App Store RejectionGuideline 4.5.1 — Apple Sites and Services — Trademarks

You Can't Use Apple's Name and Logos the Way You Have

Using 'iPhone', 'iOS', 'Siri', or Apple's logo in your app name, icon, or marketing materials without following Apple's trademark guidelines is a quick rejection. Here's what's actually allowed.

What Apple said

“Your app name, icon, or metadata includes Apple trademarks (including 'iPhone,' 'iPad,' 'iOS,' 'Siri,' or the Apple logo) in a manner that is not consistent with Apple's trademark guidelines. Please review the Apple Trademark List and update your app accordingly.”

What this actually means

Apple is extremely protective of its trademarks. You can't use 'iPhone', 'iOS', or the Apple logo in your app's name or icon. You can mention that your app 'works with iPhone' in descriptive text, but that phrasing has to follow Apple's exact guidelines. Using 'Siri' as a character name, or making your icon look like the Apple logo, will get rejected every time.

What Apple needs to see

  • An app name that doesn't include Apple product names (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Siri, AirPods, etc.)
  • An app icon that doesn't incorporate the Apple logo or mimic any Apple product's visual identity
  • App Store metadata that only references Apple products using approved descriptive phrases from Apple's trademark guidelines
  • Any Siri integration properly implemented through official SiriKit APIs, not named or branded as 'Siri'
  1. 1Remove Apple trademark terms from your app name and replace with a generic or original name
  2. 2Redesign your app icon if it incorporates the Apple logo, an Apple product silhouette, or Apple's color schemes in an imitative way
  3. 3Replace any metadata phrases like 'the best iPhone app' with 'the best app for iPhone' which follows approved guidelines
  4. 4Search your entire metadata — name, subtitle, keywords, description — for 'Apple', 'iOS', 'iPhone', 'iPad', 'Mac', 'Siri' and audit each usage
  5. 5Review Apple's official trademark usage guidelines at apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/guidelinesfor3rdparties.html before resubmitting

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 I say 'Available on iPhone' in my App Store description?
Apple's approved phrasing for descriptive references is 'for iPhone' or 'for iPad' — not 'Available on iPhone' or 'the iPhone app.' The distinction matters. Check Apple's trademark usage guidelines for exact approved phrasings.
I integrated SiriKit into my app. Can I mention Siri in my description?
You can say your app 'works with Siri' using Apple's approved language, but you can't use 'Siri' as a feature name or as if it were your own product. Follow Apple's Siri-specific trademark guidelines exactly.
My app's name accidentally matches an Apple product. Do I have to rename it?
Not necessarily — having an app named 'Air' doesn't violate trademarks. The issue is when your name, icon, or marketing creates a false impression of Apple endorsement or affiliation. If your app is called 'iPhone Cleaner' or uses the Apple logo, that's a problem.