. I shipped changes to support macOS 27 almost two months ago. Or are you talking about some new feature in macOS 27?

There has never been any exact-name App Store search functionality. There's a search field. The search algorithm is not documented and proprietary. And search has never been one of Apple's strengths. This is not something that can be, or would ever be, addressed. Search results are evaluated on an aggregate basis. They sample a million search requests. Then tweak the algorithm. Sample another million. If the metrics improve, the changes stay. If not, they get rolled back. Individual results don't matter. That's just the way it works. Sorry.

I noticed that my new app's review is taking a substantially long time, unlike ever before. It's been 5 days Most people don't complain until 5 weeks.

But how on earth can an app remain “In Review” for this long? App can remain "In Review" for weeks. A classic scam tactic is to arbitrarily change app behaviour after a couple of weeks once an app has passed review. Then your AI Photo retouching app can morph into an astrology dating app with matchmaking prediction and betting module. Releases are planned around OS launches, marketing, customer expectations, and other deadlines. Then you should get your releases done earlier so you can set the App Store Connect flag to release on your own schedule. I seriously doubt Apple would accept this level of unpredictability from one of its own critical business partners. Sounds like you misunderstand your relationship with Apple. App Review is broken. App Review is functioning as designed. The purpose of a system is what it does. At some point, Apple needs to establish a greater level of trust with longtime developers who have been shipping reputable apps on its platforms for years. Some of the most dishonest developers I've ever encountered fall into that category. Otherwise, as legislation continues to open these platforms to alternative distribution, Apple shouldn’t be surprised when established developers choose to distribute outside the App Store simply to regain control over their own release schedules. You don't need to wait for legislation. That's already happened. Alternative markets exist right now. If you want to be free to ship on your own schedule, live the dream. There's nothing holding you back.