App Review pre-check

One check looks for the things App Review rejects most often. Each finding names the guideline and shows the evidence: a frame or a file path. Mobster doesn’t submit anything and can’t promise Apple accepts the build; it finds the problems that need no judgment.

The check

Save this as .mobster/checks/app-review.yaml and run mobster test:

.mobster/checks/app-review.yaml

version: 1
name: App Review pre-check
app:
  bundle: com.example.yourapp
  path: .mobster/build/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/YourApp.app
steps:
  - Open Settings, then About, then come back and open every other tab once
audit: [usage-descriptions, privacy-manifest]
throughout:
  - no_text: /lorem ipsum|\bTODO\b|Placeholder|test@/i
    name: 2.1 no placeholder text
somewhere:
  - visible: {label: Restore Purchases}
    name: 3.1.1 Restore Purchases is reachable

A run that finds a problem prints it in plain words:

failed App Review pre-check (41.2 s)
  ✗ 5.1.1 Daybreak.app/Info.plist has no NSCameraUsageDescription. Add one that says why the app needs the camera.
      Evidence: AVCaptureSession is in Daybreak
  ✗ 2.1 "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" is on screen: placeholder text. Replace it.
      Evidence: frames/0007.png

What it checks

Before the app runs, from the built .app:

Check	Guideline	Fails when
`usage-descriptions`	5.1.1	The binary uses camera, location, contacts and similar APIs and `Info.plist` has no `NS*UsageDescription` for it, or the text is empty, `TODO`, lorem ipsum or a single word
`privacy-manifest`	5.1.1	The binary uses a required-reason API and `PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy` is missing, or doesn’t declare that category with a reason

A framework with a required-reason API and no manifest of its own is a finding for a person, not a failure. While Smart walks the app:

Check	Guideline	Held by
No placeholder text	2.1	`throughout`: no screen shows lorem ipsum, `TODO`, `Placeholder` or `test@`
Restore Purchases	3.1.1	`somewhere`, only if the app links StoreKit
Sign in with Apple	4.8	`somewhere`, only if the app links a third-party sign-in
Account deletion	5.1.1(v)	`somewhere`, only if the app links a sign-in or has an account
Settings and About open	2.1	`throughout`: no screen says 404 or “page not found”

Keep a somewhere line only for what your app has: Restore Purchases if it links StoreKit, Sign in with Apple if it offers another sign-in, account deletion if people can create accounts.

How a run is judged

A finding at fail level makes the run failed. A control Smart never found is needs_review, because the run may not have reached that screen: open the frames and add a step that goes there. Mobster follows links to Settings and About only. It doesn’t crawl the app. The keys behind this are throughout, somewhere and audit in the check file. You can write them in any check.

What it doesn’t do

It doesn’t read your App Store Connect metadata, review your screenshots or test in-app purchases (Checks for TestFlight, purchases and push covers the paywall). It reads strings in the binary, so a library that mentions an API without calling it can raise a finding for a person.

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App Review pre-check

The check

What it checks

How a run is judged

What it doesn’t do

​The check

​What it checks

​How a run is judged

​What it doesn’t do

The check

What it checks

How a run is judged

What it doesn’t do