Inquiry about App Store Guidelines for Nicotine Cessation App

Question

mpalumbo OP

Created Mar ’23

Replies 3

Boosts 1

Views 1.1k

Participants 3

Dear App Review Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to inquire about the App Store Guidelines in relation to an app that my team and I are developing.

Our app is focused on helping adult smokers quit smoking by offering personalized cessation plans and a companion device that gradually reduces nicotine intake. We firmly believe that our app can make a significant positive impact on public health, and we are committed to ensuring that it fully complies with all App Store Guidelines.

We understand that App Store Guidelines prohibit "Apps that encourage consumption of tobacco and vape products, illegal drugs, or excessive amounts of alcohol". However, we want to clarify that our app would not promote these behaviors, but instead work to counteract them. Its purpose is to help people quit smoking and decrease their nicotine intake.

We highly value your expertise in this area and would greatly appreciate your guidance on whether our proposed app would comply with the App Store Guidelines. Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

Matthew Palumbo

Answered by binarygirl in 747094022

Hello mpalumbo,

As Claude31 said, this is a developer forum and the App Review team does not respond here regarding app policies.

We are reaching out in order to inquire about the possibility of the app being accepted on the App Store before we invest additional time and resources into the project.

I understand that your main concern is if your app will be accepted because it is related to "nicotine" and "tobacco", which are strictly regulated on the App Store and in most cases not allowed. I can't tell you if your app will be accepted or not, however, note that the review team does understand specific use cases and it also should yours. But even then your app may get rejected because of other reasons (for example, there could be multiple other apps doing the same as yours).

My personal advice is that if you are developing an app in a gray area, you should also have the required resources and prepare for the worst-case scenario. Don't put your eggs into one basket.

Best of luck

Boost

Answer 1

Claude31 OP

Mar ’23

The forum is not the right place to talk to review team.

Did you get a rejection ?

If so, you should do it by replying directly in the comments to reviewer in AppStore Connect. Try to explain precisely your case and try to convince that your app will effectively help reducing nicotine intake or smoking in general.

1

Answer 2

mpalumbo OP

Mar ’23

Hi Claude,

Thank you for your response. At this time, our team is still in the development phase of the app and have not yet completed it. We are reaching out in order to inquire about the possibility of the app being accepted on the App Store, before we invest additional time and resources into the project.

If you have any advice for another method that we should take to go about this process, it would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards, Matthew

1

Answer 3

binarygirl OP

Mar ’23

Accepted Answer

Hello mpalumbo,

As Claude31 said, this is a developer forum and the App Review team does not respond here regarding app policies.

We are reaching out in order to inquire about the possibility of the app being accepted on the App Store before we invest additional time and resources into the project.

I understand that your main concern is if your app will be accepted because it is related to "nicotine" and "tobacco", which are strictly regulated on the App Store and in most cases not allowed. I can't tell you if your app will be accepted or not, however, note that the review team does understand specific use cases and it also should yours. But even then your app may get rejected because of other reasons (for example, there could be multiple other apps doing the same as yours).

My personal advice is that if you are developing an app in a gray area, you should also have the required resources and prepare for the worst-case scenario. Don't put your eggs into one basket.

Best of luck

1