Guideline 5.6.3: the review prompt that gets your app rejected

Apple rejects apps that ask for a rating too early. If your review prompt shows up on first launch or during onboarding, you risk a rejection under guideline 5.6.3. The prompt has to come after the user has actually used the app, and it has to go through the system prompt.

I got this rejection on Solys, my mini-game alarm clock. Here's what the rule says, what Apple recommends, and how I fixed it.

What does guideline 5.6.3 say?

Guideline 5.6.3 is part of the "Developer Code of Conduct", section 5.6 of the App Review Guidelines. Its text bans manipulating what App Store customers see: charts, search, reviews, referrals to your app. It doesn't mention onboarding.

Yet that's the rule Apple cited for my rating prompt. The reasoning comes from its design guidelines: on first launch or during onboarding, people haven't had time to form an opinion yet.

In the same section, 5.6.1 spells out the allowed method: use the API Apple provides to ask for a review. Custom rating prompts aren't allowed, and guideline 3.2.2 forbids locking a feature until the user leaves a rating.

When to ask for a review

Apple's design guidelines on ratings and reviews are clear. You ask for a rating only after the person has really used the app.

When you ask	Apple's position	Why
On first launch	Avoid	No opinion yet
During onboarding	Avoid	App not used yet
In the middle of a task	Avoid	The prompt interrupts
After a completed task	Recommended	The user knows the app
From a "Rate the app" button	Yes, with a link	Prompt may not appear
Several times in a row	Avoid	Repeated requests annoy

Only the first two rows got me rejected. The rest comes from Apple's advice. Two useful benchmarks: Apple recommends waiting at least one to two weeks between requests, and the system itself caps its prompt at three displays per 365-day period for a given app. So you can't force it to appear.

The 5.6.3 rejection I got on Solys

On August 30, 2026, a Solys update got rejected. Apple's message cited 5.6.3 and said the app asks for a rating on first launch or during onboarding. The review was done on an iPad Air.

The cause was simple. In the welcome flow, the "Leave a review" screen came second, right after the mini-game demo. The user had only seen the demo.

The fix: I moved the prompt further into the flow, and it only shows if the user just won the demo. Anyone who skips the demo or loses it sees no prompt. The fixed version was then approved.

That was a gamble on my part: Apple's message said "not during onboarding", with no nuance.

The lesson: the safe move is to take the prompt out of onboarding. A rating, like a permission, is something you ask for after the person has seen what the app does for them.

Asking for a review with the system prompt

In an Expo app, the system prompt goes through the expo-store-review library:

import * as StoreReview from "expo-store-review";

export async function demanderUnAvis() {
  if (await StoreReview.isAvailableAsync()) {
    await StoreReview.requestReview();
  }
}

Three things to know, from Apple's documentation on requesting reviews:

• The system decides whether to show the prompt. The call may show nothing. Don't build any screen that depends on it appearing.
• Avoid triggering it from a user action, like a button: the prompt may not appear. For a "Rate the app" button, open your app's App Store page instead, with ?action=write-review at the end of the URL.
• Pick a moment of success: the end of a sequence of actions the user just finished, not when the app opens.

Apple's sample code also delays the call: it waits until the person has completed the action several times, and it never asks twice for the same app version. The number of times is up to you.

The checklist before you submit

• No rating prompt on first launch.
• No rating prompt in onboarding.
• The prompt uses the system prompt, not a custom screen with stars.
• The "Rate the app" button in settings opens the App Store page, it doesn't call the system prompt.
• The prompt comes after real use: a finished task, a completed level, several launches.
• You tested the welcome flow on iPad too: several of my rejections were flagged on iPad, for iPhone apps.

Avoiding the 5.6.3 rejection before your next submission

The Apple Review Kit bundles my pre-submission checklist, my fixed Apple rejections and Claude Code skills that review your project. If your app just got rejected and you want a human eye on it, book an hour with me: we go over your welcome flow on a video call, on your screen. The full process is on the app rejected by Apple page, and the other common reasons are in why Apple rejects an app.

If you're preparing your first release, take the free diagnostic: it puts the steps in order and sends you my Apple anti-rejection checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Can you ask for a rating during onboarding?

Apple advises against it in its design guidelines, and I got rejected for it under guideline 5.6.3. The person hasn't used the app yet, so they can't have an opinion. Put the prompt after real use.

How many times can you show the review prompt?

The system caps its prompt at three displays per 365-day period for a given app. Apple also recommends waiting at least one to two weeks between requests, and its sample code never asks twice for the same app version.

Can you build your own rating prompt?

No. Guideline 5.6.1 requires the API Apple provides and rules out custom rating prompts. You can, however, offer a "Rate the app" button that opens your app's App Store page.

Do you need a new build after a 5.6.3 rejection?

Yes if the prompt is in the build's code, which is almost always the case. The reviewer sees the bundled code on first launch: a remote update isn't enough. Move the prompt, make a new build and resubmit it.

When is the right time to ask for a review?

Right after a success: a finished task, a level won, a goal reached. Apple recommends a moment that doesn't interrupt anything, when the person already knows the app. Avoid app launch and the middle of an action.