Stores & policies. Apple Now Rejects Apps Requesting Reviews During Onboarding

Apple's App Review team has begun enforcing Guideline 5.6.3 more strictly, rejecting apps that prompt users for ratings during the onboarding process. The rationale is clear: asking for reviews before users have had meaningful time to experience the app is considered manipulative and erodes customer trust in the App Store ecosystem. This enforcement represents a shift in how Apple polices the customer experience, moving beyond technical compliance to protect the integrity of review systems and search rankings.

For mobile studios, this policy change has immediate practical implications for app submission and user engagement strategy. Apps currently using onboarding-stage rating prompts will face rejection until they restructure their flow. The broader lesson is that timing matters significantly for review requests; studios should delay prompts until users have demonstrated genuine engagement or completed key actions within the app. This aligns with best practices around user psychology: users are more likely to leave honest, positive reviews when they've experienced real value. Studios should audit their current onboarding flows and consider moving rating prompts to moments of high satisfaction, such as after completing a workout, finishing a task, or unlocking a feature. By respecting this guideline, apps not only avoid rejection but also improve the quality of reviews they receive, which ultimately benefits visibility in search and charts.