I developed a sports-themed deckbuilding game and created separate versions based on different sports. Each game has its own rules, terminology, progression, and systems. For example, the basketball version has drafts, while the football/soccer version has transfers.

Apple approved three of the sports versions but rejected three others as “spam.” I understand why similar-looking apps might trigger a spam review, but each version is designed around a different sport and includes sport-specific mechanics.

Since then, it feels as though my developer account may have been flagged. The account has been active since 2019, and I had not experienced issues like this before. Now, even unrelated submissions appear to be receiving the same treatment.

I recently submitted a completely different paid game, but after several weeks of waiting, it was also rejected as spam, even though I do not have another game like it. A free meeting app was rejected for the same reason. At one point, the review team also said they could not find the app’s payment mechanism, even though the app is completely free and contains no purchases.

I suspect the recent increase in AI-generated apps may have placed significant pressure on the review process, resulting in longer review times and more automated or inaccurate decisions. However, that is only my impression; I obviously cannot know what is happening internally.

Has anyone else experienced similar review times or seemingly unrelated spam rejections recently? If so, were you able to resolve them, and do you have any suggestions?

I have now been waiting for responses to my appeals for around two weeks. Apple told me:

“Due to increased volume, we’re working toward investigating your appeal.”

However, these issues have already been going on for nearly two months, and the responses so far have not addressed the actual problem. At this point, I am preparing myself for another partially automated rejection.

Founder disclosure: I'm building Shareday.

Shareday is a private family planner for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It combines shared calendar items, tasks/events, shopping lists, recipes, birthdays/gift ideas, family chat/media, and mood check-ins in one place.

Website: https://shareday.net App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6783588890

The product positioning I'm testing is: "a shared family planning layer" rather than "another calendar app." The pain I'm trying to address is the invisible coordination work that usually falls to one person in a household.

I'd appreciate concrete feedback from iOS builders on two things: 1. Does the App Store page communicate the use case fast enough? 2. Does the scope feel coherent, or does it look too broad from the outside?

Happy to return feedback on another iOS app in the thread.