Guideline 4.3 rejection: Design — Spam
How the rejection usually reads: "We noticed your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps submitted to the App Store by you or other developers"
Why it happens
4.3 is a judgment call, so there is no checklist that guarantees a pass. What reliably triggers it is mechanical though: placeholder bundle identifiers, starter-kit strings left in the build, generic names and icons, screenshots that look like every other app in the category. Remove those signals, make the first screen obviously yours, and if you are still rejected reply in the Resolution Center with three concrete sentences about what is different. Reviewers do reverse 4.3 when you argue the difference; they do not when you resubmit silently.
What can be checked before you submit
1 of RejectProof’s checks map to Guideline 4.3. Each one reads your .ipa — no upload — and reports the evidence with a fix.
- Template / starter-kit fingerprint
PB-39 · guideline 4.3 · warning
Apps that look like an unmodified template get flagged under 4.3 (Spam) even when the code is fine. Use your own reverse-DNS bundle id (com.yourbrand.appname), remove starter-kit markers from the project name and bundle, and make the first screen clearly yours. If you are rejected under 4.3, reply in App Store Connect with what makes the app distinct.
What a scan cannot tell you
Static checks read the build; they do not run it. Whether a reviewer likes your design, agrees with your content, or considers the app “sufficiently different” is their call. Fix the mechanical layer first so the human review is about your product, not about a missing plist key.