The history of our interaction with the giant of the mobile industry – AppStore – was a long and winding road. Our client had created a fantastic and useful mobile application for those who are interested in astrology. It produced and shared various horoscopes, advice, and parting words, and even offered a function to check the compatibility of people using their horoscopes.

The App

The client has a tiered subscription of 3 levels – basic, student and master and offered either for a month or a year. Each level promises to offer more benefits than the last.  The application also includes built-in amulets – pendants, as a digital counterpart.

The Process

At first, our application was refused to be published in the Apple app store due to the issue of redundancy, the fact that there are already so many similar applications with our apps current functionality. App Store’s stance – it simply is not needed there.

Of course, this response did not suit our client, and we set about attempting to provide alternative solutions to solving this issue and helping our client.

While looking for different ways to solve the problem, we first tried to change the application itself, its positioning and its functions so that it looked less like astrology, and more like an application within the “healthy habits” category. Then, after additional thought, we proposed to change the topic from astrology to psychology.

The Result

The Application was submitted four times for review, but only three times appealed… We worked collaboratively with the team and Apple technical support about why our application was unique.

As a result, we changed the theme of the application and its functionality to better suit what the users would enjoy. New options and features were added, and although they extended the functions of the application, they did not change the essence of the application itself. 

Additionally, it was proposed to republish the application on behalf of another company from another country, but in the end, all our actions and efforts yielded our desired results, before this step was necessary. In the end, Apple approved the application in its marketplace.

After a difficult and long journey spanning 10 months of trying to publish the application, it was approved. 

The road will be mastered by the one who walks it.