Guideline 4.5.4 - Design: Push Notifications Required to Function or Used for Marketing Without Opt-In

Apple is rejecting your app because it either requires push notifications to function (gating core features behind the notification permission) or uses push notifications for marketing without proper consent. Guideline 4.5.4 states that push notifications must not be required for the app to function and must not be used for marketing without opt-in. The most common trigger is apps that show a blocking screen if the user declines push notification permission — 'Enable notifications to continue using the app.' Apple considers this coercive. Users must be able to fully use your app regardless of their notification preference. The second trigger is sending marketing or re-engagement push notifications to users who only consented to transactional notifications. Just because a user tapped 'Allow' on the iOS notification prompt doesn't mean they agreed to receive your weekly deals blast. The fastest compliant path is to make push notifications entirely optional — the app must work fully without them — and to implement separate opt-in for any marketing or promotional notification content.