---
title: "Guideline 4.2 Minimum Functionality: How to Fix It"
canonical: "https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-4-2-minimum-functionality"
description: "Rejected under App Store Guideline 4.2 Minimum Functionality? The three rejection messages, what Apple counts as too little, and the changes that get approved."
kind: "reference-library/app-review"
published: "2026-10-03"
lastUpdated: "2026-10-03"
verifiedAgainst: "Apple's App Review Guidelines (last updated June 8, 2026), Apple's App Review page and the 2025 App Store Transparency Report, on Oct 3, 2026"
author: "Ahmed Gagan (https://asoitis.com/about)"
---

# Guideline 4.2 Minimum Functionality: when App Review says your app isn't "app-like" enough

> Guideline 4.2 rejects apps that don't do enough to justify being an app: websites wrapped in a web view, apps with one thin feature, and apps that mainly market a business. Apple's rejection text says push notifications, location and sharing alone are not enough. The fix is a new build with a real task users complete inside the app, explained in your review notes.

The rejection for web wrappers, one-screen utilities and apps that are really brochures — and why adding push notifications won't fix it.

> According to ASOitis, a Guideline 4.2 rejection is almost never fixed by bolting on push notifications or a share sheet — Apple's own rejection text says those "do not provide a robust enough experience". What gets approved is one core task that a browser can't do as well.

Guideline: [4.2 — Minimum Functionality](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#minimum-functionality) (4. Design; Apple text last updated June 8, 2026)

## Key facts

- **Design rejections, 2025:** 415,532 — Includes copycats, minimum functionality and spam
- **Sub-points in force:** 5 — 4.2.1–4.2.3, 4.2.6, 4.2.7; 4.2.4–4.2.5 omitted
- **New build needed:** Yes — It's about the app, not the listing
- **Approved after a rejection, 2025:** 387,087 — Submissions, all guidelines

## What Guideline 4.2 actually says

> Your app should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website. If your app is not particularly useful, unique, or “app-like,” it doesn’t belong on the App Store. If your App doesn’t provide some sort of lasting entertainment value or adequate utility, it may not be accepted.
>
> — [App Store Review Guidelines, 4.2](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#minimum-functionality)

There's no feature count and no checklist behind this. It's a judgment call by the reviewer, which is why the same app can pass one week and be rejected on the next update. The sub-points narrow it down a little:

**The sub-points of Guideline 4.2 as of June 8, 2026**

| Sub-point | What it covers | Who it catches |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 4.2.1 | ARKit apps need rich, integrated AR — not just a model dropped into a view | Novelty AR viewers |
| 4.2.2 | Apart from catalogs, no apps that are mainly marketing, ads, web clippings, content aggregators or link lists | Business brochure apps, RSS readers of one site, link hubs |
| 4.2.3 | The app must work without installing another app, and must disclose and prompt before large initial downloads | Companion apps that do nothing alone; apps that silently pull gigabytes on first launch |
| 4.2.6 | Apps from a commercial template or app-generation service are rejected unless the content provider submits them | Agencies and builders that publish client apps under their own account |
| 4.2.7 | Remote desktop clients that mirror specific software must meet five conditions | Game and software streaming clients |

_4.2.4 and 4.2.5 are marked "Intentionally omitted". Apple also notes that apps which are "simply a song or movie" belong on the iTunes Store, and books or game guides on Apple Books._

Apple doesn't publish a count for 4.2 alone. Its [2025 Transparency Report](https://www.apple.com/legal/app-store/transparency/2025/) puts 415,532 rejections under Design, a category it describes as covering "copycat apps, apps with minimum functionality, and spam" — so 4.2 shares that number with [Guideline 4.3](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-4-3-spam).

## The three 4.2 rejections, in Apple's words

Almost every 4.2 rejection posted on Apple's developer forums uses one of three messages. Work out which one you got — the fix is different for each.

### 1. "Not sufficiently different from a mobile browsing experience"

> Your app provides a limited user experience as it is not sufficiently different from a mobile browsing experience. As such, the experience it provides is similar to the general experience of using Safari. Including iOS features such as push notifications, Core Location, and sharing do not provide a robust enough experience to be appropriate for the App Store.
>
> — [App Review rejection posted on Apple Developer Forums, April 2022](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/704430)

This is the web-wrapper rejection. It hits apps built as a `WKWebView` around an existing site, and many hybrid apps whose main screens are web content. Apple's [App Review page](https://developer.apple.com/distribute/app-review/) is blunt about it: "Websites served in an iOS app, web content that is not formatted for iOS, and limited web interactions do not make a quality app."

### 2. "Limited by the minimal amount of content or features"

> We still found that the usefulness of your app is limited by the minimal amount of content or features it includes.
>
> — [App Review rejection posted on Apple Developer Forums](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/113837)

This is the thin-app rejection: a single calculator, a timer, a one-screen tracker, a soundboard. The same message usually goes on to say Apple expects apps to "provide valuable utility or entertainment" and to "enable people to do something they couldn't do before or in a way they couldn't do it before."

### 3. "Main functionality is to market your service"

> We noticed that your app's main functionality is to market your service, with limited or no user-facing interactive features or functionality. Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements are not appropriate for the App Store.
>
> — [App Review rejection (4.2.2) posted on Apple Developer Forums, January 2018](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/95085)

This is 4.2.2: an app for a gym, clinic, agency or restaurant that shows opening hours, a gallery and a contact button. The business is real; the app gives the user nothing to do.

## What helps and what doesn't

Developers often respond by adding iOS features until the app feels busier. Apple's own rejection text rules out the most common ones. What reviewers respond to is a task the user completes inside the app.

**Doesn't fix a 4.2 on its own**
- Push notifications
- Location, a share sheet or a "rate us" prompt
- Game Center leaderboards on a thin game
- A native tab bar wrapped around the same web pages
- More screens of static information

**What tends to get approved**
- A core workflow built natively: create, edit, save, track
- Data that stays on the device and works without a connection
- Device capabilities used for the core task — camera, HealthKit, widgets, Live Activities, Shortcuts
- Account features for a real service: bookings, orders, history, messages
- For a business app: the thing customers actually do, such as booking a class, not just reading about it

Native code helps, but it isn't the test. A Swift app that shows three static screens is rejected for the same reason as a web wrapper. A web-heavy app can pass if the part users spend time in is a proper app experience.

> **If the feature exists, make sure the reviewer finds it.** Reviewers spend limited time in each app. One developer in the [forum thread above](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/113837) was approved after changing the metadata to explain a feature the app already had. Describe your core feature and how to reach it in the review notes, and show it in the first screenshots.

## Template and app-builder apps (4.2.6)

> Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected unless they are submitted directly by the provider of the app’s content.
>
> — [App Store Review Guidelines, 4.2.6](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#minimum-functionality)

This catches agencies and no-code builders that publish one app per client from their own developer account. Apple gives two acceptable routes:

- **The client submits under their own account.** The restaurant, gym or school enrolls in the Developer Program and the app ships from their account, not the agency's.
- **One "picker" app for all clients.** A single binary that hosts every client's content — Apple's examples are a restaurant finder with a page per restaurant, or an event app with an entry per event.

Using a template or boilerplate for your own app is a different matter. That's allowed under 4.2.6, but if the result looks like many other apps in the store, expect [Guideline 4.3 Spam](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-4-3-spam) instead.

## How to fix a 4.2 rejection and reply

1. **Name the gap honestly** — Write one sentence describing what a user does in your app that they can't do as well in Safari or in five minutes with Notes. If you can't, that's the work.
2. **Build one core task natively** — Pick the job users came for and make it work end to end inside the app: create, save, revisit. Depth in one task beats a long list of shallow features.
3. **Move the value to the first screens** — The reviewer should reach the core task within a minute. Cut splash content, marketing pages and forced sign-up in front of it.
4. **Explain it in the review notes** — List the native features, where to find them, and a demo account if one is needed. A missing demo login is its own rejection under [Guideline 2.1](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-2-1-app-completeness).
5. **Update the screenshots to match** — Show the core task in use. Screenshots of an app the reviewer can't find run into [Guideline 2.3](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-2-3-accurate-metadata).

**Reply in App Store Connect — Guideline 4.2**

```text
Hello App Review team,

Thank you for the feedback on Guideline 4.2.

Build [number] changes how the app works, not only how it looks:
- [Core task] is now built natively: users can [create / log / edit]
  [thing], and it is saved on the device and available offline.
- Added [widget / Shortcuts action / HealthKit sync] for [reason].
- Removed the web view that previously showed [section].

To try it: launch the app > tap [button] > [action].
Demo account (if needed): [username] / [password]

Thank you,
[Name]
```

If you believe the app already meets 4.2, you can [appeal the decision](https://developer.apple.com/distribute/app-review/#appeals) to the App Review Board, or book a Meet with App Review session to ask what the reviewer expected. Appeals on 4.2 rarely succeed without changes, because the guideline is a judgment call and the reviewer has already made it.

> **The Review Check ($49).** Not sure if your build is "app-like" enough? We check it against 4.2 and the other guidelines that reject indie apps before you submit — $49, two business days. https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/pdt_0NmV5JBcX1kDqIGUTko9k?quantity=1&redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fasoitis.com%2Fcheckout%2Fsuccess%3Fplan%3Dreview

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a web view app be approved on the App Store?

Yes, if the web content isn't the whole experience. Apple rejects apps that feel like using Safari. Apps that use web views for some screens but build their core task natively, or add real device features to it, are approved regularly.

### Will adding push notifications fix a Guideline 4.2 rejection?

Not on its own. Apple's own rejection text says push notifications, Core Location and sharing "do not provide a robust enough experience". Add a core feature users complete inside the app, then mention notifications as a supporting feature.

### Is there a minimum number of features or screens?

No. Apple's rejection messages say there are "no hard and fast rules to define useful or entertaining". A small app with one task done well can pass; a large app of static pages can fail.

### Can a business publish an app that just shows its services?

Not if that's all it does. 4.2.2 rules out apps that are primarily marketing materials, ads, web clippings or collections of links, with catalogs as the exception. Add what customers actually do, such as booking or ordering.

### Does 4.2 apply to app updates as well as new apps?

Yes. Every submission is reviewed against the current guidelines, so an earlier approval is no guarantee. An update that removes features or moves core screens to web content can be rejected under 4.2.

## Sources

1. [App Store Review Guidelines — 4.2 Minimum Functionality](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#minimum-functionality) — Apple Developer
2. [App Review — Avoiding common issues](https://developer.apple.com/distribute/app-review/) — Apple Developer
3. [2025 App Store Transparency Report](https://www.apple.com/legal/app-store/transparency/2025/) — Apple
4. [Forum: not sufficiently different from a mobile browsing experience](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/704430) — Apple Developer Forums
5. [Forum: limited by the minimal amount of content or features](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/113837) — Apple Developer Forums
6. [Forum: 4.2.2 main functionality is to market your service](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/95085) — Apple Developer Forums

## Related

- [Guideline 4.3: Spam](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-4-3-spam) — The other Design rejection — for apps too similar to others rather than too thin.
- [Guideline 2.1: App Completeness](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-2-1-app-completeness) — The review notes and demo account that let the reviewer reach your core feature.
- [App Store review time in 2026](https://asoitis.com/blog/app-store-review-time) — How long the resubmission will take, and why not to pull a waiting build.
- [The Review Check — $49](https://asoitis.com/fixes) — Your build checked against 4.2 and the other common rejections before Apple sees it.
- [All app review fixes](https://asoitis.com/app-review)


## Have it done for you

**The Review Check — $49 one-time.** Send us your TestFlight build before you submit. We tell you whether a reviewer is likely to call it a web wrapper or too thin, and exactly what to add.

- Buy: https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/pdt_0NmV5JBcX1kDqIGUTko9k?quantity=1&redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fasoitis.com%2Fcheckout%2Fsuccess%3Fplan%3Dreview
- 15-minute founder call: https://cal.com/ahmedgagan/asoitis-chat

## About ASOitis

ASOitis is a founder-run App Store Optimization (ASO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) agency for indie iOS apps. iOS only; organic ASO + GEO + funnel work, implemented for you. Reference library: https://asoitis.com/app-review, https://asoitis.com/reviews, https://asoitis.com/compare, https://asoitis.com/glossary, https://asoitis.com/aso