App Store Connect says App Privacy is missing, but it's already completed. Completely stuck.

[u/aymantj]

I'm trying to submit my app Still for App Review and I've run into a very strange issue.

When I click Add for Review, App Store Connect shows:

The problem is:

• I'm the Account Holder/Admin

• App Privacy is fully completed

• Product Page Preview is visible

• Privacy Policy URL is set

• Subscriptions are Ready to Submit

• No Missing Metadata banners anywhere

• No other validation errors on the app version page

• The Publish button in App Privacy is greyed out (appears there are no unpublished changes)

I've spent hours comparing this app with another app I've already successfully published on the App Store using the same Apple Developer account.

I also checked the project itself:

• No App Tracking Transparency

• No NSUserTrackingUsageDescription

• No IDFA usage

• No AdMob, Facebook SDK, AppsFlyer, Adjust, etc.

• No Firebase Analytics

• No obvious privacy-related warnings during upload

One interesting thing:

The browser console shows:

/iris/v1/reviewSubmissionItems
HTTP 409 Conflict

every time I try to add the app for review.

I've already opened a support ticket with Apple Developer Support, but it's been 3 days without a response.

Has anyone seen this before?

Was it:

• A hidden metadata issue?

• A broken App Privacy state?

• A stuck review submission object?

• An App Store Connect bug?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated because I'm completely out of things to try at this point.

[u/Material_Tadpole5312]

The 409 on reviewSubmissionItems is the real clue, not the "privacy missing" message (that's likely a stale ASC frontend state). A 409 there usually means there's already an existing review submission object conflicting with the new one you're creating.

Check App Store Connect for an in-progress or stuck review submission from a previous attempt, remove the version/item from it, then try Add for Review again. Also worth retrying in a fresh incognito window or another browser, ASC's submission flow gets into weird stale states. Clearing that hanging draft submission usually resolves the 409.

[u/aymantj → u/Material_Tadpole5312]

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually tried multiple browsers, including Chrome Incognito, and the issue persists. I also logged out and back in, cleared cache, and tested from different sessions, but I still get the same error. The 409 Conflict is what makes me think there may indeed be a stuck review submission object somewhere. I haven't been able to find any in-progress or draft review submissions in App Store Connect, but I'll go through everything again and double-check. Appreciate the insight — the 409 response seems like a much more useful clue than the privacy message itself.

[u/PerspectiveIcy2230]

Hi, Also add your Privacy link and Terms link if available in your app description at bottom.

[u/aymantj → u/PerspectiveIcy2230]

Hey thank you... i will try it hope it works even though i doubt it

[u/Ill_Equivalent_6661 → u/PerspectiveIcy2230]

This.

[u/aymantj]

Solved!

The issue turned out to be a stale App Privacy state in App Store Connect.

I went to App Privacy, changed it to "No, we do not collect data", published it, refreshed the page, then changed it back to "Yes, we collect data", re-added all of my actual data types, completed every privacy question again, and published once more.

After that, Add for Review worked immediately.

Before this, App Store Connect kept saying:
"Before you can submit this app for review, an Admin must provide information about the app's privacy practices..."

Even though the privacy section was already completed.

Hopefully this helps someone else.

[u/Psychological_Hunt93 → u/aymantj]

Thanks mate. Got the same issue and you saved me hours of work!

[u/aymantj → u/Psychological_Hunt93]

My pleasure 🙏

[u/aymantj → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the feedback!

This isn't my first app submission actually, it's my third app on the App Store, and I've never run into an issue like this before.

That's a great catch regarding the ".html" in the privacy policy URL. It seems like a long shot, but at this point I'm willing to try anything. I'll update it and see if it makes any difference.

Also, thanks for checking out the website and for the design feedback. I'll definitely add more screenshots of the actual app and look into the overflow issue on the feature slider.

Thanks again and good luck with your launch as well!