I created an application that simply spins a picture of my goose on screen. That's it. Nothing else.

Could that be deployed to the app stores?

Context:

I'm a mobile app engineer for a few different companies (finTech, gigEconomy, social...) and all of our applications have very specific use cases for the end user.

I'm also an artist in my own time, and have built a few different apps that help people make art.

For each of these, the data gathered by the apps must be well documented and explained to the end user to be accepted by the App Store along with the purpose of that collection.

That's got me thinking, would the Apple App Store accept an app that does not collect any user data at all, but also has no true "purpose"? (Google Play Store too, though I expect their review process is so easy you can get just about anything up there anyways...)

I haven't found any relevant answers to this question online and might test it just for fun, but would love some insight by other curious developers if they have tried uploading apps just for fun

CodePudding user response：

You might find the following section from the official App Store Review Guidelines useful:

4.2 Minimum Functionality

Your app should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website. If your app is not particularly useful, unique, or “app-like,” it doesn’t belong on the App Store. If your App doesn’t provide some sort of lasting entertainment value or adequate utility, it may not be accepted.

Does this include a purpose or does this mean that an app like you have suggested in your scenario gets rejected? Absolutely not.

After a quick google search, I have found the IsItMyBirthday app which lets you pick a date and it tells you if that date is today. Is this useful or unique? We could just look up the date in the calendar on the phone itself.

However, this could be considered a 'joke' and a joke has a purpose and might be considered as unique. An app that does nothing, could be considered a joke as well. It has a purpose and Apple might agree or disagree.

In my experience it can be very random on why an app gets rejected or accepted. For example one of our apps got rejected in version X for reason Y. We released a new version without changing Y and it was accepted.