Guideline 2.3.10: App Rejected for Accurate Metadata

Guideline 2.3.10, "Accurate Metadata," rejects any app whose listing or interface mentions another platform: Android, Google Play, another brand's phone in a screenshot. Your listing talks about your app on Apple devices, and nothing else. If the mention is in the listing, you fix it and resubmit the same build. If it's in the app, you need a new build.

Two cousins get rejected for the same reason: 2.3.3, when the screenshots don't show the app in use, and 2.3.7, when the name, subtitle or keywords are misleading. I prepare the listings and screenshots for my own apps myself: Solys, TradaZen and Nolera are on the App Store. This guide is based on Apple's official text, read on October 15, 2026. In-app purchases in the listing fall under 2.3.2, which I cover separately. For the big picture on rejections, read why Apple rejects an app.

What does guideline 2.3.10 say?

Section 2.3 of the App Review Guidelines starts from a simple idea: the person downloading should know what they're getting. The description, screenshots, previews and privacy information must reflect the app's real experience.

2.3.10 spells it out: "don't include names, icons, or imagery of other mobile platforms or alternative app marketplaces in your app or metadata, unless there is specific, approved interactive functionality." In plain terms: no name, icon or image of another mobile platform or an alternative app marketplace, neither in the app nor in its listing. It adds: "Make sure your app metadata is focused on the app itself and its experience." The listing talks about the app, with no off-topic information.

Three things to remember:

• The app counts as much as the listing. An "Available on Google Play" button inside the app falls under the same rule.
• Alternative marketplaces are covered too. The ones that exist in some countries can't be mentioned any more than Android.
• The exception is narrow. An app can name another platform if a specific interactive feature, approved by Apple, justifies it. Example: an app that transfers files between an iPhone and an Android phone can mention Android, since that's what it does. Explain it in the review notes.

What a typical 2.3.10 rejection looks like

The heading is "Guideline 2.3.10 - Performance - Accurate Metadata." In a message posted on Apple's forums, Apple writes: "Referencing third-party platforms in your app or its metadata is not permitted on the App Store unless there is specific interactive functionality." It then asks you to remove every mention from the app and its listing: description, promotional text, What's New, previews and screenshots. In that case, the screenshots came from pages of the developer's website, and Apple spotted a device and a status bar that weren't an iPhone's.

Apple's help page on screenshots showing the app in use confirms it: a screenshot that references another platform, for example in its status bar, is judged under 2.3.10.

Where the mentions that trigger 2.3.10 hide

• The description and promotional text. "Also available on Android" is the most common sentence.
• Release notes. This is the trap for projects published on both stores. A shared note like "Fixed the keyboard on Android" ends up on the App Store. If you build both versions from one project, like in iOS or Android app, write separate notes.
• Screenshots and previews. An Android phone frame, an Android status bar, a screenshot taken on the Android emulator or on your website.
• The app itself. A share or referral screen with both store badges, a "Rate the app" link that opens the Play Store, a welcome text that talks about Android. In a React Native or Expo project, pick the link and badge based on Platform.OS: the iOS version then only shows the App Store.
• Every language. Each localization has its own texts and its own screenshots, and Apple reviews the screenshots of each localization. A single mention forgotten in just one language can be enough to get the submission rejected.

To search, I run a search across the listing texts and the app's translation files: rg -i "android|google play|play store". Then I look at every screenshot, language by language, hunting for a status bar or frame that doesn't come from an iPhone.

2.3.3: screenshots that show the app in use

The official text: "Screenshots should show the app in use, and not merely the title art, login page, or splash screen." Screenshots must show the app actually doing its job, not just the logo, the login screen or the launch screen. Text and images added on top are allowed.

Apple's help page gives a numeric rule. For each device type, more than half of the screenshots must show the app in use. With three screenshots, two must. With four, three. The rest can present benefits with marketing visuals. On the in-use screenshots, added text must not hide the interface.

That works fine with a listing that sells: a short headline above a real screen is still an in-use screenshot. The sizes and number of screenshots, up to ten per device size, are in the screenshot specifications.

2.3.7: an honest name, subtitle and keywords

2.3.7 requires a unique name and keywords that describe the app, without stuffing the metadata with "trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing information, or other irrelevant phrases just to game the system." No trademarks, well-known app names, prices or off-topic phrases to trick search.

What it means in practice:

• The name fits in 30 characters. So does the subtitle, according to App Store Connect's app information.
• The subtitle doesn't mention other apps and promises nothing unverifiable.
• The name, subtitle, screenshots and previews show no prices.
• Keywords contain no third-party app or company names. The help on version information says it outright: "Names of other apps or companies aren't allowed."

The word "free" is a trap. In a 2.3.7 rejection posted on Apple's forums, Apple specifies that mentions of free or discounted services count as a price reference.

Saying a feature requires a subscription is expected; showing its price on a screenshot isn't. The first requirement comes from 2.3.2, the second from 2.3.7. Apple sums up its advice on names, subtitles and keywords on its product page page. The method for picking your words is in App Store keywords, and the full listing on the App Store ASO page.

Rejected or accepted: the table, rule by rule

The rejected versions are made-up examples. The accepted name row is Solys's real name on the French App Store, in October 2026.

Rule	Rejected (example)	Accepted
2.3.10	"Available on iPhone and Android"	"Available on iPhone and iPad"
2.3.10	Note "Fixed bug on Android"	"Fixed keyboard display"
2.3.10	Screenshot in an Android phone frame	Screenshot from the iPhone simulator
2.3.10	App Store and Google Play badges in the app	App Store badge only on iPhone
2.3.3	Logo, login, launch, then 2 screens	At least 3 in-use screens out of 5
2.3.3	Full-screen marketing text, no app	Short headline above a real screen
2.3.3	Mockup of a feature not shipped yet	Real screen from the submitted version
2.3.7	Name "Alarm Clock Sleep Wake Pro Free"	"Solys : Limiter temps d'écran"
2.3.7	Subtitle "Better than [competing app]"	Subtitle that states the benefit
2.3.7	Keywords with rival app names	Usage words: alarm, morning, routine
2.3.7	"Free" or "-50%" on a screenshot	No price or discount on screenshots

A real case, outside 2.3.10: a third-party name in the description

On Nolera, my wardrobe app, the description named OpenAI, the AI service used for the virtual try-on. Apple rejected the submission citing section 5, "Legal," regarding availability in China. The fix I went with was removing China from the countries where the app is offered.

It wasn't a 2.3.10 rejection, but it comes from the same place: a third-party service name in your listing is never neutral. Before writing one, ask yourself whether it helps people choose your app. Most of the time, describing what the feature does is enough.

Fix and resubmit

1. Read Apple's list. The message says where it saw the mention: description, screenshots, app. Add your own search, language by language.
2. Fix everything, not just the example quoted. A second mention found in the next round costs you a whole review cycle.
3. Listing only: same build. You edit in App Store Connect, reply to App Review and resubmit. Details are in App Store review time.
4. Mention in the app: new build. The reviewer tests the binary you sent.
5. Real interactive feature: explain it. In your reply, say what the app does with the other platform and where to test it.

The reply template I'd use, to adapt:

Hello,

Thank you for your review.

We removed every reference to other platforms:
- Description and promotional text: [what changed].
- What's New: [what changed].
- Screenshots: replaced with captures from iPhone,
  in all [number] localizations.

No change was needed in the app binary.

Best regards,

Only include that last line if it's true.

The 2.3 checklist before submitting

• No "Android," "Google Play" or "Play Store" anywhere in the listing, in any language.
• Release notes written for iOS, not copied from the Android version.
• Screenshots taken on iPhone or iPad, with no frame or status bar from another brand.
• More than half of each device's screenshots show the app in use.
• No mockup of a feature missing from the submitted version.
• Name and subtitle with no price, no competing app name, no unverifiable promise.
• Keywords with no third-party trademark or company name.
• No "free" or discount percentage on screenshots.
• In the app, store links and badges adapted to the platform.

A listing that passes review the first time

The Apple Review Kit bundles my pre-submission checklist and Claude Code skills that review your project, your paywall and your listing. For screenshots that sell without breaking 2.3.3, the App Store Screenshots Kit creates your visuals from your app's real screens, at the sizes Apple requires. For a human eye, book an hour with me. The full process after a rejection is on the app rejected by Apple page.

If you're preparing your first release, take your free diagnostic: it puts the steps in order and sends you my Apple anti-rejection checklist. The home page shows how to create a mobile app with the listing in mind from day one.

Frequently asked questions

What does "Guideline 2.3.10 - Performance - Accurate Metadata" mean?

It's the heading of the rejection for mentioning another platform. Apple found, in your listing or in your app, a name, icon or image of Android, Google Play or another app marketplace. The fix: remove every mention, in every language.

Can I say my app is also available on Android?

Not in the listing or in the iOS version of the app. The only exception is a real interactive feature with the other platform, which you explain in the review notes. To tell people your app exists elsewhere, use your website.

How many screenshots must show the app in use?

More than half, for each device type. With three screenshots, two show the app in use. With four, three. The rest can present your benefits with marketing visuals.

Do I need a new build after a 2.3.10 rejection?

Not if the mention is only in the listing: you fix it in App Store Connect and resubmit the same build. If the mention is in the app, like a Google Play badge on a share screen, you need a new build.

Can I use a competing app's name in my keywords?

No. App Store Connect's help forbids other app and company names in keywords, and 2.3.7 rejects trademarks used to game search. Focus instead on the words your audience types to describe what they need.