Your app got the dreaded "Guideline 1.2 - Safety - User Generated Content" rejection. Here's what Apple actually wants, item by item — and how to ship it fast.
If your app has any user-generated content — comments, reviews, DMs, profiles, uploaded photos, AI-generated content — Apple requires a real moderation system before they'll approve it. Not a promise. Not "we'll add it later." A working system, with published policies, on day one.
One founder documented four consecutive rejections under Guideline 1.2 before getting through. Each round trip through App Review costs you days. Here's the checklist Apple is grading you against, so you can clear it in one pass.
The Guideline 1.2 Checklist
Apple requires all six of these for any app with UGC. Miss one and you're rejected.
1. A method for filtering objectionable content
You need an actual content filter — automated text/image screening, a blocklist, or at minimum a clearly described manual review process. "We review everything by hand" only works if you document how.
2. A mechanism for users to report offensive content
An in-app report button on every piece of user-generated content. Not a buried contact form — a visible, one-tap "Report" action on posts, comments, profiles, and messages.
3. The ability to block abusive users
Users must be able to block other users from within the app. This has to work — reviewers will test it.
4. Published Terms of Use (EULA)
A publicly accessible Terms of Service that explicitly covers user conduct: what's prohibited, what happens on violation, and your right to remove content and terminate accounts. Link it in the app and on your website.
5. 24-hour response to reports
Apple expects you to act on user reports within 24 hours. You need a documented internal process: who triages reports, how fast, and what the escalation path is. Reviewers have asked founders to describe this process.
6. Published contact information
A real way for Apple (and users) to reach you — an email address or contact page tied to the app. No contact info, no approval.
⚠️ The October 2026 Update Made This Stricter
Apple revised Guideline 1.2 in October 2026, and two changes matter:
- AI-generated content is now explicitly named. If your app generates or hosts AI content, you're in scope — no ambiguity left.
- Weak moderation is now tied to Developer Code of Conduct violations, which can mean account-level consequences, not just a rejected binary.
Earlier in 2026, Apple also expanded the rule to cover random and anonymous chat apps. The direction is one-way: stricter, broader, faster enforcement.
The 3 Most Common Rejection Reasons
- "We couldn't find a report button." It's there, but buried three taps deep. Put it on the content itself.
- "No blocking mechanism." You have reporting but no user-level blocking. Both are required.
- "Terms don't cover user conduct." You linked a generic privacy policy instead of Terms that address UGC, moderation, and enforcement.
Don't Write These From Scratch
Each of these six requirements maps to a specific document: a content policy, a reporting workflow, a blocking/enforcement procedure, Terms of Use language, a 24-hour SLA process, and a contact/compliance page. Writing them from zero — and getting the wording right for reviewers — is where founders lose weeks.
I put together a plug-and-play kit with all seven templates (the six requirements plus a team training guide), written by someone who runs trust & safety at Wikipedia scale. If you're staring at a rejection right now, it's the fastest path from "rejected" to "approved":
👉 The Trust & Safety Starter Kit
Either way — run the checklist above before your next submission. Most 1.2 rejections are fixed in a single pass once you know what reviewers are looking for.
Have you been through a Guideline 1.2 rejection? Drop your story in the comments — I'm collecting the weirdest reviewer feedback for a follow-up post.
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