Apple Developer Program account under investigation

How did it end?

It passed already one month, but my accout is still under review.

Has anyone had a successful outcome from this?

I’ve just had the message saying my Dev account is being investigated due to me not following the App Store Review Guidelines’ Developer Code of Conduct, and I’ve absolutely no idea at all why.

On Monday I amended an app that’s been live since 2018 (small harmless game app) and it was reviewed and accepted and made live by Tuesday. On Tuesday I noticed a spelling error so fixed that and resubmitted the app only to receive the ‘user review’ message.

Seriously p*ssed off with Apple right now.

Today it hit me. Five minutes after 'In review' notification of my new game it changed to 'Rejected' and now my account is under investigation. Couple of days ago I have updated another game and it was reviewed within couple of hours and approved after one hour.

I am Apple developer since 2015, went through couple of app rejections over varous reasons, but always resolved and I think I've learned the rules.

This situation is the first and I'm so dissapointed there is no information what was the reason for starting the investigation.

Short update: after one day the investigation in my case was finished, my game went to review and was approved couple of hours later.

There was an email in Resolution Center saying: "You can avoid future investigations by ensuring your apps don’t attempt to mislead or harm customers or undermine the review process. Be sure to review the App Store Review Guidelines and read the Developer Code of Conduct so you understand our requirements prior to submitting any apps for review."

If the investigation was finished after one day and my game was approved I understand that everything was in compliance with the ASRG and DCoC, so I still don't know what was the reason for the investigation.

I have the same problem, apple ended my work operation when I needed it most, I am very disappointed, absolutely I did nothing and I have no reason to be investigated. It ended my days.

Hello, all! I have same trouble 16 of April 2020. Received message "In Review" 18:57, after 6 minutes "Rejected".

I am newbie developer from February 2020, have only 1 free app without advertising, subscriptions or something else. This app (not game) i developed at quarantine and think it can be useful for all. Released v1.01, v. 1.02, v. 1.03 and 1.04 was Rejected% (

Support answer i should wait, but as i can read here investigation can be 2 or 3 month. My new users cant understand why I dont fix problems that they show me.

I dont know how it works. But 10 minutes ago i received message to Resolution Center

"Hello,

We are writing to let you know that we have completed our investigation of your Apple Developer Program account. You may now submit apps for review, and we will continue with the review of this app. If we find any issues during our review, we will communicate them via Resolution Center. Otherwise, your app will be approved.

Please note that all apps submitted to the App Store are reviewed against the App Store Review Guidelines, including the Developer Code of Conduct.

You can avoid future investigations by ensuring your apps don’t attempt to mislead or harm customers or undermine the review process. Be sure to review the App Store Review Guidelines and read the Developer Code of Conduct so you understand our requirements prior to submitting any apps for review.

Best regards,

App Store Review"

Hooray! Yippee!

Hey glad your app got passed review! May I know what effort you made while Apple states your account under investigation? My app has been Rejected since Feb, and until now still no signs of passing through. Please share with me how I can make it work!!

Hello,

I got the same message today morning, I submitted an update on my existing APP for around 3 days ago and got the message saying my account being investigating .. really don't know what I can do and what I did wrong .. !

As I wrote above, I dont know how it works. I just wrote to support

complained that I did not understand why I was under investigation. What is not ready to wait 2-3 months as people write on the forum. Wrote that my application does not contain ads, subscriptions, or anything related to money.

The answer came only that it was necessary to wait, investigation is doing a separate department and to communicate with it only through the decision center. I can’t say that it was this appeal that played a role. If a person from that side helped to speed up the process, I am VERY grateful to him.

My account is under investigation for more than 2 months. They do not reply in Resolution Center, even robots with template answers keep the silence.

This is my first submission, pure Swift, no 3rd party frameworks, no external pods, no ads, no IAP has been used. Of course, I have checked all "common practices that may lead to an investigation" and I have read App Store Review Guidelines, Apple Developer Program License Agreement, and submission guidelines.

It is very frustrating to be ignored for unknown amount of time, for unknown reason, assuming you did something illegal and left alone to find it by yourself. Even deleting this application (assuming it is illegal by some secret reason)

and start another is not an option too - your account could be terminated!

This was my Christmas resolution to learn new technology and try to do something on my own. Countless hours have been spent reading Swift docs, figuring out how to create developer account, filling all the marketing materials, managing XCode, and uploading build.

After these huge efforts you feel exhausted but eager for feedback from first customers. And you won't get them because you have violated something and you are not good enough to know what that was.

During this lockdown we all are trying to rebuild our lives while staying at home and I hope this issue will eventually be resolved.

on 25th April
"Hello,

We are unable to continue this app’s review because your Apple Developer Program account is currently under investigation for not following the App Store Review Guidelines’ Developer Code of Conduct.

Common practices that may lead to an investigation include, but are not limited to:

- Inaccurately describing an app or service

- Misleading app content

- Engaging in inauthentic ratings and reviews manipulation

- Providing misleading customer support responses

- Providing misleading responses in Resolution Center

- Engaging in misleading purchasing or bait-and-switch schemes

- Engaging in other dishonest or fraudulent activity within or outside of the app

During our investigation, we will not review any apps you submit. Once we have completed our investigation, we will notify you via Resolution Center.

We do not require any additional information from you at this time, nor do we have any additional details to share. We appreciate your continued patience during our investigation.

Best regards,

App Store Review"
In response to my second app being reviewed. The first had been accepted months ago. The two apps do practically the same thing, only this is practically a custom app for a customer. And in theory I may have to do more. Now I can't do anything anymore and I don't even get a reply to a reminder email

The investigation of my account is completed after 80 days. The submitted application went to review again and was accepted the next day. I did not receive any explanations for this investigation reasons, just standard template message already mentioned several times in this thread.

It looks quite weird but I hope that was a necessary procedure for Apple. I would like to wish a lot of patience for new developers who will go through this.

Now I can continue to work on my project and this is awesome. Thank you, Apple, for giving us this possibility especially while we stuck indoors.

Hello! I've recieved new messages. The same reject but no investigation. Who nows what does it mean?

Other - Other

Hello,

The review of your app is taking longer than expected. Once we have completed our review, we will notify you via Resolution Center.

If you would like to inquire about the status of this review, you may file a request via the Apple Developer Contact Us page.