Newly released app not appearing in exact-name U.S. App Store search after three weeks

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Created 1w

Replies 7

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A newly released iOS app has been available for approximately three weeks, but I still cannot find it by searching its exact name in the U.S. App Store. Several U.S.-based people whom I asked to independently test the same search were also unable to find it using their own devices and accounts. The same issue occurs on Apple’s public U.S. App Store website. The app’s direct link works normally, and searching for the developer name returns the app, but searching for the exact app name only returns unrelated apps.

I submitted Developer Support case 20000142933730 approximately one week after the app became available, so the issue was already well beyond the normal 24-hour post-approval period. Apple Support reproduced and documented the issue before the case was escalated.

After multiple phone calls and emails, the case has been assigned to three different Advisors. The current Senior Advisor says the app appears in her search environment and asked me to provide a screen recording. I sent the requested screen recording and screenshot, but was subsequently asked to provide the same evidence again. My questions have not been answered. Her response also referenced an unrelated case number.

I do not intend to criticize any individual Advisor. However, I am increasingly concerned that the complete case history and submitted evidence have not been reviewed, and that the case may be stuck in a Support loop rather than reaching the team that can investigate App Store search behavior.

This issue is significantly delaying the app’s launch and preventing users from discovering it through normal App Store search.

Could an Apple staff member please help confirm whether case 20000142933730—including Apple’s previous reproduction and the screen recording and screenshot I submitted—has been forwarded to the Engineering team responsible for App Store search?

If any other developers have experienced inconsistent exact-name search results across different App Store user environments, I would also appreciate hearing how the issue was resolved.

Answer 1

miasun OP

1w

I will also apply Feedback Assistant any other suggestions?

Answer 2

miasun OP

1w

Update as of September 8: The issue remains unresolved. Users still cannot find the app by searching its exact name. I have already submitted the requested screen recording and screenshots, but Support continues to ask me to provide the recording like she did not really read my email. Feels like a Support loop.

Answer 3

miasun OP

4d

Update: The case finally reached Engineering, but their response addressed a completely different issue. I reported that Mialight cannot be found through exact-name search; they replied that the direct link works, even though I have consistently stated that the direct link works and that search is the problem.

After four weeks and extensive back-and-forth with Senior Developer Support, I am very disappointed that the fundamental concern is still being misunderstood.

Answer 4

miasun OP

4d

Despite my repeated and explicit clarifications, the assigned Senior Advisor has continued to send responses that repeat points already addressed or request evidence I have submitted three times, creating the strong impression that the case history, my emails, and the attached evidence are not being reviewed before each response; this ultimately resulted in Engineering being asked to address direct-link availability rather than the exact-name App Store search issue I actually reported.

Answer 5

Etresoft OP

4d

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.

Answer 6

miasun OP

1d

Thank you for the context. By “exact-name search,” I mean entering the app’s complete and correctly spelled name, “Mialight,” into the App Store search field. I am not suggesting that Apple documents or guarantees an exact-match search feature.

The concern is the inconsistent behavior across search environments. The assigned Senior Advisor reports that Mialight appears as the first result—even when she accidentally misspells the name—while I and multiple independent U.S. users cannot find it after searching the correct name and reviewing many pages of results. Apple’s public U.S. web search shows the same behavior for us.

I understand that search ranking is proprietary and evaluated at scale, but this does not appear to be an ordinary ranking complaint.

Answer 7

miasun OP

1d

Searching the app’s complete and correctly spelled title does not return the app after reviewing multiple pages, while the same app appears first in Apple Support’s search environment.