What Do Regulators Check First When Reviewing Your App?

Have you ever wondered what actually happens when you submit your app for review? I mean, its one of those black box processes that keeps developers up at night—you send your app off into the void and wait to see if it comes back approved or rejected. After years of building apps and dealing with regulatory reviews across different markets, I can tell you that regulators aren't being difficult just for the sake of it; they're checking specific things in a very particular order, and once you understand what they're looking for, the whole process becomes a lot less mysterious.

The thing is, most developers think app review is mainly about checking if your app works properly. Does it crash? Are there broken links? Sure, that matters—but its honestly not what regulators care about most. What they really want to know is whether your app poses any risk to users. And I'm not just talking about security risks here, though that's obviously part of it. They're looking at data privacy issues, whether you're targeting children inappropriately, if you're making dodgy health claims, how you handle payments... the list goes on. Each of these areas has become more scrutinised over time, especially as apps have gotten more sophisticated and users have become (rightly) more concerned about how their information gets used.

Understanding what regulators check first isnt about gaming the system—its about building apps that respect users and comply with the rules that protect them.

In this guide I'll walk you through exactly what app reviewers look for when they first open your submission. You'll learn which red flags trigger immediate rejections, what compliance requirements you absolutely cannot skip, and how to structure your app review process so you pass on the first attempt. Because honestly? Every rejection costs you time and money, and in the app world, timing can make or break your launch.

Data Privacy and User Information Handling

Right, let's talk about the big one—data privacy. Because honestly, this is what keeps regulators up at night and it should be top of your list too. Every app collects some kind of data, whether its just basic analytics or you're handling sensitive user information. The question isn't really whether you collect data;it's how you collect it, what you do with it, and more importantly how transparent you are about the whole thing.

I've seen apps rejected for the simplest oversights. Missing a line in your privacy policy. Not explaining why you need camera access. Collecting location data without proper consent. These aren't just minor issues—they're deal breakers for app store reviewers and regulators. And here's the thing, the rules have gotten much stricter over the years. Users are more aware of their rights now, and platforms like Apple and Google have responded by making their requirements much more rigorous.

What Regulators Look For First

When a reviewer opens your app for the first time, they're checking specific things before they even start using it properly. They want to see clear consent mechanisms—not buried in terms and conditions but upfront where users actually notice them. They'll look at your permission requests to make sure you're asking for only what you actually need. Sure, it might be nice to have access to everything, but if you're building a calculator app you really don't need the users contacts list, do you?

Here's what gets checked right away:

• Your privacy policy must be easily accessible and written in plain language that people can understand
• Permission requests need clear explanations—why do you need this data and what will you do with it
• Data collection happens only after getting explicit consent, not before
• You've got proper mechanisms for users to delete their data or withdraw consent
• Third-party data sharing is clearly disclosed upfront
• Children's data gets extra protection if your app is accessible to under-18s

The Technical Side of Compliance

But here's where it gets a bit more complex. You need to think about data handling at the technical level too. Where is this data stored? Is it encrypted? Who has access to it? How long are you keeping it? I mean, you can have the best privacy policy in the world but if your actual data handling practices don't match what you've written, you're in trouble. Regulators are getting smarter about checking the code itself, not just what you say you're doing. They'll look at your server configurations, your API calls, even your analytics setup to make sure everything aligns with your stated policies.

Age Restrictions and Child Safety Requirements

Right, so this is where things get serious—and I mean properly serious. Age restrictions and child safety are probably the most heavily scrutinised areas of any app review, and for good reason. Regulators don't mess about when it comes to protecting kids online; I've seen apps get rejected within hours because they didn't take these requirements seriously enough.

The main thing regulators look for is whether your app is correctly rated and whether it includes any content that shouldn't be accessible to children. If you're targeting an adult audience but haven't implemented proper age gates, you're going to have problems. And here's the thing—just putting a checkbox that says "I am over 18" isn't enough anymore. Regulators want to see meaningful age verification, especially if your app includes social features, user-generated content, or anything that could expose children to strangers online.

COPPA in the US and similar regulations worldwide require specific protections if your app is directed at children under 13. This means you cant collect personal information without parental consent, you need to limit data collection to what's absolutely necessary, and you must have a clear privacy policy written in language parents can actually understand. But here's what catches people out—even if your app isn't specifically for kids, if children might use it you still need safeguards in place.

What Counts as Child-Directed Content

Regulators look at several factors: does your app use cartoon characters or child-oriented activities? Is it advertised to children? Does it have features that appeal primarily to kids? If any of these apply, you need to treat it as a child-directed app regardless of your intended audience. I've worked on apps where we thought we were building for teens but the regulators classified it as child-directed because of the visual style—it completely changed our compliance requirements and we had to rebuild several features from scratch.

Social features are another major concern. Any feature that allows children to communicate with strangers—chat, comments, photo sharing—will be examined closely. You need robust moderation systems, reporting tools, and often pre-approval of user-generated content before it goes live. Its not just about having these systems; you need to demonstrate they actually work and that you're actively monitoring them.

App stores also require you to disclose if your app contains links to external websites, shares user location, or includes advertising. If children can access your app, certain types of ads are completely prohibited. No behavioural advertising, no retargeting, no data collection for ad purposes. You're limited to contextual advertising at best, which significantly impacts your monetisation strategy.

Always implement age-appropriate defaults in your app settings—if a child somehow accesses your app, make sure privacy protections are set to maximum by default rather than requiring users to opt in. Regulators really do check this during review.

Payment Processing and Financial Transactions

If your app handles money in any way—whether its in-app purchases, subscriptions, or full payment processing—regulators will look at this area very carefully. And I mean very carefully. They want to make sure users understand exactly what they're paying for, when they'll be charged, and how to cancel if they change their mind; its all about transparency and protecting consumers from sneaky billing practices.

Apple and Google have strict rules about what payment methods you can use. Generally speaking, if you're selling digital goods or services (like premium features, extra lives in a game, or a monthly subscription), you must use their in-app purchase system. They take a commission—usually 15-30% depending on your circumstances—but thats the price of being on their platform. Physical goods and services? You can use your own payment provider like Stripe or PayPal. But here's the thing—you need to be crystal clear about which category your product falls into because getting this wrong can get your app rejected or even removed from the stores. Understanding effective pricing strategies for apps becomes crucial when balancing platform fees with competitive positioning.

What Regulators Focus On

Regulators check several specific things when reviewing payment features. They look at how clearly you display prices (no hiding the currency or making it confusing), whether you're upfront about recurring charges, and if cancellation is straightforward. Auto-renewing subscriptions are a particular focus area because theyve caused so many consumer complaints over the years. When developing your mobile app monetisation strategy, these regulatory requirements must be factored into your pricing model from the beginning.

• Clear pricing displayed before purchase with no hidden fees
• Obvious disclosure of recurring payment terms and renewal dates
• Easy-to-find cancellation options that actually work
• Proper receipt generation and transaction history
• Secure payment data handling that meets PCI DSS standards
• Clear refund policies that comply with local consumer protection laws

Financial apps face even more scrutiny because they're handling real money transactions. If you're building anything that moves money between accounts, processes payments for third parties, or offers financial services, you'll need to comply with banking regulations and probably need specific licences depending on where you operate. Its not something you can just wing—get legal advice early because the penalties for getting this wrong are serious.

Health Claims and Medical Content Review

Right, so here's where things get really serious—if your app makes any health claims or deals with medical content, regulators will scrutinise every single word. I mean it. Every claim, every statement, every piece of advice will be checked against medical regulations and advertising standards. The FDA in the US, the MHRA in the UK, and similar bodies worldwide have very specific rules about what you can and cant say when it comes to health.

The first thing they look for is whether your app is claiming to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any medical condition; if it does, you might actually be classified as a medical device rather than just an app. That changes everything. The regulatory pathway becomes much more complex and expensive—we're talking months or even years of additional approval processes. I've seen apps that thought they were simple wellness tools get reclassified because they used phrases like "reduces your blood pressure" instead of "helps you track your blood pressure readings".

The difference between a wellness app and a medical device often comes down to a single sentence in your app description or interface.

Regulators also check for unsubstantiated health claims. You cant just say your meditation app "cures anxiety" or your diet app "eliminates diabetes" without proper clinical evidence to back it up. Even softer claims like "improves wellbeing" need to be worded carefully; general wellness statements are usually fine, but anything specific about treating conditions needs solid evidence. And if you're providing medical advice or content, you need to show where its coming from—who wrote it, what their qualifications are, and whether the information is regularly reviewed and updated. Outdated medical information is a huge red flag for regulators because it can genuinely harm users.

Content Moderation and User Safety Standards

When regulators look at your app, they want to know how you're keeping users safe from harmful content and other users who might cause problems. Its not just about having a report button—they're looking for proper systems that actually work.

User-generated content is where most apps get into trouble, I mean really, its the biggest headache for app owners and regulators alike. If your app lets users post photos, write comments, send messages, or share any kind of content, you need a clear moderation system in place before you launch. And no, you cant just say "we'll moderate it manually"—regulators know that doesnt scale and leaves gaps where harmful content slips through.

The big areas they focus on are pretty straightforward; hate speech, violence, sexual content, harassment, and anything that puts vulnerable users at risk. But here's the thing—different regions have different definitions of whats acceptable. What passes in one country might get your app banned in another. I've seen apps approved in the UK struggle with content rules in Germany or Australia because they didnt account for local standards.

Building Your Moderation System

You need both automated and human moderation working together. Automated systems catch the obvious stuff quickly (and trust me, theres a lot of obvious stuff), whilst human moderators handle the nuanced cases that need context. Regulators will ask about your response times—how quickly do you act when someone reports harmful content? If you're taking days to respond to serious reports, thats a red flag.

User Safety Features

Block and report functions are baseline requirements, but regulators also look for features like keyword filters, user verification systems, and age-appropriate content restrictions. If your app has direct messaging between users, they'll want to know how you prevent grooming, scams, or harassment happening in those private spaces. Actually, private messaging is one of the trickiest areas to moderate whilst respecting privacy—its a balance you need to get right.

Security Standards and Data Protection Measures

When regulators look at your app's security setup, they're checking if you've actually thought about what could go wrong—not just ticked boxes on a compliance checklist. I mean, its one thing to say you take security seriously; it's another to prove it through your architecture and code. The first thing they dig into is how you're handling encryption, both in transit and at rest. If user data is moving between your app and servers without proper HTTPS implementation, that's a red flag straight away.

They want to see evidence of regular security audits and penetration testing. Not just once before launch, but ongoing. Because here's the thing—vulnerabilities don't stop appearing just because your app went live. Regulators know this, so they check if you have processes in place to identify and patch security issues quickly. You should be able to show them documentation of your testing schedule and how you respond to discovered vulnerabilities. And honestly? If you can't produce this stuff within minutes of being asked, you're probably not doing enough.

Authentication mechanisms get scrutinised heavily too; regulators want to know you're not storing passwords in plain text (yes, this still happens) and that you've implemented proper session management. Are you forcing strong passwords? Do you offer two-factor authentication? How quickly do sessions expire? These aren't optional extras anymore—they're baseline expectations. Also, they'll check your API security, looking at how you authenticate requests and whether you're vulnerable to common attacks like SQL injection or cross-site scripting.

Document everything. Keep logs of your security audits, penetration tests, and any incidents you've responded to. Regulators love paper trails that show you take data protection seriously.

Data retention policies matter more than most developers realise. You can't just keep user data forever "because it might be useful later"—you need clear policies about what you keep, why you keep it, and when you delete it. Regulators check if you're actually following your own stated policies, so make sure what you've written in your privacy policy matches what your app actually does. I've seen apps get pulled because their stated data deletion timelines didn't match their database retention settings.

Accessibility and Inclusive Design Requirements

Right, so here's something that trips up loads of developers—accessibility isn't just a nice-to-have feature anymore, its actually a legal requirement in many regions. I've seen apps get rejected from app stores simply because they didn't meet basic accessibility standards, and honestly it's completely avoidable if you plan for it from the start rather than tacking it on at the end.

The big app stores (Apple and Google) both have pretty strict guidelines about making your app usable for people with disabilities. We're talking about vision impairments, hearing difficulties, motor skill limitations, cognitive differences—the whole lot. And these aren't just checkbox exercises; regulators are looking for genuine usability across the board.

What Actually Gets Checked

When your app goes through review, there are specific things that will get flagged immediately if they're missing. Screen reader compatibility is massive—if someone using VoiceOver on iOS or TalkBack on Android can't navigate your app properly, you're in trouble. I mean, every button needs a proper label, every image needs descriptive text, and your navigation flow needs to make sense without visual cues.

Colour contrast ratios get tested too; text needs sufficient contrast against its background (usually a ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text). You can't rely on colour alone to convey information—think about those red error messages that don't include an icon or text label. Touch targets need to be large enough as well, typically at least 44x44 pixels so people with motor difficulties can actually tap them without frustration.

The Practical Stuff You Need to Do

Here's what I build into every app from day one:

• Support for dynamic text sizes—users should be able to increase font sizes without breaking your layout
• Captions and transcripts for any audio or video content (this helps with hearing impairments but also people in noisy environments)
• Alternative input methods—not everyone uses touch gestures, so provide alternatives
• Clear focus indicators so keyboard navigation actually works
• Avoid auto-playing content that can disorient users with cognitive differences

But here's the thing—accessibility testing tools can catch some issues automatically, but they wont catch everything. I always recommend getting real users with disabilities to test your app before submission because they'll find problems you never thought about. Its cheaper to fix things before submission than to rebuild features after rejection, trust me on that one.

Intellectual Property and Third-Party Rights

Right, so this is where things get proper sticky for a lot of developers—and I've seen some real disasters here over the years. When regulators review your app, they're not just looking at what your app does; they're also checking whether you actually have the right to use everything in it. Music, fonts, images, code libraries, even that icon you thought looked perfect. If you don't own it or haven't licenced it properly, you're in trouble.

App stores take intellectual property violations seriously because they can be held liable too. Apple and Google have been burnt by this before (lawsuits aren't cheap!) so now they're quite thorough about checking. The first thing they'll look for is whether you've got proper rights to any third-party content. That means SDKs, APIs, graphics, sound effects...basically anything you didn't create yourself from scratch needs proper documentation.

Every piece of content in your app should have a clear paper trail showing you either own it, created it, or have valid permission to use it—no exceptions.

I mean, it sounds obvious when you say it like that but you'd be surprised how many apps get rejected for using stock photos without the right licence or including open-source code without proper attribution. Even if something is free to use, there are usually conditions attached. MIT licences require attribution, GPL licences can affect your entire codebase, and Creative Commons has about six different variants with different rules. Missing a single credit in your app's legal section can hold up your launch for weeks—trust me, I've been there and its frustrating as hell. Always keep a spreadsheet of every third-party asset you use, where it came from, what licence it has, and whether attribution is required. Regulators love documentation almost as much as they love rejecting apps that don't have it.

Conclusion

Look, I'll be honest with you—getting through app review isn't something that happens by accident. After building apps for over eight years, I've seen too many projects get held up at this final stage because developers treated compliance as an afterthought rather than a core part of their design process. And thats the real lesson here; regulators aren't trying to make your life difficult (well, most of the time anyway), they're just making sure apps don't exploit users or put them at risk.

The thing is, most app rejections could be avoided if you just build with these requirements in mind from day one. Privacy policies need to be clear before you start collecting data—not something you cobble together the night before submission. Age gates should be designed into your user flow if you're handling any content that might not be suitable for children. Payment systems need proper security measures built in from the ground up, not bolted on later.

What really gets apps flagged quickly? Its usually the obvious stuff. Missing privacy disclosures, health claims that cant be backed up, content moderation that doesn't exist, or accessibility features that were completely ignored. Regulators look for these things first because they represent the biggest risks to users.

Here's what I tell every client; treat your app review submission like you're presenting your work to someone who genuinely cares about user safety—because that's exactly what's happening. If you've followed the guidance in this article, you'll be in a much stronger position than most apps that get submitted. But remember, regulations change and platforms update their policies all the time, so staying informed isn't a one-time thing, its part of running a responsible app business.