# Guideline 5 - Legal: Remove Watermark Feature **Guideline:** 5 · **Store:** Apple App Store · **Risk:** medium · **Difficulty:** medium · **Typical turnaround:** 2-6 hours Canonical URL: https://appstorereject.com/rejections/apple/5/guideline-5-legal-remove-watermark-feature ## Description Apple is rejecting your app under the top-level Legal guideline because treats watermark removal as facilitating an activity that is not legal in every region where the app is distributed. Watermarks are used to assert ownership, attribution, and licensing, and a tool that strips them can be used to launder or redistribute other people's copyrighted content without permission. This rejection cites 'Guideline 5 - Legal' with no dotted subsection because Apple is treating the whole app concept/feature as legally problematic rather than pointing at a single privacy or IP clause. It commonly hits photo/video editors, social-download utilities (e.g. tools that save clips from TikTok/Instagram/other platforms and offer to strip the platform watermark), 'AI object remover' apps that market watermark erasure specifically, and screenshot/screen-recording tools that advertise removing on-screen marks. The trigger is almost always in your metadata and UI, not just the binary: an explicit 'Remove Watermark' button, a feature bullet in the App Store description or screenshots, a subscription/IAP unlock literally named 'Remove Watermark,' or onboarding copy promising to erase watermarks. Reviewers read the store listing, so even if the feature is buried, marketing it is enough to draw the citation. **Note this is separate from removing your OWN app's export watermark (that is allowed) — the problem is removing watermarks from third-party or arbitrary content. If you get rejected under this scenario, appealing is your best course of action.** ## Common variations - App offers a 'Remove Watermark' button or tool for photos/videos - A downloader app strips the source platform's watermark (TikTok, Instagram, etc.) - App Store description or screenshots advertise watermark removal - An IAP/subscription is named or marketed as 'Remove Watermark' - AI object-removal app markets erasing watermarks from arbitrary images - App concept itself is 'watermark remover' and the whole binary is flagged ## Example rejection email ``` Guideline 5 - Legal Issue Description The app contains content – or facilitates, enables, and encourages an activity – that is not legal in all of the locations where the app is available. Specifically, the app still contains remove watermark feature. Next Steps To resolve this issue, please remove all content and features that are illegal in the locations where the app is available. Please note that app concepts that are considered illegal are not allowed. ``` ## Resolution steps ## Quick Assessment - **Risk level:** Medium - **Resolution path:** Remove the feature & scrub metadata, then resubmit - **Typical turnaround:** 2-6 hours of work + one review cycle ## The Fix 01. Remove the watermark-removal feature from the binary Delete the button, tool, filter, or code path that erases watermarks from user-supplied or downloaded content. Removing the UI entry point is not enough if the underlying capability is still reachable — strip the actual processing code so a reviewer can't surface it through settings, a deep link, or a paywall unlock. 02. Scrub every mention from your App Store metadata Edit the app name, subtitle, description, keywords, promotional text, and screenshots to remove 'remove watermark,' 'watermark remover,' 'erase watermark,' and equivalents. Apple reads the listing; marketing the feature will re-trigger the rejection even after you pull it from the binary. 03. Rename or remove any watermark IAP/subscription If you sell an unlock literally named 'Remove Watermark,' delete that product or repurpose it (e.g. 'Premium Export,' 'HD Export'). Update the paywall copy and the StoreKit product display names in App Store Connect. 04. Distinguish your own watermark from third-party ones Removing the watermark your OWN app adds to exports is allowed; offer 'Remove [YourApp] watermark' only. What is NOT allowed is a general tool that strips watermarks from arbitrary/imported images or from other platforms' content. Reframe the feature to only affect your app's own overlay. 05. Reconsider a pure 'watermark remover' concept If the entire app is a watermark remover, there is no fix short of repositioning the product (e.g. a legitimate photo editor / object-removal tool that does not advertise or facilitate stripping others' watermarks). Apple states app concepts that are illegal are not allowed, so a rename alone won't save a single-purpose watermark stripper. 06. Resubmit with a clear reviewer note In App Review notes, state that the watermark-removal feature and all references have been removed, and that any remaining watermark control applies only to your app's own export overlay. ## Prevention - Never ship or advertise removing watermarks from third-party or imported content - Keep any 'remove watermark' control scoped strictly to your app's own export mark - Audit metadata (name, subtitle, keywords, screenshots) for watermark-removal claims before every submission - Avoid building single-purpose 'watermark remover' apps — the concept itself draws Guideline 5 rejections ## Appeal guidance Only appeal if you genuinely do NOT strip third-party watermarks — e.g. the reviewer misread a feature that removes only your own app's export watermark, or 'watermark' in your copy refers to your own overlay. In that case, reply factually explaining exactly what the feature does, with a screen recording showing it only affects your app's own mark. If the app does remove watermarks from imported or downloaded third-party content, do NOT appeal — Apple is consistent here and an appeal will fail; remove the feature and its metadata and resubmit. If the entire app concept is a watermark remover, appealing is pointless; the concept itself is disallowed and the product needs repositioning. ## Before / after examples **Before:** A video downloader offers a 'Save without watermark' toggle that strips the TikTok watermark from downloaded clips, and the App Store description lists 'Remove watermark' as a headline feature **After:** The watermark-stripping code path is removed, the toggle is gone, and the store listing no longer mentions watermark removal — the app only downloads content the user is authorized to save, with the original marks intact **Why it works:** Apple flags the feature because it facilitates redistributing third-party content stripped of attribution — removing both the capability and the marketing resolves the Guideline 5 citation. **Before:** A photo editor sells a 'Remove Watermark' IAP that erases watermarks from any imported image **After:** The IAP is repurposed to 'Remove [AppName] Export Watermark' and only removes the watermark the app itself adds on export; imported images are never altered to strip existing marks **Why it works:** Removing your own app's export watermark is permitted; a general tool for stripping others' watermarks is not. Scoping the feature to your own overlay is the compliant path. ## Common questions **Can you appeal a 5 rejection?** Only appeal if you genuinely do NOT strip third-party watermarks — e.g. the reviewer misread a feature that removes only your own app's export watermark, or 'watermark' in your copy refers to your own overlay. In that case, reply factually explaining exactly what the feature does, with a screen recording showing it only affects your app's own mark. If the app does remove watermarks from imported or downloaded third-party content, do NOT appeal — Apple is consistent here and an appeal will fail; remove the feature and its metadata and resubmit. If the entire app concept is a watermark remover, appealing is pointless; the concept itself is disallowed and the product needs repositioning. **How long does this typically take to fix?** Typical turnaround is 2-6 hours (difficulty: medium). After resubmission, most re-reviews complete within 24-48 hours. --- *Machine-readable source: https://api.appstorereject.com/api/rejections/detail?slug=guideline-5-legal-remove-watermark-feature*