Apple Advertising Policies

These policies help explain what is and isn’t allowed when advertising your content with Apple’s advertising services.  

When advertising your app, in addition to complying with all App Store policies and guidelines, you must also comply with all the following policies relating to advertising. If you violate any of these policies, your app will not be eligible to use Apple’s advertising services. Please read and keep yourself up to date with our policies to avoid any rejections, pauses, or delays for your ads.

Last updated August 28, 2023.






1. Advertiser Responsibilities

You are responsible for the following:

  • 1.1 You must comply with the Apple Advertising Services Terms of Service.

  • 1.2 Your app must comply with all App Store Guidelines.

  • 1.3 Your ad content — including content you submit to the App Store used to generate your advertisement and your use of Apple’s advertising services — must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including the laws and regulations of each country or region where you advertise.

  • 1.4 Your ad content and your use of Apple’s advertising services may not violate the intellectual property rights, rights of publicity, or mask work of any party. The inclusion or use of any other party’s intellectual property, logo, graphic, artwork, audio, film, celebrity, or person must be properly licensed for use.

  • 1.5 All claims made in ad content must be adequately substantiated.

  • 1.6 Ad content may not be misleading.

  • 1.7 Ad content may not deceive users into providing personal information (1) without informed consent or under misleading or false pretenses, or (2) to parties that gather personal information for the purpose of reselling, trading, bartering, or otherwise misusing that personal information.

  • 1.8 Your app title, description, images, and previews on the App Store must accurately reflect the app’s intent and core experience.

  • 1.9 Use of the Apple name, products, logo, or other brand attributes without prior approval is prohibited.

  • 1.10 You must have all required licenses and permits for your advertising, and must provide them to Apple when required or requested.

2. Advertising in Mainland China

  • 2.1 Business licenses, permits, government approvals, or other materials or information may be required to advertise in mainland China.

  • 2.2 Advertising in certain industries or categories may be restricted to business company entities.

  • 2.3 Age restrictions apply to advertising in certain industries or categories.

  • 2.4 Ads must be in simplified Chinese, and you are required to comply with specific content requirements.

  • For more information about requirements for advertising in mainland China, please read the Apple Advertising Guidelines for mainland China.

3. Prohibited Content

Apple does not allow the following Prohibited Content in any advertising:

  • 3.1 Discriminatory Content - Ad content that promotes hate, violence, harassment, or racism toward an individual or group of any race, sex, creed, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, age, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, or financial status.

  • 3.2 Defamatory Content - Ad content that is defamatory, libelous, or slanderous.

  • 3.3 Profanity - Ad content that is profane or obscene, including distasteful wording or phrases.

  • 3.4 Adult Content - Ad content that promotes adult-oriented themes or graphic content, for example, pornography, Kama Sutra, erotica, or content that promotes “how to” and other sex games.

  • 3.5 Controlled Substances - Ad content that directly or indirectly facilitates or promotes the sale, distribution, or use of any tobacco products, illegal drugs, narcotics, excessive alcohol consumption, or alcohol use by minors.

  • 3.6 Weapons or Ammunition - Ad content that directly or indirectly facilitates or promotes the sale, distribution, or use of guns, firearms, weapons or ammunition, explosive materials or fireworks.

  • 3.7 Controversial Content - Ad content that is deemed offensive or graphic or contains personal attacks, bullying, or intimidation against a person or an individual business or institution.

  • 3.8 Falsified Documents - Unlawful or unlicensed ad content that promotes false documents, materials, products or services of questionable legality.

  • 3.9 Inappropriate Business Practices - Ad content that inappropriately incentivizes downloads or the manipulation, filtering or faking of reviews, feedback, taps, or downloads.

  • 3.10 Deceptive Messaging - False, fraudulent, dishonest, or deceptive claims, including misleading titles, statements, or illustrations such as:.

  • Get-rich-quick schemes, “free money,” or similar money-making opportunities or offers
  • Free offers and sweepstakes, such as “You have been chosen to win a free…”
  • “Free items” that require any type of payment, administrative costs, carrying charges, or other fees, and hence are not truly free items
  • 3.11 Deceptive Pricing and Price Claims - Ad content that misrepresents the true nature of an offer (prices and any rating claims must be accurate at all times).

  • 3.12 Unlawful Advertising Content - Ad content that does not comply with applicable laws and regulations, including the laws and regulations of each country or region where the ad content is disseminated.

  • 3.13 Unlicensed Advertising Content - Ad content that lacks the necessary licenses, permits, or other authorization required by law, including under the laws and regulations of each country or region where the ad content is disseminated.

  • 3.14 Questionable Legality - Ad content promoting products or services of questionable legality, for example, falsely obtained passwords, pyramid schemes, products designed to evade speed-enforcement laws, or promotion of countries or regions subject to U.S. trade embargoes or sanctions.

  • 3.15 Political Content - Ad content that contains or directly or indirectly promotes political candidates, office holders, parties, organizations, fundraising, and electoral votes or initiatives, including advertising expressing opposition to such. Advertising regarding issues of public importance that may also be politically topical or sensitive may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

4. Restricted Content

Some ad content may only be advertised in certain countries or regions or ad placements.

Some ad content may be restricted or prohibited by local laws.

You are responsible for appropriately restricting your ad content in the countries or regions where you advertise. 

Restrictions can include limiting your advertising to appropriate age audiences or having the necessary licenses or permits for the country or region. Examples include:

4.1 Alcohol

  • 4.1.1 - Ad content promoting the sale or consumption of alcohol, or that refers to the use of alcoholic beverages, may be prohibited or limited in some countries and regions.

  • 4.1.2 - All text, images, video, and audio used for promotional or advertising purposes must depict age-appropriate people and scenes.

4.2 Sensitive Content or Imagery

  • 4.2.1 Ad content or imagery may be deemed sensitive at the discretion of Apple's review teams. Ad content that is deemed sensitive may be prevented from running in certain countries or regions, or prohibited from running entirely.

4.3 Pharmaceutical and Medical

  • 4.3.1 Ad content for pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and medical services may be shown to adults only.

4.4 Real Money Gambling

  • 4.4.1 Ad content that allows users to bet on casino games or sporting events for the chance to win money or prizes holding real-world value is prohibited from running on some ad placements. Examples include but are not limited to: casino games, sports betting, fantasy sports betting, and services that offer statistical analysis for the purposes of gambling.

  • 4.4.2 Advertisers must ensure that they abide by local laws when running gambling-related advertisements. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure that they have the relevant permits and licensing required to operate in the countries or regions where they choose to advertise.

  • 4.4.3 Ad content for real money gambling and related services may be shown to adults only.

  • 4.4.4 Ad content for real money gambling is allowed in some countries or regions after the proper advertising license is reviewed and approved by Apple.

4.5 Simulated Gambling

  • 4.5.1 Ad content for apps that mimic games of chance or casino games but do not offer users the chance to win money or prizes that hold real-world value may only run advertisements on certain ad placements and are prohibited or limited in some countries or regions.

4.6 Dating Services/Match Making

  • 4.6.1 Ad content for apps that offer dating services or match making may be prohibited from running on some ad placements.

  • 4.6.2 Ad content for apps that offer dating services or match making must comply with local laws and regulations in countries or regions where you choose to advertise.

  • 4.6.3 Ad content for apps that offer dating services or match making may not run campaigns in some countries or regions unless the app is available to adults only.

5. Ad Placement Eligibility Overview

  • 5.1 Apple uses both manual and automated systems to determine if ad content is eligible to be displayed, on which placements, and/or which countries or regions. The main parameters examined by the automated systems are relevance, quality, and ratings, and all determinations are reviewed by members of the content moderation team.

  • 5.2 Eligibility overview by placement:

Content Search Results Search Tab Today Tab Product Page
Alcohol Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Sensitive Content or Imagery Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Pharmaceutical and Medical Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Real Money Gambling Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Simulated Gambling Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Dating Services or Match Making Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Religion Allowed* Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
  • *May be restricted in accordance with local law and regulations.

6. Advertising on the Today Tab

Today tab ads must adhere to Apple’s advertising guidelines. These include:

  • 6.1 App name and subtitle must match the localized language for the associated country or region where your campaign is set to run.

  • 6.2 The app icon, name, and subtitle must not feature images that are considered violent, offensive, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate.

  • 6.3 The app icon, name, subtitle, and images must not contain guns, weapons, or graphic violence.

  • 6.4 The app icon, name, and subtitle must not include pricing, offers, or ranking claims.

  • For more information, please read the Today tab ad guidelines.

7. Redress Mechanisms

See here for more information about the remedies and redress mechanisms that may be available under the European Union Digital Services Act.

Apple reserves the right to modify these Policies at any time. Apple may also apply restrictions or limitations to your advertising. If you have any questions about our policies, please feel free to contact us.