Cannot remove App Privacy after removing AdMob and tracking

Another one with the same issue here...

same problem

I was finally able to get passed the App Store Reviewers by placing an empty IDFA permission request at app launch. It does nothing if the user selects yes or no to the request. I hope that helps other developers get past this Apple developer website privacy settings bug.

The App Privacy responses are not version specific, but are app specific. If the version currently live in the App Store does have NSUserTrackingUsageDescription, then you can't update your response to say that it does not track yet. Your privacy responses just need to indicate at least one category where it tracks. See https://developer.apple.com/app-store/app-privacy-details/#data-type for a list of what each data type means.

What you can do is, once the version you want to submit is approved and released in the App Store, create a new version in App Store Connect and then update your response to indicate that your app does not track.

same here, App Review doesn't care. Completely explained the situation and even included a video.

Got back a canned response saying to contact App Store Connect support.

Same issue for me! I updated the app removing the NSUserTrackingUsageDescription from the info.plist but I can't remove it from the App Privacy information. App Review will reject my app so I don't know how to update it.

What's the update about this issue?

In another thread on this topic, a user mentioned that they had success by submitting a new version and appealing it. I'm trying that right now and will report back.

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/678920?page=2

@tungsten Could you solve the problem finally?

Yes, I was able to overcome this by appealing the rejection with the App Review Board. They approved my binary, which broke the cycle of denial and allowed me to set the App Privacy settings appropriately prior to my next binary submission.

I’ve filed a feedback documenting the issue and uploaded the details of that feedback here http://openradar.appspot.com/radar?id=5009431033020416

Same issue, trying to appeal the rejection, hoping for the best

Same here as well. Here's a full description that I've been using for appeal and apple support

App just got rejected for the 3rd time. 

The situation is as follows:

• The build that's currently for sale in the App Store is tracking user data
• The new build (the one that got rejected) is not tracking user data
• Review team rejects my app because App Privacy settings in AppStoreConnect indicate that the app is tracking user data (which is correct for the current ‘for sale’ binary), while my new binary is not asking user for tracking permission (through App Tracking Transparency library). 
• One, by review team suggested way to resolve this, is to adjust App Privacy settings in AppStoreConnect to not track user data anymore.
• HOWEVER, when I try to follow that suggestion, AppStoreConnect will not let me make that adjustment, because ‘the binary’ suggest that I AM tracking. 

So:

Review team says that my BINARY IS NOT TRACKING user data while it should according to App Privacy settings.  AppStoreConnect says that my BINARY IS TRACKING user data and won’t let me change App Privacy settings because of that. 

Chicken and egg situation! 

Here's a screen capture video that shows everything: (can't include here, but you get the contents)

I believe one of two things could be wrong here:

1. My new binary DOES include the the NSUserTrackingUsageDescription somehow
2. AppStoreConnect is looking at the binary that’s currently for sale in App Store, while review team is looking at the binary in review. 

I’m almost certain it’s not number 1. I’m a fairly experienced developer and would know if that description would be in my app. Just to be sure I’ve entered a ticket to Code Level Support to make sure of that. No response on that yet.

More likely it’s reason number 2: a procedural issue in the review team where they are comparing ‘old, soon to be incorrect’ App Store privacy settings with the ‘new’ ‘in review’ binary. 

I also submitted feedback through the new Feedback Assistant: https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/feedback/9725783

We're a software house, even in the first launch of the app we are receiving this message (Your app contains NUserTracking...). That's just unreal we need to launch the app with an wrong information, saying to our users we tracking them (even didn't doing) because Apple do not solve this bug. And this information stays at the store, so my user before downloading the app see this message about tracking, I ask myself how many users are giving up to download the app.

Annoying. Same here. Seems a bug took 7 month to have someone look at. Is user privacy focusing still Apple's top strategy?

It's 1/27/2022 and I am still facing the exact same issue, and all I got is the same canned answer. How much time people (developers, reviewers, supports, appeal board, ...) have to waste before the Apple store fixes this?

I'm having this same issue after explaining it to the reviewer. I'm not sure what to do at this point. It's a crucial update.

I just wanted to get on here and say I'm presently facing the exact same issue. I've spelled out the problem as simply and clearly as I can. I've even referenced this thread in my appeal.... We'll see.

I ran into this issue today, May 31, 2022. Previously, my app used AdMob to show ads, so I had answered all the tracking questions and implemented the ATT permission request. But then I decided to remove AdMob. The new update had absolutely no tracking, but as others have mentioned, I could not update the app's privacy information to indicate it did not track. My update was rejected. However, I replied to the App Review team in App Store Connect and explained the situation. I got impatient after three hours with no reply to my message from App Review, so I filed an appeal explaining the same as in my previous message. I immediately got a reply from App Review saying that my app would be approved shortly. It was approved minutes later and I released it. I was then able to update the app's privacy information to say "No, we do not collect data from this app". I don't know if it was my initial reply to App Review or the appeal I made three hours later that got it approved. Either way, I think I would say that right now the process for this situation is:

1. Submit your update removing all tracking,
2. Get rejected,
3. Appeal the rejection explaining your app no longer tracks,
4. Then update the privacy information after getting approved and releasing.

I am another one with the same issue here. :(

I am having the exact same issue. It has been about a month since I first clicked submit for review. :( I took numerous tries to get this resolved but review board's reply was that I need to remove NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription keyword from my info.plist file. lol

Long story short, build settings was holding on to the NSUserTrackingUsageDescription although I removed it from the info.plist file. Everything else seems to get synced up correctly. so I opened the project.pbxproj file and removed the following lines.

INFOPLIST_KEY_NSUserTrackingUsageDescription = "This identifier will be used to show ads that you may be interested.";

When I upload the new build and submitted it for review, it let me update the App Privacy. I am crossing my fingers. 🤞

we have several apps with this issue, since they share the same internal engine, form which we recently removed any tracking of user data tracking.

we ran into two different problems:

already published app, to be upgraded: same as everyone has described above.

newly created app: we decided to remove user data tracking in the middle of review process, because the reviewer was complaining about the tracking permission request message, and we know by experience that these kind of situations will be hopeless, since they never explain precisely which is the problem with the message. so we uploaded a new build without user data tracking, deleted any trace of tracking in the Privacy Info section, but still the reviewer said that we are using tracking. What is totally amusing about this is that he stated the folowing: "The app privacy information you provided in App Store Connect indicates you collect data in order to track the user, including .", and NO, we did not break up the sentence, it really ends with a space and a dot!

So it's August 2023 and the problem still persist, in a more funny way!

I face exactly to the same error. Just *** Apple ! By respect of dev please consider this bug who is wasting so much time during more 2 years !