Guideline 3.1.3(a) - Reader Apps: Incorrectly Claiming Reader App Status

Apple is rejecting your app because it claims to be a 'reader' app to justify not using In-App Purchase for content access, but it does not qualify under Apple's reader app definition. Reader apps are a specific exception that allows apps providing access to previously purchased content -- such as magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video -- to not offer IAP as a purchase mechanism within the app. To qualify as a reader app, the app must: (1) provide access to content that users have already purchased or subscribed to outside the app, (2) not offer in-app purchasing for that content, (3) fall within the defined content categories (magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video), and (4) be approved through Apple's reader app entitlement process. Common disqualifications: SaaS tools claiming reader status because users 'read' their data, productivity apps claiming reader status for document access, educational platforms claiming reader status for course content, and apps that create or produce content (not just consume it). The reader app exception is narrow and content-consumption focused.