Guides / Prompting and shipping

How to Publish an App on the App Store: TestFlight to Approval

How to publish an app on the App Store: Developer Program, App Store Connect, TestFlight, listing, App Privacy, submitting for review and rejections.

Mythex Team · 2026-11-01 · 6 min read

To publish an app on the App Store, join the Apple Developer Program (99 USD a year as of November 2026), create the app in App Store Connect, upload a signed build, test it through TestFlight, add your screenshots, description, privacy details and age rating, then click Add for Review and Submit for Review. Apple reviews every submission by hand, usually within a day or two, and once approved you release it to the App Store. This guide follows that path screen by screen and lists the problems that most often send apps back.

Still building? Start with how to make an iPhone app.

What you need before you start

• An Apple Developer Program membership, as an individual (your legal name is shown as the seller) or an organisation (needs a D-U-N-S Number, a company-domain email and a working website).
• A signed build of your app, uploaded to App Store Connect. Usually from Xcode or Apple's Transporter, or by a service that builds for you.
• A privacy policy URL and a support URL with up-to-date contact details. Apple requires both for every app.
• Screenshots: 1 to 10 per required device size, as JPEG or PNG with no transparency. App Store Connect shows which sizes it needs; at the time of writing that's the 6.9-inch iPhone size (or 6.5-inch if you don't supply 6.9-inch), plus iPad sizes if your app runs on iPad.
• A demo account if any part of the app is behind a login.

Step 1: Enroll in the Apple Developer Program

Sign in with an Apple Account that has two-factor authentication turned on and enroll. Individuals are usually approved quickly. Organisations should allow extra time, because Apple verifies the company's legal status and your authority to sign for it. If you don't have a D-U-N-S Number, you can request one for free in most countries, though issuing it takes time.

Step 2: Create the app record

In App Store Connect, open Apps, click + and choose New App. Enter:

• Platform: iOS.
• Name: the name on the App Store, which must be unique on the store.
• Primary language.
• Bundle ID: the app's identifier, such as com.yourcompany.yourapp. It must match the build.
• SKU: any internal code you like.

Apple doesn't allow outside tools to create this record, so you do it once yourself.

Step 3: Upload a build

If you build in Xcode, archive the app and upload it from the Organizer. Builds can also be uploaded with Transporter or through the App Store Connect API.

If you build with Mythex

On the Pro plan, Mythex builds your published app as an iPhone app on its own Macs and uploads it to your TestFlight. You don't need a Mac or Xcode. Setup takes a few minutes:

1. In App Store Connect, go to Users and Access → Integrations → App Store Connect API and create a Team key with the Admin role.
2. Download the .p8 file. Apple lets you download it only once, so keep it safe.
3. Drop the file into the Connect App Store panel in Mythex and paste the Issuer ID shown above the keys list. Mythex checks the key with Apple before saving it.

On the first build, Mythex tells you the exact name and Bundle ID to use when you create the app record in Step 2. When the build card says In TestFlight, Apple processes the build for roughly 10 to 30 minutes, then it's ready for testers. See the Mythex iOS app builder for more.

Step 4: Test with TestFlight

TestFlight is Apple's beta channel, and it's worth using properly before review:

• Internal testers: up to 100 members of your App Store Connect team. They can install a build as soon as it's processed.
• External testers: up to 10,000 people, invited by email or a public link. The first build you add to an external group goes through a short beta review.
• Build lifetime: each build can be tested for 90 days.

Testers install the TestFlight app, accept the invite and install your build. Ask them to do the main tasks, not just open the app. Our beta test guide covers finding testers and collecting their feedback.

Step 5: Fill in the App Store listing

On the app's version page, add:

• Screenshots for each required size, showing real screens.
• Promotional text (optional) and a description that says plainly what the app does.
• Keywords, separated by commas. Don't repeat your app name or use competitors' names.
• Support URL and, optionally, a marketing URL.
• Version number and copyright.

Under App Information, set the category, the privacy policy URL and the age rating by answering Apple's questionnaire. Under Pricing and Availability, choose a price (or free) and the countries.

Step 6: Complete App Privacy

App Privacy lists the data your app collects, such as email, name, location or usage data, how it's used and whether it's linked to the user. It appears on your App Store page as the privacy "nutrition label". Include data collected by any third-party code, such as analytics or login providers.

This section is only available on the App Store Connect website, not through outside tools. If you use Mythex, the agent tells you what to answer based on what your app actually does.

Step 7: Add review information and submit

In App Review Information, add a contact name, phone and email, and a demo account that works. Add notes if anything needs explaining, for example "the Bookings tab only shows classes after you join one".

Then select the build you tested, click Add for Review, and Submit for Review. Only one version per platform can be in review at a time.

With Mythex, you can ask the agent to do this part. It attaches the build, fills in what it can and asks you before submitting.

Step 8: Wait, answer, release

Apple says at least half of submissions are reviewed in under 24 hours and 90% within 48 hours. You'll get an email when the status changes. If Apple has questions or rejects the build, the message appears in App Store Connect's App Review section; answer there, fix the issue and resubmit.

When approved, the app is released automatically or held for you to release manually, depending on what you chose. You can also schedule a release date.

Why apps get rejected, and how to avoid it

• Incomplete app (guideline 2.1). Crashes, placeholder text, dead links, a missing demo login. Apple says this is behind more than 40% of unresolved issues. Test every button on a real iPhone before you submit.
• Repackaged website (guideline 4.2). Apple expects features, content and interface that go beyond a website in a frame. Give the app a phone-first layout, accounts, saved data and real tasks. This is especially important for wrapped web apps, including those made with Mythex.
• No in-app account deletion (guideline 5.1.1(v)). If people can create an account in the app, they must be able to delete it in the app.
• Digital sales outside in-app purchase (guideline 3.1.1). Unlocking features or content for money inside the app requires Apple's in-app purchase.
• Privacy details that don't match the app. Make App Privacy, your privacy policy and the app's behaviour agree.

If you need a policy page, our guide to writing terms of service and a privacy policy explains what to include.

Updating the app later

For each new version, raise the version number, upload a new build, write "What's New" text and submit again. Each submission is reviewed.

If your app is a wrapped web app, as Mythex apps are, most day-to-day changes reach iPhone users when you publish the web app, because the phone app opens it. You submit a new version mainly for changes to the app's shell, like the icon, name or permissions. If Apple has already approved a version number, Mythex raises it (for example 1.0 to 1.1) before building again.

Publishing on Android too

Google's process differs: a one-time fee, testing tracks, and for new personal accounts a 14-day closed test with 12 testers. See how to publish an app on Google Play.