You've built your app. You've tested the features. Everything seems ready.
But before you hit submit, there are a few things worth checking that can be easy to overlook during development.
Here are five checks worth adding to your release workflow.
- Review your app permissions
Does your app request access to the camera, microphone, location, or photo library?
Make sure every permission is necessary and its purpose is clearly explained.
For iOS, check your Info.plist for the appropriate usage descriptions.
- Check your privacy declarations
Modern apps often rely on third-party SDKs for analytics, authentication, and other functionality.
Review what data those SDKs collect and make sure your privacy declarations accurately reflect your app's behaviour.
For iOS, pay particular attention to privacy manifests and required-reason APIs.
- Review your network security configuration
Check your App Transport Security (ATS) configuration.
Broad exceptions can weaken your app's security posture, especially when added temporarily during development and forgotten before release.
- Check your background capabilities
Background execution modes should reflect what your app actually needs.
If your app declares background audio, location, or other capabilities, make sure the functionality justifies them.
- Automate checks wherever possible
Many configuration issues can be identified before you submit your app.
Running static checks during development or CI/CD can make release preparation more predictable and reduce repetitive manual work.
Why we're thinking about this
We're building AppFlight, a developer tool focused on identifying potential app submission issues before release.
One thing we're exploring is how to make release checks easier to run locally, rather than treating them as a final, manual step.
We've also been building a free CLI to bring these checks closer to the development workflow.
A question for other developers:
What's the most frustrating issue you've encountered when preparing an app for App Store review?
I'd genuinely love to hear what your release process looks like.
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