Guideline 2.3.7 rejections: brand names, keyword stuffing and prices in your listing

Guideline 2.3.7 is the App Store rule on accurate metadata. It tells you to pick a unique app name, assign keywords that describe your app, and keep trademarked terms, other apps' names, pricing information and irrelevant phrases out of your fields. App names stop at 30 characters. A rejection citing 2.3.7 means one field crossed one of those lines. Fix that field, say what you changed, resubmit.

What guideline 2.3.7 says

Apple states the rule in a single paragraph, quoted in full below. It reaches the app name, subtitle, keyword field, screenshots and previews — every part of the listing you type or upload. The closing sentence matters as much as the opening one: Apple says it may change keywords it considers inappropriate at any time.

"Choose a unique app name, assign keywords that accurately describe your app, and don’t try to pack any of your metadata with trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing information, or other irrelevant phrases just to game the system. App names must be limited to 30 characters. Metadata such as app names, subtitles, screenshots, and previews should not include prices, terms, or descriptions that are not specific to the metadata type. App subtitles are a great way to provide additional context for your app; they must follow our standard metadata rules and should not include inappropriate content, reference other apps, or make unverifiable product claims. Apple may modify inappropriate keywords at any time or take other appropriate steps to prevent abuse."

Two sentences carry most of the weight in review. The one about metadata that "should not include prices, terms, or descriptions that are not specific to the metadata type" catches discount banners in screenshots. The one about subtitles rules out both competitor references and claims nobody can check. The full text sits in Apple's App Review Guidelines.

The six things 2.3.7 forbids

The rule bundles six separate problems: other companies' marks, other apps' names, prices, filler keywords, unverifiable claims, and names past 30 characters. A rejection message usually names one field. Read every field against the whole list before you reply.

Field	What 2.3.7 rules out
App name	Another app's or company's name, a trademarked term, a price or offer word, anything past 30 characters
Subtitle	References to other apps, prices and offer wording, unverifiable claims such as "#1" or "best"
Keyword field	Competing app names, trademarked terms, celebrity names, terms with no relevance to the app
Screenshots and previews	Prices, discounts, offer banners

Trademarked terms and other apps' names, in any field

The rule: do not "pack any of your metadata with trademarked terms, popular app names". Apple's App Store Connect reference is blunter about one field — "Names of other apps or companies aren't allowed." In a listing it looks like a budgeting app named "Ledgerly" with the subtitle "Like Steady, but for freelancers", or a brand you do not own parked in the keyword field because people search it.

The fix: cut the name and describe the thing instead. "Alternative to Steady" is not a safe subtitle even when it is true, because subtitles "should not ... reference other apps". Write what you do differently — "Invoices and expenses in one ledger" — and let the comparison happen in the reader's head.

Popular app names used as keywords

Same clause, different field. Suppose Steady is a habit app and its keyword field holds the names of the five best-known habit apps. Those names bring no relevance of their own and Apple's product page guidance lists "Competing app names" outright among keyword misuse.

The fix: replace each name with the words that describe what the app is. Category nouns, the task, the problem. The method is in our guide to picking App Store keywords.

Prices and offers in the name, subtitle, screenshots or previews

Metadata "should not include prices". That covers "Ledgerly — 50% Off" as a name, a first screenshot with "50% OFF TODAY" across the corner, and the word "Free" glued to a name to catch searches for free apps.

The fix: take the price and the offer out of the name, the subtitle and the artwork. A discount belongs in the price you set, not in the listing's words or pictures.

Irrelevant phrases packed in to game search

The rule names "other irrelevant phrases just to game the system", and the product page guidance repeats it as "Terms that are not relevant to the app". In practice this is a keyword field where a budgeting app carries "diet, workout, dating, wallpaper" because those words are searched often.

The fix: every term has to describe a feature, a use, or the problem the app solves. If you cannot say in one sentence why a term belongs to your app, drop it and spend the characters on something closer.

Unverifiable product claims in the subtitle

Subtitles "should not include inappropriate content, reference other apps, or make unverifiable product claims." "#1 budgeting app" and "The best way to save money" are the usual two.

The fix: claim something checkable. "Track spending across all your accounts" says more than "best" and survives review. Numbers you can show beat superlatives you cannot.

App names over 30 characters

"App names must be limited to 30 characters." "Ledgerly: Budget, Bills & Expense Tracker" is 41 and will not be accepted.

The fix: a short name and a subtitle that carries the rest. Every field's limit is listed in our App Store character limits reference.

The keyword field: Apple's extra rules

Users never see the keyword field, and App Review does. Apple's own page on creating your product page opens with the warning that "Improper use of keywords is a common reason for App Store rejections", then lists what not to put there. Treat that list as the one to audit against before every submission.

Apple says not to use: "Unauthorized use of trademarked terms, celebrity names, and other protected words and phrases; Terms that are not relevant to the app; Competing app names; Irrelevant, inappropriate, offensive, or objectionable terms". The guidance sits on Apple's product page documentation, and the "Names of other apps or companies aren't allowed" line sits in the platform version information reference.

Within those limits the field is still yours to fill tightly. How the 100 characters are counted, and what that means for commas and non-Latin text, is covered in our guide on whether the keyword field is 100 characters or 100 bytes.

Google Play's matching rule

If you ship on both stores, Google has a parallel rule and a harsher stated consequence. Play Console Help says: "Repetitive or irrelevant keyword usage in your app name, short description, or full description can create an unpleasant user experience and result in app suspension." Read it alongside 2.3.7 in Play Console Help and write one set of listing copy that passes both.

If you were rejected under 2.3.7

Fix the field the rejection message names, reply in App Store Connect saying exactly what you changed, and resubmit. Keep the reply short and factual: which field, which words removed, what replaced them. If the message is vague about the offending term, ask which one it is rather than rewriting everything at once.

Sometimes the flagged term is your own registered mark, or a generic English word that happens to match a well-known app's name. Say so in the reply and attach your evidence — the registration number, the mark's owner, or the ordinary meaning of the word in your category. Apple decides either way, so make the case once, clearly, and do not promise yourself an outcome.

A check before you submit

Read each field against the six problems above, in order, before you press submit. Name: under 30 characters, no marks you do not own, no price. Subtitle: no other apps, no prices, no "#1". Keyword field: every term relevant, no competitors, no celebrities. Screenshots and previews: no offer banners.

Two neighbouring guidelines are worth the same pass. 2.3.8 reserves certain wording for one category — "Use of terms like “For Kids” and “For Children” in app metadata is reserved in the App Store for the Kids Category." And 2.3.10 says "don’t include names, icons, or imagery of other mobile platforms or alternative app marketplaces in your app or metadata, unless there is specific, approved interactive functionality."

Our keyword field packer flags words that look like the names of well-known apps and brands from a fixed list, as a prompt to check, not as a legal opinion. It cannot know which marks you license or which generic word your category owns. The decision stays yours.

Questions

Can I use a competitor's app name in my keyword field?

No. Apple's App Store Connect reference states that "Names of other apps or companies aren't allowed," and the product page guidance lists "Competing app names" among the uses that get apps rejected.

Does 2.3.7 apply to the keyword field even though users never see it?

Yes. The keyword field is metadata, App Review reads it, and 2.3.7 names keywords in its first sentence. Apple also reserves the right to "modify inappropriate keywords at any time".

Can I put "50% off" on a screenshot?

No. Metadata including screenshots and previews "should not include prices, terms, or descriptions that are not specific to the metadata type". Remove the banner and set the discount as a price.

Can I mention Android in my description?

Guideline 2.3.10 says "don’t include names, icons, or imagery of other mobile platforms or alternative app marketplaces in your app or metadata, unless there is specific, approved interactive functionality." Without that approved functionality, leave it out.