App Store Connect explained: a beginner's tour of 6 sections (2026)

By Sigsten Gustavii· 19 September 2026· Updated 27 October 2026· 8 min read

App Store Connect is where an iPhone app becomes an App Store app. You reach it at appstoreconnect.apple.com once you have joined the Apple Developer Program, $99 a year, and sign in with the same Apple Account. Nothing in it writes code; it is the office where you describe the app, hand Apple the build, and see what happens next.

The home page looks sparse, which is part of what makes it confusing. This tour walks through each of the six sections Apple describes, the roles that decide who sees what, the paperwork behind paid apps, and a list of everything you fill in before Apple will review your app.

The six sections at a glance

Apps: where your app lives

Almost all your time goes here. Each app has a record, created with a name, a primary language, a bundle ID and a SKU, an internal reference of your choice. Apple says you need this record before you can upload a build, and that the bundle ID cannot change once a build is uploaded.

Inside an app you will find:

• The version page: the screenshots, description, keywords, support URL, copyright and the build attached to the version you are about to submit. This is also where you choose how the version is released once approved: by hand, automatically, or automatically but no earlier than a date.
• App Information: details shared by every version, such as the name, subtitle, category, age rating and privacy policy URL.
• App Privacy: your answers about what data the app collects and why, shown as the privacy label on your product page.
• Pricing and Availability: the price, the countries and regions, and the distribution method, such as public, unlisted or private.
• TestFlight: your builds, internal and external tester groups, and beta information. See TestFlight explained.
• In-App Purchases and Subscriptions: the products your app sells.
• Ratings and Reviews, where you can reply to people who reviewed the app, and Analytics, covered below.

Xcode Cloud

Xcode Cloud is Apple's service for building and testing apps on Apple's servers whenever code changes. This section holds its builds, workflows, webhooks and usage. If you build your app another way, you can ignore it.

Trends, Analytics and Reports: how the app is doing

Three tools answer three different questions:

Analytics needs nothing from you: Apple collects it from the App Store and from devices. Usage numbers such as sessions and retention only include people who agreed to share diagnostics with app developers, so they read lower than the download count. To see what you earn per sale before Apple's commission, our post on how much Apple takes from app sales explains the rates.

Business: agreements, tax and banking

Free apps are covered by the Apple Developer Program License Agreement you accepted when you joined. To sell an app or offer in-app purchases, the Account Holder must sign the Paid Apps Agreement in Business, under Agreements, then add bank details and tax forms. Apple says the agreement must be active to submit or update paid apps and in-app purchases.

Apple updates its agreements from time to time. When a new version appears in Business, the Account Holder accepts it there; Apple says you cannot create a new app or in-app purchase until the latest version is accepted.

Your team: people, roles and API keys

At the start, only the Account Holder, the person who enrolled, can sign in. The team section is where you invite others by name and email and give each a role:

The same section holds sandbox testers, test accounts for buying in-app purchases without paying, and API keys, which let a tool or service work with App Store Connect for you without your password.

What to fill in before your app can be reviewed

This is the list most people discover one error message at a time. In App Store Connect, in order:

1. Create the app record: name, primary language, bundle ID and SKU.
2. Upload a build made with a current Xcode, and wait for Apple to process it. See the Xcode 26 upload requirement.
3. App Information: subtitle, category, privacy policy URL (required for iOS apps) and the age rating questionnaire (required).
4. App Privacy: what the app collects, why, and whether it is linked to the person.
5. Pricing and Availability: a price, free or paid, and where the app is offered.
6. The version page: screenshots, description, keywords, support URL and copyright, then attach the build.
7. App Review Information: a contact name, phone and email, notes, and a demo account if the app needs sign-in.
8. Business, if you sell anything: the Paid Apps Agreement, banking and tax.
9. Submit the version to App Review, and watch its status on the version page.

Our App Store submission checklist goes through each of these in more depth, with the limits Apple sets on every field.

How Borel fills in App Store Connect for you

With Borel, most of App Store Connect is filled in from your browser without visiting Apple's site. Publishing is part of Borel Pro, from $20 a month, with your own Apple Developer Program membership.

Two details are worth knowing. Connecting needs an Apple Account with the Account Holder or Admin role, because only those roles can create API keys; your password is used once and not kept, and the key is stored encrypted. And once you are connected, Borel reads each app's review status and version history live from Apple, so My apps shows what Apple shows. The Publishing page in Borel's docs shows each screen, and publishing without a Mac walks through the whole route.

I'm getting ready to publish. Check that my app has a privacy policy link in Settings, a Delete account option if it has sign-in, and no placeholder text, then tell me which App Store category fits it.

Common App Store Connect confusions

• App Store Connect versus the developer account. Certificates, identifiers and devices live in your Apple Developer account; listings, builds and sales live in App Store Connect. Same Apple Account, two websites.
• App Information versus the version page. App Information applies to every version; the version page is only for the version you are about to submit.
• Uploaded versus ready. A build appears only after Apple has processed it, and Apple emails you when that is done.
• Approved versus live. If you chose a manual release, an approved version waits for you to press release.
• Downloads that do not match. Analytics and Trends count differently, so compare each with itself over time.

The bottom line

App Store Connect is six sections with one job each: Apps for the listing, builds, TestFlight and review; Xcode Cloud for cloud builds; Trends and Reports for numbers and money; Business for agreements, tax and banking; and the team section for people and keys. Before your app can be reviewed, you need an app record, a processed build, a complete listing, App Privacy answers, an age rating and App Review details. If you make your app with Borel, it fills in most of that for you, and you mainly check and press submit.

I remember opening App Store Connect and not knowing where anything was. Once you see it as six rooms with one job each, it stops being scary.

– Sigsten

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.