My app, which has been on the Mac App Store for many years, has an update being blocked by App review. The only change made is a bug fix (documented in the release notes).
First rejection:
- Said I was using an entitlement I didn't need.
My response: I explained the feature that required the entitlement.
App goes back in review and gets rejected again for completely different reasons. They don't want me to write files in my App Sandbox container and instead write them in a more traditional user facing location (like in the Documents folder). They keep sending me a link to the "App Sandbox Design Guide" in the Documentation Archive (which appears to redirect to a different page?) and are quoting a section that is nowhere to be found in the link they send me (on the page I'm redirected to). I keep explaining to them that I cannot write outside my sandbox container and that this isn't my choice.
And they keep rejecting my app and sending me a broken link to the "App Sandbox design guide." It isn't my fault that I have to write to my sandboxed container by default or have a non-functioning app.
In any case, I don't understand why a bug fix update is being held up and I'm getting some vague instructions about possibly having to design some long winded explanation to the user in some ridiculously complicated onboarding process about choosing a folder in a save panel, why you have to choose the folder in the save panel (because I need your permission), OR just quit the app you just bought because it'll otherwise do nothing if you don't choose a folder in the save panel. Users got enough panels to deal with. At the very least App review shouldn't send me broken links from the Documentation Archive.
So I'm using my sandbox container by default (because by default I cannot do anything else). I've been doing this for a long time and I don't understand why it is suddenly a problem. What is my sandboxed container for if I can't write to it?
If documentation such as the "App Sandbox Design Guide" is still relevant and important why is it being archived anyway ? The link redirects I cannot find the section the reviewer is citing in the provided link.
I don't mind being asked to do something to improve the app but I've wasted a lot of time trying to satisfy app review in the past only to misinterpret what they actually are asking me to do causing more wasted time and energy and not getting a whole lot in return.
And I don't think it's fair to block a bug fix update.
