Metadata rejection

Metadata Rejected means App Review objected to something outside your binary, so you can fix it and continue without uploading a new build.

The status is distinct from plain Rejected, and the distinction is practical rather than cosmetic. Rejected means the reviewer has a problem with the app: it crashed, a feature does not work, the business model breaks a guideline. Metadata Rejected means the app is fine as far as they got, and something around it is not.

The usual causes, most common first. A demo account that does not work, or none supplied for a login-gated app. Screenshots that do not show the app, show the wrong device, or show features that are not there. A support or privacy policy URL that 404s. Missing or contradictory answers in the App Privacy section. Subscription details that do not match what the app actually sells.

You fix it in App Store Connect, then reply in Resolution Center saying what you changed. In most cases the same build stays attached and the version goes back into the queue without a resubmission. If the console offers no Submit button, the reply is the resubmission.

Do not upload a new build out of caution. It restarts processing, it can invalidate the review already done, and it does not answer the question you were asked.

See also: Resolution Center, App Review, App Store version.