Publishing a mobile app on the App Store or Google Play Store is far from easy. Both platforms enforce strict standards and requirements before an app can be approved and made it public. This has become even more significant after Google’s recent decision requiring developers to verify their accounts before publishing official apps on the Play Store.

This raises an important question: What are the key criteria and conditions your app must meet to be approved by either Google or Apple? And what are the best practices should developers and publishers follow to ensure their app passes the review process on both platforms.

Respecting The Essential  Standards

To make it simpler, the requirements for app approval on Google Play can be grouped into three main categories:

1. Essential and mandatory standards
2. Structural and functional standards
3. Quality standards

Starting by the mandatory guidelines, publishers and developers should follow a lot of different standards to make sure their app can be published. This include:

1. Prohibited content: Apps containing pornographic, sexual, violent, or hate-inciting content are strictly forbidden. Any app that promotes harm, hatred, or mocks religions and beliefs will be immediately rejected.
2. Copyright and intellectual property: Apps that include content violating another company’s or individual’s intellectual property rights will not be accepted. Your app must contain original content created by you or your team.
3. Compliance with developer and publisher policies: This includes adhering to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), privacy and data usage policies, and transparency regarding app permissions and how user data is handled.
4. Security and safety: Apps must not include spyware, malware, or fraudulent behavior. Submitting such apps can lead to instant rejection and possibly termination of your developer account.

 

Technical Standards You Must Follow To Ensure Your App Is Approved

Having original and clean content is not enough your app’s structure and performance also play a major role in its approval. Both Google and Apple emphasize that apps must meet their quality expectations.

• App quality and performance: Your app should run smoothly without bugs or crashes, ensuring the best possible user experience on both Android and iOS.
• Device and screen compatibility: The app should display properly on different devices and screen sizes, including landscape mode. If it’s a WebView-based app, make sure the web pages are fully responsive and mobile-friendly.
• Good UI/UX design: Your app’s interface must be intuitive and user-friendly, not cluttered or confusing. Navigation buttons, search features, and menus should be clearly positioned and accessible.

 

Content Standards That Must Be Respected

Content is a key standard to make sure your app met the standards set by both Google and Apple. Even if you are app is respecting the others standards, it’s content might different and disapproved by Google and Apple. Here are some key standards to follow related to the content of your app:

1. Appropriate and purposeful content: The app should contain content suitable for all age groups, without violating any copyright rules. It must have a clear purpose or objective.
2. No apps that harm other platforms: For example, apps that allow downloading videos or media from social platforms (like YouTube downloaders) are not allowed on Google Play or the App Store.
3. Transparent payment and purchase policies: If your app includes in-app purchases or paid services, it must clearly display terms related to payment, refunds, and billing. Payments should be processed through Google Play or Apple’s billing systems, not external gateways. For Android apps, this means complying with Google Play Billing policies.

 

How to Get a WebView App Approved on Google Play and the App Store

WebView apps  simply displays an existing website. They are often rejected by app stores because they are considered too basic or lacking native functionality. To improve your chances of approval, we offer you the following keys:

• Add extra app components: Include features like a bottom navigation bar, side drawer menu, or splash screen when the app opens. This helps distinguish it from a simple mobile web page.
• Add app permissions and functionality: Implement features such as push notifications, or, if relevant, request permissions for camera access, file uploads, or storage.

Felucca Platform provides several tools and features that help transform a regular mobile web app into a fully functional WebView application. Make sure to use these enhancements to improve your chances of approval on both stores.