App Store RejectionGuideline 1.1.6 — Objectionable Content — App Icon

Your App Icon Violates App Store Standards

App icons are the most visible part of your store listing and Apple holds them to strict standards. Nudity, violence, trademarked logos, and certain other content types will get your icon rejected before reviewers even open the app.

What Apple said

“Your app icon contains content that is not appropriate for the App Store. The icon includes imagery that is offensive, contains a third-party trademark, or does not meet our content standards. Please update your app icon and resubmit.”

What this actually means

Your app icon is visible on everyone's home screen — Apple treats it with a higher content standard than app content behind an age rating. Even a 17+ app can't have an explicit icon. Trademarked logos from other brands, suggestive imagery, or violent imagery are all disqualifying. The icon also needs to be original art, not something you grabbed from Google Images.

What Apple needs to see

  • An original app icon that doesn't incorporate any third-party trademarks, logos, or characters without explicit permission
  • Icon content appropriate for all audiences regardless of the app's own age rating
  • No Apple product imagery, Apple logos, or elements that imply official Apple endorsement
  • High-quality icon art at required resolutions that looks clean and professional
  1. 1Replace any trademarked logos, characters, or brand marks in your icon with original artwork
  2. 2Remove any suggestive, violent, or mature content from the icon — it must be safe for all ages
  3. 3Commission or create original icon artwork rather than repurposing stock photos, screenshots, or logos
  4. 4Test your icon at all required sizes (1024x1024 for submission, smaller for display) to ensure it reads clearly
  5. 5Export icons in the correct format — PNG without alpha channel for the 1024x1024 App Store submission asset

While you're at it — Apple also requires these pages for every app.

Fix this rejection, then make sure you're covered on the compliance side too. Apple requires every app to link to a hosted Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Support page, and Data Deletion page. No link means another rejection — just for a different reason.

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Support Page
Data Deletion Page
Generate my compliance pages — $9

Common questions

Can my icon include a photo of a real person?
Only with that person's explicit written permission. Using a celebrity's likeness, a politician's photo, or anyone's image without a signed release is both a guideline violation and a potential legal issue. Stick to illustrations or photos you have full rights to use.
My icon includes the face of a cartoon character I created — is that okay?
If it's genuinely original artwork that you created and own, yes. The issue arises when your 'original' character is clearly derived from or resembles a known trademarked character. When in doubt, make the design distinctive enough that the resemblance to existing characters is incidental.
I resubmitted with a new icon but got the same rejection — what's wrong?
Make sure you uploaded the new icon to all required slots in App Store Connect and that Xcode is including the new asset in the build. A common mistake is updating the icon asset locally but not regenerating the app icons or updating the catalog in Xcode before rebuilding.