Guideline 2.1 App Completeness, in plain English
“placeholder text, empty websites, and other temporary content should be scrubbed before submission”
Guideline 2.1 says the app you send to Apple has to be the finished app: it doesn't crash, it has no placeholder text or dead links, and the reviewer gets everything needed to try it. Apple says that on average over 40% of unresolved review issues fall under 2.1, more than any other guideline. Most 2.1 rejections are fixed with a corrected build or better review information, not a redesign.
Checked against Apple’s guidelines on (Apple’s version of ). Apple’s reviewers make the final call.
What Guideline 2.1 means
The rule covers the whole submission, not only the code. Apple asks for a final version with all of its metadata and working URLs, an app tested on a device for bugs and stability, and, when the app has a login, a demo account and a backend that is switched on. Apple says plainly that it rejects incomplete app bundles and binaries that crash or show obvious technical problems.
"Finished" is judged from the reviewer's side. A screen that only fills in after you have used the app for a week, a button wired to nothing, a sample name left in a list or a "coming soon" tab all read as temporary content. So does a support or privacy link that opens an empty page.
Apple asks you to test on devices running the latest software. An app that runs fine on your own phone can still fail on a fresh install, on a slow network, or when the reviewer says no to a permission request, because those are paths you rarely walk yourself.
A second part, 2.1(b), is about in-app purchases: anything the app sells must be complete, visible to the reviewer and working, and if a purchase can't be found in the app, the review notes have to say why.
Why apps are turned down under Guideline 2.1
The app crashed or showed an error during review
The reviewer opened the app and it closed, froze or showed an error. Typical causes are a crash at launch, a crash right after a permission is refused, and a screen that expects data the reviewer's fresh install doesn't have.
The app contains placeholder content
Lorem ipsum, "TODO", "coming soon", test names or an empty tab. Apple treats anything temporary as a sign the app isn't ready to be published.
A link in the app or the listing doesn't work
Apple requires a working link to user support with current contact details and a link to the privacy policy. One dead link is enough for a 2.1 rejection.
The reviewer couldn't sign in or reach the server
Without a demo account that works, or with the backend switched off, most of the app can't be reviewed, so the submission counts as incomplete. The demo account page covers this case in detail.
How to fix it and resubmit
- Open the App Review section of your app in App Store Connect and read the whole message. It names the guideline and usually says what the reviewer saw; some messages include a screenshot or a crash log.
- Reproduce it on a real iPhone with the latest iOS: delete the app, install the exact build you sent, and follow the reviewer's path, including saying no to every permission request.
- Fix the cause, then walk every screen once more looking for leftovers: sample names, empty states with no message, buttons that do nothing, and links that open nothing.
- Check the review information: a demo account that signs in today, notes for any feature that isn't obvious, and a backend that will stay on for the whole review.
- If the code changed, upload a new build and select it for the version. Reply to App Review in App Store Connect saying what you fixed, then submit the version for review again.
How Borel helps
Before you send an app to Apple, Stamp, the member of Borel's crew who checks apps for Apple, builds that exact version on Borel's Mac and checks that it opens without closing. He also reads the app's own Swift code for placeholder and to-do text, for http:// addresses iOS refuses to load, and for secret keys left in the code. How Stamp checks an app.
Borel's submit gate refuses to send an app whose backend could stop mid-review: when the app uses Borel's cloud or AI and your balance could run out while Apple reviews it, Borel asks you to add credit first, because an app that stops working for the reviewer is a 2.1 rejection.
Every Borel app gets a hosted Privacy Policy and Support page, and Borel fills both addresses into the App Store listing, so the two links Apple requires work from the first submission. You can walk every screen first on the live iPhone Simulator in your browser and, on Pro, on your own iPhone with Borel Companion.
Questions people ask
What does Guideline 2.1 App Completeness mean?
It means Apple only reviews finished apps. The build must not crash or show obvious bugs, the app and its listing must have no placeholder content or broken links, and the reviewer must be able to reach every feature, with a demo account if there's a login.
Do I need a new build to fix a 2.1 rejection?
Only when the problem is in the app itself, like a crash or leftover placeholder text. When the reviewer only lacked information, such as a working demo account or an explanation of a feature, you can fix the review information, reply in App Store Connect and resubmit the same build.
How long does review take after I resubmit?
Apple says App Review typically reviews at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours. Apple also says an app rejected again and again for the same guideline can take longer to review.
Can I submit a beta or demo version to the App Store?
No. Apple's Guideline 2.2 says demos, betas and trial versions belong in TestFlight, not on the App Store, and a TestFlight build must still be meant for public release.
Related guidelines
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