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Notes from shipping apps
Policy deadlines explained, myths corrected, and what actually broke while shipping real apps to both stores.
- Your AI-built app got rejected under 4.3. Here is what Apple is actually objecting to
Apps built with Lovable, Bolt, Replit or Cursor are getting 4.3 spam, 4.2 minimum functionality and 5.2 IP rejections. What each one means and what clears it.
- Android developer verification: what changes on 30 September 2026
Android developer verification starts enforcing on 30 September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. What indie developers must do, and what it exposes.
- Apple's new social media age rating questions become required in September 2026
From September 2026 Apple requires answers to the new social media age rating questions on every new app and update. What counts as a social media capability.
- Apple deleted its rejections page, and nothing replaced it
developer.apple.com/app-store/review/rejections/ now returns a 301. There is no Apple page that maps a rejection to a fix. What to use instead, in order.
- The Honest Truth About ASO Data
Apple publishes no per-keyword search volume, so every ASO search volume number is a model output. How the inference works, and why labelling it beats faking it.
- Google Play's closed testing requirement is 12 testers, not 20
Google's live documentation says 12 testers opted in continuously for 14 days. The widely repeated 20 is out of date. What counts, and why the wrong number spread.
- Google Play's target API level 36 deadline is 31 August 2026
From 31 August 2026 new apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36). How to check your target, what breaks, and the extension to 1 November.
- A rejection post-mortem template: six steps from letter to fix without guessing
Most rejections are lost to guessing, not to Apple. Read the citation, reproduce, isolate, fix, document, reply. With a copy-pasteable template.
- App Store and Google Play compliance deadline calendar
Every confirmed Apple and Google deadline in one table, with the source for each row. Updated 17 August 2026. Next up: target API 36 on 31 August.
- US external purchase links: there is no October 2026 fee, and here is what is actually true
No entitlement, no commission and no reporting requirement applies to US external purchase links today. What Apple has proposed, what the court has decided, and what to watch.
- Pressing Submit does not mean your app is submitted
In App Store Connect and Play Console, Submit names a button, not an outcome. Where the chain breaks silently, and what the word ought to guarantee.
- Why App Review Feels Slower Than Apple Says It Is
Apple says 90% of submissions are reviewed in under 24 hours. Developers report much longer. Both can be true, and here is exactly where the gap hides.