Why a community app belongs in the stores
Replies, mentions and new posts are what bring people back, and on a phone they arrive as notifications from a home-screen app, not from a web page people have to remember.
Lovable can't submit to either store itself; see your options for publishing a Lovable app.
The moderation tools both stores require
Anything people post or send to each other is user-generated content. Apple's Guideline 1.2 requires:
- A method for filtering objectionable material from being posted.
- A way to report offensive content, and timely responses to reports.
- The ability to block abusive users.
- Published contact information so users can reach you.
Google Play adds that people accept your terms before they post, that the terms define what's not allowed, and that features like direct messages and mentions come with blocking. Some kinds of social app don't belong on the App Store at all:
“Apps with user-generated content or services that end up being used primarily for pornographic content, Chatroulette-style experiences, random or anonymous chat, objectification of real people (e.g. "hot-or-not" voting), making physical threats, or bullying do not belong on the App Store and may be removed without notice.”
Google Play's child safety standards
Apps in Google Play's Social and Dating categories, and anonymous or random chat apps, complete a child safety declaration in Play Console. Google made it mandatory in early 2025. The app must:
- Have published standards against child sexual abuse and exploitation.
- Provide an in-app way for users to give feedback or report concerns.
- Address child sexual abuse material.
- Comply with child safety laws.
- Name a child safety point of contact.
Sign-in, account deletion and age ratings
- If people sign in with Google, Facebook or another social login, Apple's Guideline 4.8 requires an equivalent privacy-focused option too, such as Sign in with Apple.
- If people can create an account, they must be able to delete it in the app (Guideline 5.1.1(v)).
- Both stores set your age rating from a questionnaire. What members can post and see decides the rating, so answer it for how the app really works.
What else reviewers check in a social app
- More than a website: see how to fix a Guideline 4.2 rejection.
- Privacy labels and Google Play's Data safety form that match the data you collect.
- Opt-in before any promotional notifications (Guideline 4.5.4).
- A demo account with sample posts, so reviewers can see the feed and the moderation tools.
- For new personal Google Play accounts, a 14-day closed test with 12 testers.
Every fee and form is in the Lovable launch checklist and costs.
We take your Lovable app the last mile.
We convert your Lovable community app into a native React Native and Expo app, check every moderation and safety requirement before review, prepare the declarations with you, and submit to both stores. See pricing.