App Store rejection guide

Apple wants moderation in your app (Guideline 1.2): what to add

Last reviewed 3 November 2026

If people can post, upload, share or generate content in your app, Apple wants proof that you can deal with abuse. That now explicitly includes AI content creation apps, which often launch without any of this.

Short answer

Your app lets people create or share content and is missing at least one of Apple’s four safeguards: filtering objectionable material, reporting with timely responses, blocking abusive users, and published contact information. Add all four, make them easy for the reviewer to find, and have a real process behind them.

What Apple is saying

Guideline 1.2 covers apps where people create, generate, upload, share or otherwise contribute content, naming social media, user-generated content platforms and AI content creation apps. Such apps must include:

“A method for filtering objectionable material from being posted to the app”
Apple, App Review Guideline 1.2

Filtering: a way to stop objectionable material being posted.
Reporting: a way to report offensive content, and timely responses to those reports.
Blocking: the ability to block abusive users from the service.
Contact information: published details so people can easily reach you.

Removing content that breaks this guideline, your terms or your community standards is your responsibility. Apple says apps used mainly for pornographic content, Chatroulette-style experiences, random or anonymous chat, objectifying real people, threats or bullying don’t belong on the App Store and may be removed without notice.

The usual causes

Comments, chat or profiles added with no report or block option.
Report and block only in some places, such as on posts but not on profiles or messages.
A report button that goes nowhere, with nobody responding.
No filtering before content goes live.
An AI feature with no safeguards for what people ask it to generate or share.
Contact details that are hard to find or missing from the app.
Anonymous or random chat as the main experience, which may need a rethink of the product itself.

How to fix it

List every place people can contribute or see others’ content: posts, comments, messages, profiles, images and AI output.
Add filtering before publishing. Combine word lists and automated text and image moderation with human review for anything flagged. For AI features, check both the prompt and the result.
Add “Report” to each piece of content and each profile, with a few simple reasons, and show people their report was received.
Add “Block”. Once someone blocks a user, that user’s content should disappear from their view straight away.
Set up the process behind it. Someone needs to receive reports, remove content and ban repeat offenders. Apple’s text asks for timely responses without setting a number of hours, so decide on a target and say what it is.
Publish contact information inside the app, such as in settings, and on your support page.
Add terms people agree to. Many rejection messages also ask for terms that make clear objectionable content and abusive users aren’t tolerated.
Check your age rating. Answer the questions honestly, since user content and AI output can affect the rating (Guideline 2.3.6).
Show the reviewer where everything is. Add a demo account with sample content, plus a short recording of report and block working. Then reply to App Review with the list.

If moderation was left out because your app was built quickly with AI tools, see how we make AI-built apps production-ready.

Questions founders ask

Our app is small. Do we still need all of this?

Apple’s list doesn’t depend on size. If people can contribute content, the app needs all four safeguards, though they can be simple to begin with.

Does an AI image or text generator count?

Yes. Apple’s guideline names AI content creation apps alongside social media and user-generated content platforms.

How quickly must we respond to reports?

The guideline says “timely” and gives no number. Choose a target your team can really meet, and check whether your rejection message asks for something more specific.

More rejection guides

Based on Apple’s App Review Guidelines as last updated by Apple on 16 October 2026. Apple changes them from time to time, so check the current text on Apple’s developer site.