Why App Icons Get Rejected
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Icons are reviewed like the rest of your store listing. Some problems are caught automatically the moment you upload a build; others are flagged by a reviewer days later. This guide covers both, for the App Store and Google Play, and ends with a checklist to run before you submit.
Two kinds of rejection
It helps to separate technical failures from policy failures. A technical failure is a file that does not meet the format rules, such as the wrong size or an alpha channel. These are usually reported by App Store Connect or the Play Console straight after upload, and the fix is a re-export. A policy failure is about what the icon shows: someone else's logo, misleading text, or imagery the store does not allow. These come from human review and can hold up a release, so they are worth catching early.
App Store
Alpha channel in the marketing icon
The most common technical failure on iOS is an App Store icon that contains transparency. The upload is rejected with error ITMS-90717: Invalid App Store Icon, which says the icon "can't be transparent nor contain an alpha channel". The catch is that a PNG can carry an alpha channel even when every pixel is fully opaque. Many design tools export with alpha by default.
To fix it, flatten the image onto a solid background and export without transparency. On a Mac, Preview's Export dialog has an Alpha checkbox you can untick, and Finder's Get Info panel shows whether a PNG has an alpha channel. Avoid unusual color profiles too: Apple supports sRGB, Gray Gamma 2.2 and Display P3, and sRGB is the safest choice.
Icons that don't match
Guideline 2.3.8 of the App Review Guidelines asks that your metadata, "including app name and icons (small, large, Apple Watch app, alternate icons, etc.)", be similar to avoid confusion. In practice, the icon on your product page should be the same design as the icon on the Home Screen. If you offer alternate icons that people can pick in your app's settings, they are reviewed too and should still be recognizably yours.
Other people's brands
Guideline 4.1 says you cannot use another developer's icon, brand or product name in your app's icon or name without their approval, and that impersonating other apps can lead to removal from the developer program. Guideline 2.3.9 makes you responsible for securing the rights to everything in your icon. This includes stock illustrations whose license does not cover logos, and fan art of characters you do not own.
Apple hardware and Apple lookalikes
Apple's Human Interface Guidelines say not to use replicas of Apple hardware in app icons, because Apple products are copyrighted. Guideline 5.2.5 also rules out apps that look confusingly similar to Apple's own apps or interfaces, and bans Apple emoji in apps and extensions. An iPhone outline, a copy of the Messages bubble or a Settings-style gear can all trigger this. Guideline 2.3.10 adds that you should not include names, icons or imagery of other mobile platforms in your metadata.
Age-appropriate artwork
Icons must suit a 4+ audience even if your app is rated higher (guideline 2.3.8). A game with mature themes can still have a striking icon, but not one showing gore or a weapon aimed at a character. The same section reserves terms like "For Kids" for the Kids category, and that includes text in the icon.
Placeholder artwork
Guideline 2.1 asks that submissions be final versions with temporary content removed. Shipping the default blank icon, a template graphic or an icon that obviously says "TODO" makes the app look unfinished, and it is an easy reason for a reviewer to send it back.
Google Play
The technical spec
Google's icon specification asks for a 512×512 pixel, 32-bit PNG in the sRGB color space, with a maximum file size of 1024 KB. Upload a full square: Google Play applies the rounded corners and shadow itself, and its guidance says not to round the edges or add a drop shadow to your asset. Using a solid brand color as the background, instead of transparency, gives the most predictable result.
Note that the Play Store icon is separate from your app's launcher icon. The launcher icon is built from adaptive icon layers inside your app; see the Android adaptive icons guide for those.
The Metadata policy
Most Play icon problems come from the Metadata policy, which lists content that is not allowed in titles, icons and developer names. The icon spec repeats the same rules. Do not use text or graphics that:
- Indicate ranking or performance, such as "#1", "App of the year", "Popular" or award icons.
- Promote prices or deals, such as "10% off" or "free for limited time only". A permanent "FREE" ribbon falls into the same category.
- Refer to Google Play programs, such as "Editor's choice" or "New".
- Mislead users, for example a new-message dot when there are no messages, or a download symbol on an app that has nothing to do with downloading.
Impersonation
Like Apple, Google does not allow apps that pretend to be another app, company or person. An icon that copies a well-known brand's colors and shape closely enough to be mistaken for it can get an app suspended, not just rejected, so be careful with "inspired by" designs.
Pre-submission checklist
Run through this list before every release that changes your icon.
| Check | Store |
|---|---|
| App Store icon is 1024×1024, opaque, no alpha channel | App Store |
| Icon is a full square with no pre-rounded corners or drop shadow | Both |
| Store icon and the icon inside the app match | Both |
| No other company’s logo, brand or product name | Both |
| No Apple hardware, Apple emoji or Apple UI lookalikes | App Store |
| No icons or imagery of other mobile platforms | App Store |
| Suitable for a 4+ audience, even if the app is rated higher | App Store |
| No placeholder or template artwork | Both |
| Play icon is 512×512, 32-bit PNG, sRGB, 1024 KB or less | Google Play |
| No rankings, awards, prices, discounts or “free” claims | Google Play |
| No Play program labels such as “Editor’s choice” or “New” | Google Play |
| No misleading symbols such as a fake notification dot | Google Play |
If you are rejected anyway
Read the message carefully: Apple's rejections cite a guideline number, and Play Console notices name the policy. Fix the specific issue, then reply in the resolution center or resubmit. If you believe the reviewer misunderstood your icon, for example because the brand in it is your own, explain that and provide proof of the trademark or permission.
Most technical problems disappear if your icons are generated rather than exported by hand. The app icon generator writes an opaque App Store icon, a full iOS icon set and the 512×512 Play Store icon in one download. For sizes and formats, see the iOS app icon sizes guide and the app icon guidelines.
More guides
- iOS App Icon Sizes – Every iPhone, iPad and App Store icon size, what each one is used for, and how Xcode’s single-size asset works.
- Android Adaptive Icons – Foreground and background layers, the 108dp canvas, the 66dp safe zone and Android 13 themed icons.
- PWA Manifest Icons – Which icons a web app manifest needs, how maskable icons work and how browsers choose between them.
- iOS Dark & Tinted Icons – How dark and tinted Home Screen icons work, what to supply for each appearance and common mistakes.
- macOS, watchOS & visionOS Icons – Icon shapes, sizes and layering for Apple platforms beyond iPhone and iPad.