We have been developing an app for some months and decided it is time to start testing builds on the App Store.
However, upon uploading it for a Test Flight, our application was declined because it 'promotes the use of tobacco or nicotine-related paraphernalia, including but not limited to cigarettes, pipes, hookahs, vaping products or e-cigarettes, which is not permitted on the App Store'. We have since then made several adjustments and contacted the App Review Board, but the reply is still the same - declined.
Our application promotes lounges and restaurant which indeed offer shisha/hookah, but we are not in any way promoting smoking itself, just showcasing the places. We have the proper age restrictions in the App Store (17+), we have several consent screens for non-smokers and minors and our customers are obliged to login via Facebook or Google accounts so we can restrict them by age too. We are not selling or promoting tobacco products. Most of our partner places rely on their food, music and entertainment too, not only smoking. This however seems to be not enough for the App Store team to approve our application and do not end our business.
We have several questions which we asked the App Review Board but got more than vague answers:
What is the way to proceed with our App so that it can be approved? We are ready to make any needed adjustments. The App Review teams answer is only 'create a new App and come back', which is not serious since this is our business model.
How come there are Apps with identical concept which are already live on the App Store and is there a particular reason we are not among these lucky ones? The App Review team answer is that they will look at other Apps, but as of now they are still live, which means we could be too.
Thank you in advance!
Kind Regards,
LocalShisha Team
Apple is under no obligation to shape their process and requirements to fit your business model. Review your Developer Program Agreement.
No app in the store is any promise that any other app will be accepted/reviewed. The guidelines are a living document which means Apple defines them, at will, on the fly, and they can change at any time...perhaps a new crackdown was timed that your app was the first to fall under new scrutiny.
If you want into the store, make changes, or not. There are no pre-reviews, and no simple recipe for what those changes may amount to, and, if they would make a difference during review.
My opinion is that in your example, once an app like yours has been flagged, and unless Apple does a 180 on their policies, you're done.
Find another business model and do your feasibility planning up front, prior to coding, etc. - planning that actively and generously follows, rather than risks running afoul of, the ASRGs.
If the risks are not something you can afford to take, perhaps the App Store isn't for you. ...it's called 'development' for a reason.
Good luck.
