The App Review Process at Apple is unfair, inconsistent and problematic

I'm extremely frustrated with Apple's unfair app review process. To make a long story short, for every app I've ever submitted, Apple has made false accusations about problems with my apps. Some of their feedback has absolutely been legitimate and correct, which I appreciate, but I would say about 50% of all "feedback" I've ever received has turned out to be objectively wrong. In some cases, the App Review team's gaslighting has been so strong that I have had to submit screenshots of code as proof that their accusations were completely wrong, after which they have had to accept the app.

In one instance, they have claimed that one of my apps would not be allowed on the App Store at all, and when I link to multiple other apps that works EXACTLY the same way, the App Review team love to point out that you are not allowed to compare yourself to other apps. To be clear, I'm an indie developer and I'm not even comparing myself to apps from large corporations or any popular apps at all (since it's well known they get the VIP treatment), all apps I have compared myself to are from small, unknown indie developers such as myself - so I'm only comparing myself to developers in the same category as me.

Telling developers that they are not allowed to compare themselves to other developers is VERY ethically problematic, imagine doing that to minorities in real life. I'm a minority in multiple ways, and I'm very worried about the ethics and moral at the App Review team. When I ask why they reject my app, but approve many apps that were recently released that works EXACTLY the same way as my app, I either get no reply at all or they tell me that I can't compare myself to others. Submitting appeals to the App Review Board doesn't help either.

To be completely transparent with you, it has been very hard and draining on my mental health to have this invisible wall consisting of gaslighting that the App Review team has set up for me. It just doesn't make sense... The app review process is unfair, inconsistent and problematic, and it should be a serious eyebrow-raiser when Apple's App Review team can't explain why some small indie developers get approved easily while others get rejected. Especially since it seems like the pattern is that those who get rejected are humans in various kinds of minorities, as evidences by some other threads on this topic.

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Filip27
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It's kinda fun. Like the Sphinx Gate in Never Ending Story. I think I got it all figured out. Get lit up. I do think looking at what other apps did is a bad idea as they update these guides often and older apps will be grandfathered in until their next update. So you are adding an unnecessary complication by doing that. I had to add stuff to my subscription menu I've never seen anyone else do. It was helpful info to the user though. They aren't tech support and stop at the first issue. So I had several rejections before I found a SO post detailing all of what they expected to see there. Finally it went through.

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Bill3D
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  • Hello Bill. As stated in my original post, I'm comparing myself to apps that were just recently released, so they are not older apps that are grandfathered in.

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    Filip27

  • Also, writing "It's kinda fun" to potential discrimination against minorities is not really sensitive.

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    Filip27

  • I couldn't guess what their race or identity is and I have no idea how that could have even came up. You may be chatting with them way too much. I got one reply out of them ever in total. They just make me figure it out. Regardless, just go by the guidelines and not by other apps. It's the only choice anyway. "But they do it?!?" never works anywhere.

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    Bill3D
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