Guideline 4.2: "Minimum Functionality"

What this rejection means

A reviewer opened your app, used it for a few minutes, and felt they were looking at a website inside an app shell. Nothing was broken. The problem is that the app did not give them a reason to be an app instead of a web page.

The message comes in a few flavors, and they all point to the same guideline:

• "Not sufficiently different from a web browsing experience" — the classic web wrapper. The app loads your site in a browser view.
• "Limited functionality" or "minimum functionality" — the app works, but there is not enough to do. Often a single screen or a form.
• "Primarily marketing material" — a brochure: a landing page, pricing and a contact button.

Apple is not saying your product is bad. It is saying that, as submitted, it belongs on the web rather than on the App Store.

Why apps built with AI tools get this so often

Lovable, Bolt, Base44, v0 and most AI builders produce web apps. To get one onto an iPhone, most guides wrap the web app in a native shell. The shell makes it installable, but it does not make it feel like an app, and reviewers can tell within seconds.

• It is a website in a wrapperPages load like a browser, links open the website, and nothing uses the phone itself.
• Nothing a phone can do that the site cannotThe reviewer is looking for a reason the app exists on a device. A wrapped site rarely gives one.
• Placeholder screens and sample dataAI builders leave stub pages, "coming soon" sections and demo content that make the app feel unfinished.
• The template lookMany AI-built apps share the same layout. That adds to the feeling of "another wrapped website".
• Built for a desktop browserScreens designed at laptop size get squeezed onto a phone, so buttons, menus and text look wrong on iPhone and iPad.

What Apple is actually asking for

"Your app should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website."App Store Review Guidelines, 4.2 — developer.apple.com

Put simply: Apple wants the app to earn its place on someone's phone. A reviewer looks for a real reason the app exists as an app, for a product that feels finished, and for something a person could not get by opening your website in Safari. It is a judgment call, which is why two similar apps can get different results.

This is also why a 4.2 rejection is rarely overturned by arguing. The reviewer has already seen the app and formed a view. What changes the outcome is a different app on the next submission, not a different explanation.

What we fix

Every 4.2 case is a little different, so we start by reviewing your app the way a reviewer would. These are the issues we find and fix most often:

We make the changes inside your own project and your own developer account. The app stays yours, and it is resubmitted from your account, not ours. If it comes back rejected, we keep going at no extra cost.

How long it takes

4.2 is usually the biggest of the common fixes, because the answer is often "the app needs to do more", not "a setting is wrong". Here is a realistic timeline:

1. Day 0
   You share your project and the rejectionA share link or invite from your builder, plus the message Apple sent. Takes about two minutes.
2. Day 1
   We review it like a reviewer wouldYou get a plain-English plan in your dashboard: what we will change and why.
3. Days 1–5
   We make the changesMost 4.2 fixes are done within a few days. Bigger ones can take a week or more; we tell you up front.
4. Then
   Resubmitted from your accountApple reviews the new build again. That usually takes one to three days.
5. Done
   Approved, or we go againUnlimited resubmissions are included. If it is never approved, you get a full refund.

What happens if you ignore it

Nothing happens to your developer account because of one rejection. The submission simply stays rejected, and your app stays off the store for as long as you like.

What hurts is resubmitting the same app with small cosmetic changes. Reviewers see the history of your submissions. Repeated resubmissions with no real change tend to get shorter replies, and they can invite a closer look at other guidelines, such as 4.3 Spam. If you are going to resubmit, it is worth making the next version count.

Often rejected together with 4.2

Built with an AI tool?

Each builder has its own patterns. See what we usually find for yours:

Questions about Guideline 4.2