Bundled apps are giving false positives for the automatic "4.3.0 Design: Spam" rejection by Apple's bot

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Created 1w

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Previously, when a developer makes an app that is intended to work on a mac, ipad and iphone (such as a game, or a productivity app), they get bundled together as two submissions (mac & ios) within one app ID.

This past weekend when Apple flipped the switch on their new spam filter bot, it began rejecting submissions that were in the review queue that happened to have a mac & iOS version, even as a bundled item. The two submissions have similar metadata, and I'm guessing Apple's engineers said anything more than 1 must be spam.

What are we to do if we make a game or app that works on both mac & ipad/iphone? Only submit one and delete the other? The automated bot did it to me twice, for Apple ID 6824845533 and 6823945703. I get wanting to reduce actual spam, but its set up too heavy handed and not accounting why there might be TWO submissions of an app when they're bundled under one ID.

Here's the first line of the rejection message: "We noticed the app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps submitted to the App Store by you or other developers, with only minor differences."

Playing on a mac and playing on an iphone is more than just a "minor difference" Apple.

Answer 1 · 1w

Pokpong OP

1w

I wouldn’t remove one platform version just because the two submissions were flagged together. In the Resolution Center, explain that these are the macOS and iOS versions of the same product and point out the platform-specific differences reviewers can verify, such as controls, interface and supported features. Include the app IDs, version/build numbers and separate screenshots or a short recording for each platform.

If the rejection doesn’t say what made the submissions look duplicative, ask App Review to identify the specific concern before changing the bundle setup. That gives you a clearer path than deleting a platform submission based on a guess about how the automated check works.