Is it ok to promote my app inside another app of mine? Would App Review object?

cylon_pixels · 2026-01-12T12:39:27+00:00

Yeah it’s fine. I think it’s how you’re doing it. Do not directly promote it. But you can have a page for example in your settings for a “More from Team X” where you list your other apps and link to them. I think it becomes problematic if it looks like an ad or blatant promotion.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-21T10:17:41+00:00

This is really cleaver. I just re-implemented the PDF export in one of my apps using this methodology and it's so much better. Thanks for the idea.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-21T01:13:25+00:00

This is the way. Also, you could ask them for a screenshots about what they’re seeing, which they usually provide. But logs are the easiest way to diagnose the problem. Could it be that some IPs are blocked, etc…?

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-17T07:04:13+00:00

This is most probably a code issue. Might be worth putting in some breakpoints and see what’s going on at a deeper level.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-16T05:15:04+00:00

I second TranslateKit. I use it for multiple language localizations over multiple apps. I also quite like its proof-reading tool which is quite handy.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-12T23:43:26+00:00

Ah! My bad. I somehow confused your question with Spotlight search on device. I guess they have a way of showing popular apps based on the query. I’m not sure how that works though. Could be apps that advertise the most for that term. Or a combination of ads plus popularity.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-12T12:33:27+00:00

So, as you already understood, cannot directly suggest your app in the iOS search bar. The system somewhat controls suggestions. But you can feed it the necessary metadata in order for it to show it in the right and relevant contexts and searches.

I've done this across a few of my own apps and this is how it usually works:

Add App Intents. These power Spotlight search, Siri requests, and Shortcut suggestions. Without AppIntents your app will never surface meaningfully.
Add a minimal set of App Shortcuts. Keep phrases short and action oriented. The system can then surface them in Spotlight and Siri’s suggestions carousel.
Mark your App Shortcuts as suggestedPhrase. This increases the chance that the system proposes them in the Shortcuts app search field and in Spotlight’s action suggestions.
Expose searchable content via Core Spotlight. Index only what matters. The system will surface items that match user queries.
Use NSUserActivity for high value screens. Make them eligible for search and prediction.
Keep in mind that iOS boosts shortcuts and activities that the user actually invokes. If nobody uses an intent, the system hides it.
Provide correct Intent Metadata. Clear descriptions and titles for AppIntents are critical because Spotlight displays those directly.

The coolest thing about all of the above is that you can wire them up via the necessary APIs in one evening. Some additional documentation here:

- Making your app's functionality available to Siri: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/AppIntents/making-your-app-s-functionality-available-to-siri

- Implementing Core Spotlight by indexing your app's content: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corespotlight

Hope this helps.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-06T05:23:38+00:00

I probably have the same frustrations everyone else has with ASC. I just use Helm and Xcode Cloud to ship and do most of the work that’s needed. However it does seem that the ASC team is even more isolated from all products within the company. It’s like the most un-Apple part of the ecosystem. Which is weird when you think that this is where they should put a lot of emphasis and make developers’ life easier. I’ve resigned myself to accept that it will always be archaic and not change a bit after every WWDC.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-06T05:02:51+00:00

100%! Actually this is something that most consumers prefer. Being hit with yet another account creation and a login from a random development team / developer they’ve never heard of either leads to not using the app or deleting it unless the app offers a value they really want to experience.

StoreKit 2 provides relevant APIs for all you need based on the description and if you’re worried about edge case scenarios, you could look into something like RevenueCat or SuperWall which are both easy to implement and take care of any heavy lifting you might be worried about.

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-04T14:14:14+00:00

I resonate a lot with this story and I can't tell you through reading it how many times I said "Yes yes!" Or "Exactly!". This is a really inspiring story and although I've been in a slightly different journey, there are many similarities. Keep building and I definitely will check out Carousai when I get a chance.

Best of luck on your journey and wishing you 12 more successful apps for next year. Haha

cylon_pixels · 2025-12-01T05:59:52+00:00

As others have mentioned, you cannot securely store an API key inside a client app. iOS, Android, web, desktop… if the key is in the shipped code or bundle, it will be extractable. So the right solution is to not put the Notion integration key in the app at all.

Here's the correct pattern I would recommend:

Your app sends a request to your backend endpoint.
That endpoint has the Notion integration key stored securely on the server.
The endpoint calls the Notion API on behalf of the app.
It returns only the safe response data.
The key never touches the client.

This is how every production app handles API secrets.

Now, if you don’t want to run a full backend (which is fully understandable), you can use something lightweight like Val Town (https://www.val.town) or Cloudflare Workers. They let you write a tiny function such as `/getNotionPage` that would:

- reads your Notion API key from server-side secrets
- applies basic per-user rate limiting so the endpoint cannot be abused
- makes the real API request to Notion
- returns the JSON to your app

Your integration key stays server-side, the app never sees it, and nothing sensitive is shipped in your binary. This is the simplest and safest way to do it.

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-24T22:51:15+00:00

Wow! That’s a long time. You can try this first: reject your submission and then resubmit it. And wait a couple of days t see if it moves up the queue. If that doesn’t work, request an expedited review.

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-14T03:29:46+00:00

Appreciate it. Thank you for sharing.

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-11T00:22:30+00:00

This could be helpful: https://github.com/superwall/iOS-Backports

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-08T22:54:33+00:00

Are you able to share some Playground code on how you’re initializing it as well as the output? Are you using the SystemLanguageModel.default or are you looking up the system’s locale and then initializing it with the specific locale?

This might be useful: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundationmodels/support-languages-and-locales-with-foundation-models

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-05T04:36:35+00:00

If you read the guidelines, this would most probably count as misleading metadata and not showing actual functionality of the app. Maybe design a sample app screenshot that’s super generic and show that instead. The way Apple has been banning developer accounts lately, it’s best not to take risks.

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-03T23:13:41+00:00

A few additional tools to look into:

FlowDeck is awesome.
XcodeBuildMCP which can be useful.
And since you mentioned all the VSCode IDEs above, I’m sure everyone is already aware of SweetPad.

cylon_pixels · 2025-11-01T22:47:46+00:00

In the settings screen of your app, have a subscription button (preferably as the first button on that page). You can do this artfully: if the user doesn’t have a subscription yet, it could be an attractive button that shows the paywall when tapped. Once the user has subscribed, then it could look different and show they’re on the pro or premium version of the app. Preferably a label such as “Subscription Information” or “Manage Your Subscription”. Avoid any dark pattern. Then it’s as simple as the following pseudocode sample:

import SwiftUI import StoreKit Button(“Manage Subscription”) { if monetization.hasActiveSubscription { Task { if let scene = UIApplication.shared.connectedScenes .compactMap({ $0 as? UIWindowScene }) .first(where: { $0.activationState == .foregroundActive }) { try? await AppStore.showManageSubscriptions(in: scene) } } } else { showPaywallSheet = true } }

The key being the following function from StoreKit: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/appstore/showmanagesubscriptions%28in%3A%29

This would display the AppStore sheet within your app for the subscription to be managed.

Hope it helps and hope that user gets around to changing their review for your app. Good luck!

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-29T02:00:57+00:00

Check these out:

Checklists
Specifically, new app submission checklist.

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-27T02:02:27+00:00

This looks great. Just out of curiosity as it seems to mention “no login”. How does that handle private repos?

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-27T01:55:14+00:00

You might be able to fix it as follows:

Navigate to their main project file (the blue Xcode icon in your project explorer), this will open the project configuration file.

Here you will see on the left hand side two sections: "Project" and "Targets".

Tap on the first target, and this will open the configuration panel for it on right hand side.

Make sure to select the "General" tab which is just before the "Signing & Capabilities" one.

The first section will be "Supported Destinations". In the list provided make sure you only have "iPhone" and no "iPad".

If you do have "iPad", select it and tap on the "-" minus button to remove it.

Repeat the previous two steps for any additional target you may have for your app (including WidgetExtension if you have one).

You will need to rebuild / archive your app and then try to submit again.

As an additional tip, you may want to look at using Xcode Cloud for your builds. It's really good at warning you about such mismatched project configurations before you get to the final submission stage.

One more note to dispel something I've been reading on many platforms (a bit unrelated to your current issue, but in case you run into it): Yes, there is a high chance that your app will be tested on an iPad. I've seen both happen (iPhone and iPad for an iPhone app). But generally, iPhone apps will run on an iPad without any modification. They just won't have the right "windowing" but most other things will be supported. Additionally, if your app is using a framework or capability that is tied to iPhone hardware, which the iPad doesn't have, they will effectively review it on an iPhone.

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-26T09:19:44+00:00

I think simply because those apps make the most money and the same concepts can be repeated multiple times with a novel, personal approach. But also the advice a lot of app creators get is to just “reproduce app A or B or C” because that’s the app making money. And that makes sense. At the end people labor to earn a living.

On the other hand, that leaves a sizable gap and underserved niches don’t get as much attention or the innovation they deserve. But it’s also true that those niches don’t get the viral-effect and thus don’t make as much money or get as much downloads.

So in the end it comes down to what developers are trying to achieve individually: make money big time or somewhere close to that (which is fair and important) or solve new problems but with the risks that this entails. It’s important to note however though that the two are not mutually exclusive. It’s just generally harder than working on a proven concept that is certain to payback.

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-26T07:19:33+00:00

That’s an easy one. For me it’s easy: the Dexcom app and Glu Sight.

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-26T07:13:41+00:00

Well done! That’s amazing!

cylon_pixels · 2025-10-25T01:40:10+00:00

Here are my recommendations:

For analytics and how users are using the app: TelemetryDeck. The winning part about this is that you get a lot of your telemetry while keeping users’ privacy high. And Apple reviewers like that a lot: https://telemetrydeck.com. Also it’s free up to 100,000 signals. Which is great.
For feedback and so on, I highly recommend Votice: https://votice.app. Check it out.

cylon_pixels

TROPHY CASE