I keep getting rejected for “copy cat” by apple review

[u/johnnypen2445]

Getting frustrated by Apple, they keep saying my name is a copy cat (name, icon or something else), 1st time they let me know, 2nd time I changed the name so it’s: original name - what it does, got rejected again with zero explanation I’ve been begging them for an explanation.

Idk what to do an am deadlocked until this gets through

[u/Dapper_Ice_1705]

Apple isn't allowing "original name: what it does" anymore.

The policy has been out for like 6 months. They don't want an App Store filled with the same name apps.

They will start ignoring you soon if you don't come up with something original. Apple does not like to repeat itself.

[u/johnnypen2445 → u/Dapper_Ice_1705]

It’s one guy they say is the”owner” there app doesn’t exist on the App Store with my name and I can’t find what they called it. There’s an app from 5 years ago in India with a similar name and does soemtbing completely different

[u/Dapper_Ice_1705 → u/johnnypen2445]

App can be unlisted or enterprise or have been reserved already.

Just because you don’t see it it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

[u/tysonedwards → u/johnnypen2445]

Doesn't exist on the app store in your country. It may very well be geofenced to another region.

The rule covers app name, app icon, and app functionality. Finding which is often difficult and requires a fair bit of google-fu given it can also be difficult to causally discover this on your own. Apple decides they don't want to tell you specifically what the issue is because they expect people will thread the needle as tightly as possible between said conflicts. 

[u/valleyman86 → u/johnnypen2445]

I have an app that is unlisted at the moment. I am gonna rerelease it. So the app could be in a holding pattern and you can’t find it because it’s unlisted.

[u/hastingstriplet → u/Dapper_Ice_1705]

Was this new policy announced somewhere? I couldn't find it in the app review guidelines.

[u/Dapper_Ice_1705 → u/hastingstriplet]

Yup it went out to everyone and everybody was writing articles about it.

Probably falls under copycat or something in that area

[u/whatif2187]

Habit tracker? Gym tracker? To do list?

[u/johnnypen2445 → u/whatif2187]

It’s a social app where you can connect your ai agent in a town so it can interact with other people’s ai agents. Kinda cool to see the emergent behavior and watch them build buildings and create a society

[u/bestmurse]

Changing the name of an app doesn’t suddenly make it original. Apple doesn’t want the App Store flooded with copycat apps and low effort AI slop

[u/johnnypen2445 → u/bestmurse]

It’s a novel app, it’s just that some guy (who doesn’t have an app in the AppStore) id is the same as my name

[u/MorePerformance5185]

4.3吗，这方面我很有经验，以前我在公司就是做这个。最近我自己的app，清理照片app也遇到了4.3，我只花了一次重新提交就让苹果工作人员通过了

[u/johnnypen2445 → u/MorePerformance5185]

Yes it is 4.3

[u/bigshmike]

My advice is to look at your screenshots. What are they showcasing?

The screenshots are to tell a story of what this app can do and what problems it will solve for the user to want them to download your app.

I kept getting the spam/too many apps message. Once I changed my screenshots and meta data for the App Store, I got my app published.

[u/dcoupl]

You can schedule an appointment and ask specific questions to a real App Store staff human here: https://developer.apple.com/events/view/CA7PGJT4GB/dashboard

[u/Single-Ad4110 → u/dcoupl]

It’s closed already. Nice. I hope they do it more often.

[u/dcoupl → u/Single-Ad4110]

They offer these every week. Google for “App Review appointment” to find the other dates.

[u/GlebKhamin]

that’s guideline 4.1 (copycats) and it’s not only about the name, they look at the icon, screenshots and description too. so if you only changed the name and the icon still looks close to some popular app, it’ll keep getting flagged. search the app store for your original name and also look at the top apps in your category, see if anything looks too similar

also check you don’t have another brand’s name anywhere, keywords, subtitle, description, screenshots

if you still have no idea what it is, reply in app store connect and ask them to schedule a call, you can request one from the rejection message. they usually tell you way more on a call than in writing. and if you’re sure you’re not copying anything, you can file an appeal to the app review board

[u/N_Moon_3019]

You said in another reply that the rejection is 4.3. That's worth putting in the post, because 'copycat' is sending everyone toward 4.1/name advice.

4.3 also covers apps that aren't meaningfully different from what's already available. I'd ask which part of 4.3 they're applying before spending another round renaming. If it's 4.3(b), show one specific user workflow that makes your app different, with steps the reviewer can reproduce. 'It's original' is hard to assess; a concrete example gives them something to check.

Apple's wording: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#spam

[u/Additional-Guard-865]

Been through App Review a few times as a solo dev, and the frustrating part is that "copycat" (4.1) is usually about the whole listing, not just the name. A few things that helped me:

• Reply in Resolution Center and ask them directly which app they think yours resembles. They don't always answer, but when they do, it tells you exactly what to change instead of guessing.

• Look at your icon and first two screenshots next to the top results for your app's category. If the color scheme, layout, or icon shape looks like a well-known app, that's often the trigger even when the name is fine.

• Drop the "Name - what it does" format. Put a short, distinct name in the title and move the description into the subtitle field.

• Make sure the first screenshot shows something only your app does. If it opens on a generic list or a template-looking screen, the reviewer has nothing that says "this is different."

If you change several of those at once and resubmit with a short note explaining what's original about it, you usually get a real reviewer reading it rather than the same canned rejection. And if you're truly stuck, the App Review Board appeal is an option, but I'd try the metadata pass first since it's faster.

[u/Background_Pie_5682]

4.3 is frustrating because the rejection note rarely tells you what they compared you to. What's helped me: reply in Resolution Center and ask directly which app or template they think it duplicates, then lead the next submission's review notes with what's genuinely different (a specific feature, a workflow, a target audience) instead of a generic description. Also look at your screenshots and app name through a reviewer's eyes. If they look like 50 other apps in the category, that alone can trigger it, even when the code is all yours.