App Store now requires developers to use official API to request app ratings, disallows custom prompts
The App Review guidelines were updated this week to accommodate App Store policy changes and new rules for usage of frameworks introduced in iOS 11, like MusicKit. — One change is the addition of section 1.1.7.
Context & Ripple Effects
The addition of [[a:|section 1.1.7]] lands alongside the broader guideline refresh accompanying iOS 11 and MusicKit, and it continues a pattern visible across the related coverage: each major OS release brings a new tranche of App Review rules rather than standalone policy drops. Earlier rounds covered commercial conduct — push notification advertising with opt-in and quality bars on dating and fortune-telling apps — while later ones tightened process itself, with bug-fix updates no longer delayed over unrelated violations and formal developer challenge rights.
First-order effects
- Developers who built custom rating prompts must rip them out and route requests through the official API; apps still showing bespoke dialogs face rejection under the new section.
- The rule standardizes how often and where users are asked for ratings, since Apple now controls the prompt cadence through its own framework.
Second-order effects
- Ratings become more comparable across apps because everyone uses the same throttled system API, shifting review optimization from prompt engineering toward product quality.
- By codifying conduct rules per release cycle, Apple sets the template it later extends deeper into the stack — eventually requiring developers to declare reasons for using certain APIs to block fingerprinting.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, App Review guidelines function as Apple's primary governance instrument over developer behavior, escalating from interface rules (rating prompts) to data flows — as with permission requirements before sharing personal data with third-party AI providers — making compliance an annual cost of distribution on the platform.
The trend: App Review guidelines are consolidating into a per-release-cycle governance regime through which Apple steers developer conduct from UI details up to API access and data sharing.