Guide Checked against Apple's App Review Guidelines on 22 Oct 2026
App Store screenshot rejections: why Apple bounces screenshots and how to fix them
Screenshots have to follow the App Review Guidelines too. Here's what Apple's guidelines say they must and mustn't show, with the guideline number, Apple's own words and a fix for each. Sources are linked on every point and at the bottom.
Screenshot rules in four lines
Short answer- App in use
- more than half, per device
- Other platforms
- no names, icons or imagery
- Prices
- leave them out
- File
- JPEG or PNG, no alpha
From guidelines 2.3.3, 2.3.10 and 2.3.7, Apple's 2.3.3 help page and App Store Connect's screenshot specifications. Apple doesn't publish how often each one causes a rejection, so nothing here is ranked.
Why Apple bounces screenshots
Each point quotes Apple word for word, then explains it and gives a fix. The order isn't a ranking: Apple doesn't publish how often each one comes up.
The fixes are our practical reading of Apple's text. App Review has the final say, so when a rejection message cites a guideline, go by what it says.
Guideline 2.3.3
The screenshots don't show the app in use
“Screenshots should show the app in use, and not merely the title art, login page, or splash screen.”
Apple's App Review Help page for 2.3.3 sets the bar: App Review looks at the set of screenshots for each supported device and “will approve only those submissions where more than half of screenshots show the app in use.” Apple's own example: with three screenshots per device, two must show the app in use; with four, three must.
Fix: Make most of each device's set real screens of your app doing its main job. A splash screen, title art or a marketing-only slide is fine, as long as it's in the minority.
Source: Guideline 2.3.3 · App Review Help: 2.3.3
Guideline 2.3.10
Another platform shows up in the picture
“Make sure your app is focused on the experience of the Apple platforms it supports, and don't include names, icons, or imagery of other mobile platforms or alternative app marketplaces in your app or metadata, unless there is specific, approved interactive functionality.”
Screenshots are metadata, so this covers them. Apple's 2.3.3 help page adds that screenshots that reference third-party platforms, “such as in a status bar”, are assessed under 2.3.10.
Fix: Capture iOS screenshots on an iPhone or iPad (or the Simulator), not by reusing captures from another platform. Then look over every status bar, navigation bar, device frame, badge and caption for another platform's name, icon or look.
Source: Guideline 2.3.10 · App Review Help: 2.3.3
Guideline 2.3.7
Prices, other apps' names or unrelated text
“Metadata such as app names, subtitles, screenshots, and previews should not include prices, terms, or descriptions that are not specific to the metadata type.”
The same guideline says not to pack metadata with “trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing information, or other irrelevant phrases just to game the system.” Guideline 2.3.10 adds: “Don't include irrelevant information.” For creative assets (2.3.14), Apple separately rules out “specific or discounted pricing information.”
Fix: Take price tags and discount text off the images. Caption what the screen shows, and keep other apps' names and trademarks you don't own out of it.
Source: Guideline 2.3.7 · Guideline 2.3.10 · Guideline 2.3.14
Guideline 2.3
The screenshots don't match the app
“…make sure all your app metadata, including privacy information, your app description, screenshots, and previews accurately reflect the app's core experience and remember to keep them up-to-date with new versions.”
Apple's 2.3.3 help page lists “Update your screenshots with each new version so they match the current user interface” as a do, and screenshots that “misrepresent the app's actual interface or include misleading marketing or promotional materials” as a don't. Guideline 2.3.1(a) also calls out promoting content or services the app doesn't actually offer.
Fix: Re-capture after any visible UI change, and only show features that are in the build you're submitting.
Source: Guideline 2.3 · App Review Help: 2.3.3 · Guideline 2.3.1
Guideline 2.1(a) · 2.3.9
Placeholder content or a real person's data
“…placeholder text, empty websites, and other temporary content should be scrubbed before submission.”
That's from 2.1(a), which asks for final versions “with all necessary metadata.” Guideline 2.3.9 adds that “you should display fictional account information instead of data from a real person,” and that you're responsible for securing the rights to all materials in your screenshots.
Fix: Fill a demo account with realistic, made-up data, and read every screen for leftover dummy text, test names or empty states. Only use images you have the rights to.
Source: Guideline 2.1 · Guideline 2.3.9
Guideline 2.3.2
Paid features look free
“If your app includes in-app purchases, make sure your app description, screenshots, and previews clearly indicate whether any featured items, levels, subscriptions, etc. require additional purchases.”
If a screenshot features something that's behind a purchase or subscription, the screenshot (or the description) needs to make that clear.
Fix: Label premium features in the caption, for example with a small “Pro” or “Subscription” note next to them.
Source: Guideline 2.3.2
Guideline 2.3.8
Images that aren't suitable for 4+
“…make sure your app and in-app purchase icons, screenshots, and previews adhere to a 4+ age rating even if your app is rated higher.”
Apple's example: for a game with violence, “select images that don't depict a gruesome death or a gun pointed at a specific character.” The same guideline reserves terms like “For Kids” and “For Children” for the Kids Category.
Fix: Pick scenes that work for every audience, even if the app itself is rated higher.
Source: Guideline 2.3.8
Guideline 2.3.3
Overlays bury the app
“Don't let overlays or marketing visuals crowd out your app.”
Overlays are allowed. Apple says you can include messaging and other visuals “as long as the primary app functionality in the screenshot isn't obscured,” and that you shouldn't “show only the hardware or an overlay with no app interface behind it.”
Fix: Keep headlines and badges around the app screen, not on top of the part that shows what the app does.
Source: App Review Help: 2.3.3
Wrong size or format
Sizes come from App Store Connect's screenshot specifications rather than the review guidelines. That page also says all screenshots must adhere to the App Review Guidelines before you submit them.
| What | Apple says |
|---|---|
| Required iPhone set | iPhone with Dynamic Island (medium display): at least one screenshot, 1179×2556 or 1206×2622 portrait (or the landscape swap) |
| Required iPad set | If your app runs on iPad: iPad 13" display, 2064×2752 or 2048×2732 portrait (or the landscape swap) |
| How many | At least 1, up to 10 per device size |
| File type | .jpeg, .jpg or .png |
| Transparency | Images can't include alpha channels or transparencies |
Every accepted size, for every device: App Store & Google Play screenshot sizes. To test your files, drop them into the free screenshot size checker. It runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Source: Screenshot specifications
Pre-submission checklist
Run through this for every device size and every localization before you hit Submit. Each line points to the rule behind it.
- More than half of each device's screenshots show the app in use, not just title art, a login page or a splash screen.2.3.3
- Each localization's set also meets that majority rule.2.3.3 help
- Overlays and headlines don't hide the app's main functionality.2.3.3 help
- No other mobile platform or app marketplace: names, icons, status bars, device frames or badges.2.3.10
- No prices or discount text on the images.2.3.7
- No other apps' names, trademarks you don't own, or text that isn't about your app.2.3.7 · 2.3.10
- Every screen matches the build you're submitting, and only shows features it actually has.2.3 · 2.3.1(a)
- Anything behind a purchase or subscription is labelled as such.2.3.2
- No placeholder text; account data is fictional, and you have the rights to every image.2.1(a) · 2.3.9
- Every image is suitable for a 4+ rating.2.3.8
- Accepted pixel size for each device, JPEG or PNG, no alpha, between 1 and 10 per size.Specs
Check your listing before you submit
Rather hand it off? For $149 per app I'll make the full screenshot set for both stores, with listing text. You review it and upload it yourself. See the makeover
More guides: App Store & Google Play screenshot sizes · Google Play feature graphic.
Questions
- How many of my screenshots have to show the app in use?
- More than half, for each device type. Apple's App Review Help page for guideline 2.3.3 says App Review will approve only those submissions where more than half of screenshots show the app in use. With three screenshots per device, two must show the app in use; with four, three must. The rest can show your app's benefits and features using marketing materials.
- Can my screenshots have marketing text, frames or a splash screen?
- Yes. Guideline 2.3.3 allows text and image overlays, and Apple's help page lists including splash screens or marketing text as fine, as long as the majority of screenshots still show the app in use and overlays don't obscure the primary app functionality.
- Can I show an Android phone or a Google Play badge in App Store screenshots?
- Guideline 2.3.10 says not to include names, icons, or imagery of other mobile platforms or alternative app marketplaces in your app or metadata, unless there is specific, approved interactive functionality. Apple's 2.3.3 help page also says screenshots that reference third-party platforms, such as in a status bar, are assessed under 2.3.10.
- Can I put a price or a sale on my screenshots?
- Guideline 2.3.7 says metadata such as app names, subtitles, screenshots, and previews should not include prices. Apple's product page guide also says to avoid specific prices in your app description, because pricing is already shown on the product page and may not be accurate in all regions.
- Can screenshots differ between languages or devices?
- Yes. Apple says screenshots can be tailored to a localization, and the number can differ by device; one screenshot for a device is enough as long as it shows your app in use. Each localization's set is still assessed on whether the majority show the app in use.
- Do I have to update screenshots when the app changes?
- Guideline 2.3 asks you to keep screenshots up to date with new versions, and Apple's 2.3.3 help page recommends updating them with each new version so they match the current interface.
- Can I show real customer data in screenshots?
- Guideline 2.3.9 says you should display fictional account information instead of data from a real person, and that you're responsible for securing the rights to all materials in your screenshots.
- Do the same rules apply to my keywords?
- Guideline 2.3.7 asks for keywords that accurately describe your app, without trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing information or other irrelevant phrases. Apple's product page guide says improper use of keywords is a common reason for App Store rejections, and lists trademarked terms, irrelevant terms and competing app names as things not to use.
- What should I do if my screenshots are rejected?
- Fix what the rejection points to and resubmit. Apple's guidelines say that if you have questions or want to provide more information, you can use App Store Connect to communicate directly with the App Review team, and that you can submit an appeal if you disagree with the outcome.
Sources, last checked 22 Oct 2026: Apple, App Review Guidelines (last updated by Apple 16 Oct 2026) · Apple, App Review Help: 2.3.3 Show your app in use with screenshots · Apple, App Store Connect Help: Screenshot specifications · Apple, Creating your product page. Apple changes these pages without notice, so check them before a big launch. Spotted something out of date? hello@shiplisting.app. ShipListing isn't affiliated with Apple.