Constant trouble with approval of non-sandboxed "grandfathered" app for Mac App Store

I have two apps that are exempt from the need to be sandboxed.

One has been in the MAS since the first day in 2010, and the other was added only a bit later, when there still was no sandboxing in place. When Apple added requirements for sandboxing, they exempted existing apps like mine under certain conditions.

For years, this was no problem, but lately, nearly every other time I submit an update or a TestFlight beta, I get the app rejected for not being sandboxed, even though I explain the situation in the app's Review Notes. It's always a tedious fight convincing the reviewer to let the app pass. And, of course, it delays my releases each time. It's frustrating and exhausting.

Sadly, I cannot find any public documents that confirm my claim of this exemption. So, it's always possible that the reviewer may read my note but still not believe me.

Are there others here who still have such non-sandboxed in the MAS? How do you deal with this?

Or do you know of documents or websites that I can refer the reviewer to?

Answered by App Review in 788337022

Thank you for your post. We've begun investigating this issue but we've been unable to locate your app submission to provide further assistance. Can you provide the name and App ID associated with the app? These can be found in App Store Connect in the App Information tab.

Accepted Answer

Thank you for your post. We've begun investigating this issue but we've been unable to locate your app submission to provide further assistance. Can you provide the name and App ID associated with the app? These can be found in App Store Connect in the App Information tab.

Constant trouble with approval of non-sandboxed "grandfathered" app for Mac App Store
 
 
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