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IOS Rejection because of problem with UnityAds.

Discussion in 'Unity Ads & User Acquisition' started by itsmealex100, Mar 3, 2015.

  1. itsmealex100

    itsmealex100

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    May 6, 2013
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    Hi there, I'm really hoping someone can help me with this problem.

    So in short my app was rejected by apple because of the following:
    • guideline 3.1 - Apps or metadata that mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected
      Apple then said:
    • We noticed that your app or its metadata contains irrelevant platform information in the advertisments. Providing future platform compatibility plans, or other platform references, is not appropriate for the App Store.
      Next Steps
      Please remove any instances of this information from your app and its marketing materials, including the Application Description, What's New info, Previews and screenshots.
      They also attached a screenshot (see attached)
    When I asked for more details they said that : 'it's inappropriate to display non-iOS platform reference even in advertisements. '

    In short, they don't want google play logo's on their appstore. Whats completely rediculous is if you watch enough Adverts whilst playing Crossy Road on an ios device, some of their adverts also contain google play logo's so I've no idea why they have set a different rule for me.

    Does anybody know how I can go about correcting solving this in my project or maybe there is something I'm missing?
     

    Attached Files:

  2. itsmealex100

    itsmealex100

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    Bump, really need some help with this sorry.
     
  3. HeikkiTunkelo

    HeikkiTunkelo

    Unity Technologies

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    Hi Itsemealex100,

    Sometimes their app review process can be really tight, and it seems that you have been caught by: a) really strict reviewer and b) and advertisement that does show both Google play & appstore logos.

    This is the first time we hear somebody has bumped their head against this particular rule.

    And yes, quite a few of our advertisers have both Google Play icons & Appstore icons in their videos. We are trying to reach Apple to get a confirmation of this.

    My personal opinion is that you should just submit the app to another review, with explanation that you have contacted your ad network, and you cannot really control what ads are being shown.

    Cheers,
    Heikki
     
  4. itsmealex100

    itsmealex100

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    Hi Heikki,
    thanks for your reply, not sure if it makes me feel better or worse haha. I'll go ahead and resubmit, not sure if I'll mention the ads unless they reject the app again, just so that it doesn't draw more attention to the problem. At least I now know that there's not much I can do about it. Please let me know if Apple gets back to you, Fingers crossed for better luck I guess, thanks again!
     
  5. Mikea15

    Mikea15

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    Sep 20, 2012
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    I'm currently having the same issue.. only they messaged me asking for screenshots. I'm waiting for 14 days already... :/
     
  6. HeikkiTunkelo

    HeikkiTunkelo

    Unity Technologies

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    Just to let you know; we have started contacting our advertisers to provide us with "apple-acceptable" ads that do not mention Google play store.

    This rule 3.1 has been there for a while, but we haven't seen it being enforced before for advertisements.

    If you face rejections because of google play being shown in our videos, please post to this thread.

    Cheers,
    Heikki
     
    Mikea15 likes this.
  7. smitchell

    smitchell

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    yeah.... So I just got rejected because of this :( damn ads
     
  8. smitchell

    smitchell

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    has anyone had any luck with just resubmitting and hoping they don't notice?
     
  9. HeikkiTunkelo

    HeikkiTunkelo

    Unity Technologies

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    The same reason? Rule 3.1?
     
  10. smitchell

    smitchell

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    Yup! 3.1... They also attached a screenshot.

    Is there any current solution?
     
  11. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    I have had this rule enforced against me for having a button that linked to a web page referencing both the App Store and Google Play, so I'm not surprised they're enforcing it with ads. I haven't had a problem with my first recent batch of UnityAds submissions, but I just saw a Marvel ad with prominent App Store and Google Play badges, and I'm guessing that would scotch a submission.
     
  12. smitchell

    smitchell

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    yeah it seems to just come down to chance really.. Like you've got to hope the ad they see doesn't have it..
     
  13. HeikkiTunkelo

    HeikkiTunkelo

    Unity Technologies

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    Hi guys,

    Just an update here. We've reached out to our advertisers, and gotten the most often shown campaigns to drop the Play store badge. (We have cleaned 90% of the campaigns at the time I'm writing this)

    The rest of 10% of campaigns are rarely shown, but we are working on those.

    So if you submit your game now;
    * We can probably get the updates for the rest during the wait time
    * And even if we don't get all of them it is very likely that your game will show "clean" campaign during the review

    Cheers,
    Heikki
     
    Deleted User likes this.
  14. smitchell

    smitchell

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    Thats great news! I resubmitted my game a couple days ago! So hopefully the review will get the "clean" ads.

    Is this all backend stuff right? like we don't have to update the package or anything to get clean ads right?
     
  15. WolfBeardedLion

    WolfBeardedLion

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    My client's app was rejected today due to a "Game of War" Ad having both Google Play and Amazon badges on it. Are there steps I can take to ensure my next binary submitted won't encounter this again? I can't submit, wait a week or so, and then hope it isn't caught. Time is money, Friends. ^_^

    I am also finishing up another game that utilizes Unity Ads and I would like to be prepared for that one as well.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
  16. smitchell

    smitchell

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    woop! Finally got approved! but I'm pretty sure it was luck because I've seen a couple ads in the game that still show the google play badge
     
  17. Cheryl Savery

    Cheryl Savery

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    I just got rejected by the app store for the same reason. Should I just submit again, or is there a way to only show the ads that have been cleaned up -- at least for the review process.
     
  18. smitchell

    smitchell

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    Just submit again, there's only a few that shows 'unclean' ads. My game got rejected the first time, but the second time it went in review they didn't see any 'unclean' ads, and now it's live! woop but I still see the google play badge all the time
     
  19. JA2

    JA2

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    My latest app was just rejected by Apple for this reason. They didn't mention any other issues with the game so I've just resubmitted it this morning...
     
    smitchell likes this.
  20. JA2

    JA2

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    Apple responded already by rejecting my app again. Same reason, they included two screenshots this time...
     
  21. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    I've had a rejection in the past few days, too. For now, I'll switch back to iAd on iOS.
     
  22. Cheryl Savery

    Cheryl Savery

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    My app was rejected this morning for the 2nd time. The offending image they attached was for Blood Brothers 2. Is there any estimate for when all the ads will be clean up? I really don't want to submit and get rejected a 3rd time.
     
  23. mike950

    mike950

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    I think the unity guy went into hiding lol
     
  24. Cheryl Savery

    Cheryl Savery

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    I just watched 6 ads on the iOS version of my app and 4 out of the 6 still had a link to Google Play Store. Looks like the claim that 90% of the ads have been fixed is a bit of an exaggeration.
     
  25. guyhazi

    guyhazi

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    I've just wanted to go a head and implant ads on my first game but seeing this made me reconsider what adnetwork i should use altho I'm sure unity ads should be a great option due to....well unity.
    i would be really glad if this thing will be readjusted properly to each platform.
     
  26. HeikkiTunkelo

    HeikkiTunkelo

    Unity Technologies

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    Not really, I was on vacation for a week.

    @Cheryl Savery : Could you provide me information on what games still had the google play icon on iOS? The name of the game is seen in the end-screen after the video.

    (But yes; did a double check, we still have 23 videos (worldwide) with google play badges shown on iOS. The 90% was referring to US only)

    We've reached out to all our advertisers, but in the interim we are adding a black-bar in the videos over the google play badges.

    I'll update here when it is all done.

    Cheers,
    Heikki
     
  27. blizzy

    blizzy

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    I've just got a rejection from the App Store because of this. The offending game was "BINGO Blitz - FREE Bingo + Slots". After 10 days of waiting in the review queue.
     
  28. unity-nikkolai

    unity-nikkolai

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    Like Heikki said, there are still a handful of ads on our network that have badges for both iOS and Google Play. We are working to get these remaining campaigns updated to comply with App Store guidelines.

    In the mean time, you can avoid the chance of this issue occurring for you by using the Unity Ads Admin to force test ads enabled for all users while your app is waiting for review. Once it's been approved, simply disable test ads for all users from the Admin.

    These settings can be found under the Monetization Settings tab under your Game profile in the Unity Ads Admin. Select the Show Advanced Settings button. Scroll down to the Ad Test Mode section and select the Change button. Select the Force All option and press the Save button.

    Once the app is approved, simply set it back to use Client Settings to show production ads again.
     
  29. blizzy

    blizzy

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    I'm not sure if it's a good idea to present one set of content to the Apple review team, then after review, flick a switch and show completely other content (potentially rule-breaking) to users. Personally I wouldn't want to run the risk of getting permabanned or stuff like that for doing so.
     
  30. guyhazi

    guyhazi

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    i didn't upload to app store yet because I'm waiting approval but if i upload non ads and do update with ads and it get rejected than the "old version" stile run on right?
     
  31. bigSadFace

    bigSadFace

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    This was raised as an issue a month ago. I would say its in everyones best interest to simply pull ads that do not comply until updated artwork is provided for the ad. With 9 day turnarounds on app approval on IOS and a lottery of being approved or not on this issue could easily see apps shipped months later than anticipated.

    I have deliberately delayed releasing my app as a result of this issue.
     
    blizzy likes this.
  32. zigzagtech

    zigzagtech

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    Hi Nikkolai,

    So will showing test ads only guarantee avoiding failing via guideline 3.1?
     
  33. Cheryl Savery

    Cheryl Savery

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    Hi Heikki,

    I guess the ads I got when I said there were 4 out of 6 with Google Play would have been for Canada, not the US, so that may explain why I saw so many. I didn't write down the names of the ads, but the one that Apple sent me the screen shot for I believe was Blood Brothers.

    Anyways, I had been in contact with the tech support people for Unity Ads (Karen Booth) and given them my Game Id and they say that all they will make sure I am only getting ads which they have individually verified are not running the Google Play badge. Just got the email back this morning that this has been done. I checked a few ads in my game and it all looks great. So I have now resubmitted the game.

    Thanks for your help. I am sure this has been as frustrating for you as it has been for us developers trying to get apps approved. Looks like the problem will soon be past us.

    Cheryl
     
    unity-nikkolai likes this.
  34. Cheryl Savery

    Cheryl Savery

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    Pleased to report that this morning my app got approved by Apple. It looks like they tested 6 ads and all were good.
     
    unity-nikkolai likes this.
  35. HeikkiTunkelo

    HeikkiTunkelo

    Unity Technologies

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    Hi,

    Yeah, we did manually remove all google-play badges from all our iOS videos (finished with this last week). Also I've advised our guys to check all incoming campaigns so that none of the videos or images contain references to google play.

    Cheers,
    Heikki
     
  36. Angry-Water

    Angry-Water

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    I have seen the video end of "empire: four kingdoms" has the Google Play badge on my iPad just now.
     
  37. GMonks-Entertainment

    GMonks-Entertainment

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    Sep 25, 2014
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    Today my app got rejected on app store for the same reason, please fix this otherwise we have no choice but to go with the new advertiser. Here I am attaching the screenshot send by the app store reviewer.

    Thanks
    GMonks Entertainment
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2015
  38. manthoR

    manthoR

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    Apr 21, 2014
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    hello,
    I choose to try UnityAds on my new game that is actually in the approval process.
    I hope that you have removed every googleplay badge.

    Apple become more and more rude.
     
  39. unity-nikkolai

    unity-nikkolai

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    Thanks for posting this. We discovered that this and several other ad campaigns that were using old asset packs that hadn't been migrated to our new system. We've identified all old asset packs. This issue should now be fixed.
     
    Salazar likes this.
  40. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    I just got an iOS rejection today for a Unity Ad that showed a Google Play badge (attached).
     

    Attached Files: